Bertram Fletcher Robinson edited Vanity Fair between 1904 and 1907.
During his editorship, he began advertising widely and also swapped
publishing house from Arthur Evans to Harmsworth. These actions coupled
with the recruitment of writers such as PG Wodehouse saw an increase in
the readership of Vanity Fair. Between December 1905 and February 1907,
Robinson also had a series of fifteen articles entitled Chronicles in
Cartoon published in The Windsor Magazine. Within these articles,
Robinson reviews the most prominent caricatures and accompanying Jehu
Juniors to appear in Vanity Fair between 1868 and 1907. Collectively,
these articles provide a fascinating insight into every aspect of late
Victorian-life and they will interest both collectors of the famous
caricatures and historians. During January 1907, Bertram Fletcher
Robinson died aged just 36 years. His untimely death occurred just two
months after he relinquished the editorship of Vanity Fair and just one
month before the conclusion of his serialization, Chronicles in Cartoon.
It is very likely that had he lived, he would have sought to have the
fifteen items that were published in The Windsor Magazine compiled and
republished in book form. Moreover, it is probable that he would have
considered this work to be his magnum opus given that he was a graduate
of History from Cambridge University. This book affords Robinson that
posthumous opportunity.
