While the indexes may prove invaluable in years to come (as have those in Harte's The Captain which I've grabbed from the shelf on several occasions), the best part of the book is the 40-or-so-page introduction covering the history of Lilliput.
The story begins in Hungary when 13-year-old Istvan Reich buys a camera. A chance snap of a former foreign secretary was used in the Budapest weekly Erdekes Usag, and the young boy decides he wants to be a photo-journalist. During the Great War, Reich works with Sandor Kellner on the trade journal Szinhazi Elet—Kellner would later change his name to Alexander Korda, a huge name in the film industry. Reich also involves himself in films as a photographer, screenwriter and cameraman in Germany.
In 1923 he changes his name to Stefan Lorant and edits various German picture magazines. In 1933 Hitler comes to power and Lorant is arrested and held in jail for six months. Freed after months of effort by the Hungarian Consulate General, he is released, returns to Budapest but soon makes his way to Paris and then London.
There he becomes the founding editor of the influential Weekly Illustrated, but leaves after only five months, citing a lack of appreciation by management. While freelancing, he was introduced to Alison Hooper; a year later Lorant invited her to holiday with him in the south of France. There, with other refugees, the discussion turned to producing a pocket magazine along the lines of the American Coronet.
With financial backing from Alison (who under her maiden name of Blair was assistant editor) Lilliput became a reality, albeit a loss-maker until it established itself and began taking advertising. Before long, Lorant was able to sell the magazine to Hulton Press for £20,000. Hulton was able to grow the magazine's circulation even during the war, doubling from 250,000 in 1940 to 500,000 in 1947. Lorant also created Picture Post for Hulton, which was selling over a million copies by its third issue.
Lorant's personal life included a number of acknowledged and unacknowledged children. Alison had his daughter and, with her other two daughters, moved to America. Lorant was classified as an enemy alien and he, too, fled to America, where he remained the rest of his life.
Much of the introduction is dedicated to a survey of the history of the magazine, its contents and the problems Lorant faced behind the scenes from Edward Hulton, with whom he disagreed on many things. Tom Hopkinson took over as editor in 1940 with Kaye Webb his assistant editor. Its easy style and mix of articles, stories, photos and cartoons made it entertaining reading during the blackout and increasing sales offset the increased costs of wartime production. Big name writers from George Bernard Shaw to Ernest Hemingway contributed and the occasional nude helped sales along.
Richard Bennett became editor in 1946 and Kaye Webb was let go in 1947, the contents began to change; there was greater interference from Edward Hulton, who thought the paper was publishing too much from left wing writers. At the same time, fewer writers from across Europe were appearing, changing the tone and removing one of the magazine's unique aspects.
Bennett was replaced by Jack Hargreaves in 1951 and dropped many of its contributors in a desperate attempt to modernise. Hargreaves was promoted to managing editor within months, and Colin Willock briefly installed as editor. Sales continued to fall, and Hulton took the unusual move of trying to tempt Stefan Lorant back from the USA. Lorant, however, owed money to the taxman and decided to stay in America.
New editor Michael Middleton didn't last long; Lilliput was enlarged in size at the suggestion of advertising management and Willock returned with plans to reverse many changes made by his recent predecessors. Advertorials, puff pieces and, in 1955, photographic covers of models. Mark Boxer and William Richardson occupied the editorial chair, the latter drawing heavily on American reprints from Saturday Evening Post, Collier's and Playboy. Richardson was promoted out of harm's way in 1958, and the magazine given a makeover... and another makeover six months later, these masterminded by executive editor Willock and assistant editor Denis Pitts, who became editor in 1959.
Pitts made some bold choices as editor, but it was too late, and Lilliput was merged with Men Only in August 1960, after 277 issues.
This, of course, is a brief precis of Lilliput's history, which is much expanded upon by Chris Harte. Along with checklists, indexes and an absolutely astonishing number of photographs of Lilliput's contributors (I haven't counted how many, but there are pages of them!), this is the ultimate trip through the history of this fascinating magazine.
Lilliput Magazine: A History and Bibliography by Chris Harte
Sports History Publishing ISBN 978-189801018-0, 3 June 2024, 362pp, £29.95. Available via Amazon.
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