The Times Supplements

In 1908, Lord Northcliffe bought The Times newspaper and set about transforming its fortunes. For a short period it issued a series of geographically-based supplements gratis. The regular supplements were: The South American Supplements (44 issues: 30 July 1910 – 24 Feb 1914); The Japanese Supplements (6 issues: 19 July 1910 – 16 Dec 1916) and The Russian Supplements (28 issues: 15 Dec 1911 – 27 Jan 1917). The Norwegian Supplement (18 May 1914) was a one-off. These supplements represent valuable source material for such fields as British World Studies, Area Studies of Japan, Russia and South America, International Relations, Media History and Transnational Opinion and Propaganda Studies. Lavishly illustrated, each title was tailored to support The Times’ broad editorial position and ongoing Foreign Office priorities. The Japanese Supplements, for example, were aimed at reinforcing the Anglo-Japanese Alliance of 1902-22, in the context of growing German influence in Japan. Talented artists and contributors were engaged in filling the supplements, ranging from foreign statesmen to expatriate journalists and publicists, including those hired by the nations concerned. These supplements would likely have continued beyond 1917, but were affected by acute paper shortages in that year and, in the case of the Russian Supplements, by the 1917 Revolution. The Times also issued one-off special issues associated with the Great War, and regular Reviews of the Year, retrospectives published on New Year’s Day of the succeeding year.