The Times Supplements

The Times Supplements, online for the first time, consist of a series of geographically-based supplements, published after Lord Northcliffe bought The Times newspaper in 1908.

Supplements published in the years 1910-1916
- The South American Supplements (42 issues, 732 pages)
- The Russian Supplements (26 issues, 560 pages)
- The Japanese Supplements (6 issues, 176 pages)
- The Spanish Supplement (36 pages) as a one-off
- The Norwegian Supplement (24 pages) as a one-off
- Supplements associated with World War I (4 issues, 96 pages)
- Special Supplements (2 issues, 16 pages)

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 some one-off special issues.

An extensive background article by P.A. O’Connor and P. Robinson is available at Brill.com. Click here to open this article in a new tab.