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In December 1903, Arthur Hoey Davis published the first issue of Steele Rudd's Magazine, beginning a long period as proprietor of several series of Steele Rudd magazines. Davis was widely known as Steele Rudd, the author of On Our Selection (1899) and Our New Selection (1903). Many of the stories contained in these volumes had been published previously in the Bulletin, providing Davis with a wide readership.
Offered to readers 'in the interests of Australian Literature and Art', the magazine promised 'to fill its pages with nothing but first-class work both as regards writing and drawing.' In addition to many stories by Steele Rudd, writers such as Joseph Furphy, Mary Gilmore, George Essex Evans and Victor Daley contributed stories and poetry. Ashton Murphy was announced as the primary cartoonist in the first issue, but Davis attracted contributions from many other visual artists including Norman, Lionel and Ruby Lindsay, George Taylor, Ruth Simpson and Arthur Hingston. Not entirely made up of literary content, the magazine also published articles on sport, fashion and the theatre.
The magazine had a significant rural bias, signalled immediately by its many advertisements for farm and domestic equipment. Published in Brisbane for Steele Rudd & Co., the magazine attracted many local advertisers and a number from Toowoomba near where many of Rudd's stories are set. In later issues, characters from Rudd's stories appeared in advertisements for farm equipment.
Like the Bulletin, Steele Rudd's Magazine encouraged contributions from readers, printing many in the 'Out-back Realities' section. Steele Rudd also wrote a 'Correspondence Column', responding to contributions with witty advice and caustic rejections in the manner of the Bulletin.
Davis was one of the few writers in the early 1900s who made a significant income from his writing. But overspending and poor business investments brought financial trouble. In 1905 Davis sold Steele Rudd's Magazine to J. F. Millington who then acted as editor. But by January 1906, Davis had bought back his interest in the magazine, apologizing in the January issue for the editorial policies of the previous eight months.
Steele Rudd's Magazine survived for another eighteen months. In February 1907 Davis moved to Sydney, conducting his editorial duties from there. But, despite the financial stability of the magazine, Davis was not satisfied with the salary he was drawing for the time and energy he provided. His solution was to cease publication. The last issue of Steele Rudd's Magazine appeared mid-year and Davis had returned to Brisbane by November. This was not, however, the end of Davis's career as a magazine proprietor. He revived the magazine several times during the next twenty years under variant titles, but consistently encountered financial difficulty.
Notes
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RANGE: 1903-1907
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FREQUENCY: Monthly
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SIZE: 24cm, 24-120 pages
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PRICE: sixpence per copy or 6 shillings and sixpence per annum
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Some of the other illustrators whose works appeared in Steele Rudd's Magazine in the 1903-1907 period were : Les Albison, Fred Booty, Nina Booty, George Brandt, Ted Collis (presumably Ted Colles), James A. Crisp, Jim Cunningham, Cyril Dobbs, Will Donald, Zif Dunstan, Ambrose Dyson, Will Dyson, A. J. Fisher, Tim Gooch, John Gow, Hal Gye, W. R. Hamilton, Dick Hartley, Harry Hervy, W. Hess, 'J. E. N.', Harry Julius, J. Kennedy, Ben J. Lee, J. McMaster, Val McNally, Norman Macpherson, Thorn Masters, Phil Mo, Bert Mudge, Fred J. Nicoll, 'Nullo', Charles Nuttall, Mick Paul, Adam Plass, C. S. Poynter, H. Rosling, Jean Sibi, Perce Smith, Syd Smith, Harold Stephens, Pat Sullivan, 'Tec', H. W. Turner, Walter Vaile, Hal Warwick ('Broad Arrow'), Ned Wethereo, Ethel Wood.
Whilst many of these illustrators were professionals, some were also probably amateurs and 'would-be's'.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
- y In Search of Steele Rudd : Author of the Classic Dad and Dave Stories St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 1995 Z66585 1995 single work biography A biography of the author of the Dad and Dave stories. Steele Rudd was the pseudonym of Arthur Hoey Davis, and looking for Steele Rudd leads the search party down a rabbit-hole of facades and cultural stereotypes in an attempt to discover the real author behind the iconic Australian imagery.
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Arthur Hoey Davis and Several `Steele Rudds': Imagining the Pseudonymous Author
1990
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , May vol. 14 no. 3 1990; (p. 297-305) Fotheringham explores the cultural and private appropriation of the name, "Steele Rudd", and examines the implications for understanding the concept of authorship in relation to interpretations of On Our Selection in its various forms. -
Queensland Authors and Artists' Association [Meeting Report]
1935
single work
column
biography
— Appears in: All About Books , 14 November vol. 7 no. 11 1935; (p. 190) -
Katharine Susannah Prichard
1926
single work
column
— Appears in: The Australian Woman's Mirror , 27 July vol. 2 no. 35 1926; (p. 11, 54) -
A Warning
i
"There lives a man - I know him not -",
1906
single work
poetry
humour
— Appears in: Steele Rudd's Magazine , October 1906; (p. 849)
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 23 August vol. 27 no. 1384 1906; (p. 41)
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Received
1904
single work
review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 14 January vol. 25 no. 1248 1904; (p. 2)
— Review of Figaro no.2 periodical ; Figaro no.1 periodical ; Steele Rudd's Magazine 1903 periodical (42 issues) -
A Warning
i
"There lives a man - I know him not -",
1906
single work
poetry
humour
— Appears in: Steele Rudd's Magazine , October 1906; (p. 849)
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 23 August vol. 27 no. 1384 1906; (p. 41) -
Queensland Authors and Artists' Association [Meeting Report]
1935
single work
column
biography
— Appears in: All About Books , 14 November vol. 7 no. 11 1935; (p. 190) -
Katharine Susannah Prichard
1926
single work
column
— Appears in: The Australian Woman's Mirror , 27 July vol. 2 no. 35 1926; (p. 11, 54) - y In Search of Steele Rudd : Author of the Classic Dad and Dave Stories St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 1995 Z66585 1995 single work biography A biography of the author of the Dad and Dave stories. Steele Rudd was the pseudonym of Arthur Hoey Davis, and looking for Steele Rudd leads the search party down a rabbit-hole of facades and cultural stereotypes in an attempt to discover the real author behind the iconic Australian imagery.
-
Arthur Hoey Davis and Several `Steele Rudds': Imagining the Pseudonymous Author
1990
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , May vol. 14 no. 3 1990; (p. 297-305) Fotheringham explores the cultural and private appropriation of the name, "Steele Rudd", and examines the implications for understanding the concept of authorship in relation to interpretations of On Our Selection in its various forms.
Has serialised
- 'Rocky Section: A Romance of the Australian Bush' Rocky Section : An Australian Romance, single work novel
- Caricature and Its History, series - author prose
- Daddo and Toller, single work novella
- The Difficulties of My Courtship, single work novella
- A Search for the Bunyip : An Australian Nonsense Tale, single work novella humour