by Robert W. Morrell 

From time to time long forgotten but interesting bibliographical material relative to Thomas Paine comes to light. Such material may offer us nothing new about Paine himself but it often serves to indicate the high regard for his memory his supporters had. 

One such item recently came my way, it is a bound collection of a freethought journal entitled Half-Hours with the Freethinkers. This periodical, of which each issue was devoted to a particular individual, first appeared as a fortnightly on October 1st.,1856 and ran for 24 issues, the last being published on September 15th.,1857. On September 1st., 1864 another series commenced publication but this time as a weekly, it continued for 24 issues, the last appearing on February 9th.,1865. The number of pages per issue varied greatly and in an Editorial Preface to the 1st.issue, 1st. Series, it was noted that sufficient would be published to provide a complete volume. 

Such was certainly true for two specially printed title pages in the bound collection have on them the words 3rd Edition and the date 1868. It thus appears that unsold back numbers of both series were bound up and sold with a special title page. It also appears that some issues must have sold out before the 3rd collected edition appeared for a number have in place of the date of publication, which is in between two lines under the title, the legend “Second Edition” 

All issues of the 2nd.Series were printed by Watts & Co. of 17 Johnson’s Court, Fleet Street, London E.C. The printing history of the 1st. Series on the other hand is rather more varied, No.1. bears no printer’s imprint nor does a publisher’s name and address appear, features common to all issues of both Series. No.2. carries the name and address under the text on the last page of John Watts,147,Fleet Street as printer while the next three issues are printed by Kenny, Heathcock Court, 414, Strand, W.C. The next two issues bear no imprint and then Kenny reappears, the four issues after this have no imprint and it is issue 13 before John Watts turns up as printer, a job he keeps until No. 22 which is printed by Kenny. Watts then returns once again to complete the 1st Series. 

Half-Hours is an interesting and very scarce journal; to students of Thomas Paine it is of interest to note that No. 8. The 1st Series is devoted to him and was written by J. Watts, one of the three editors of the Series, the others being ‘Iconoclast’ (Charles Bradlaugh) and A. Collins. Collins is not listed as an editor in the 2nd.Series, it is also one of the issues that ran to a 2nd.edition. 

Journals of the type we have been discussing form an interesting subject about which little research has been done and one thinks that if the subject was explored in detail the results of such research would be well worth publishing. For the record it is perhaps well if we by way of conclusion give a list of the individuals covered in the series: (1st Series) Des Cartes, Volney, Lord Bolingbrook, Shelley, Voltaire, Anthony Collins, Spinosa, Paine, Shaftesbury, Miraubaud, Hume, Hobbes, Priestley, Tindal, Condorcet, Epicurus, D’Arusmont, Toland, Zeno, Helvetius, Blount, Barker, Taylor, Burnet (2nd. Series), Sir W. Hamilton, Lücretius, Rev. Baden Powell, Socrates, Holyoake, Bunsen, Lyell, Lord Herbert of Cherbury, Colenso, Strauss, Martineau, Buckle, George Combe, Darwin, G.H.Lewes, Theodore Parker, Carlyle, Frederick the Great, Fox, Humboldt, Heine, Owen, Emma Martin & Charles Southwell.