Information as Event: Miscellany and Event in the Periodicals of the 1830s

A common feature of the portion of the periodical press which did not claim to report on current affairs (and thus did not require a newspaper stamp), was a regular section that collected miscellaneous information in small bitesize chunks. Under headings like “Notebook”, “Many Things in Few Words”, and “Varieties”, these periodicals created a space where information itself was the event. Occasionally, the printed information was political, with some periodicals attempting a curated spread of opinion from newspapers across the political spectrum but often it was simply presented as print-worthy without need for additional context, with readers treated to whatever editors thought might entertain, amuse, and inform. In this paper I will examine examples of these regular sections to consider their significance as part of the wider developments in print culture which, as Claire Pettitt has recently argued, placed seriality at the forefront of modernity. Although they are easily overlooked in favour of headline articles and features, it is my contention that these regular features were a key site for the development of a serial sensibility, as on a weekly or monthly basis they inverted the usual relationship between event and reportage by emphasising the information as the event itself.