Tatler

History

Tatler was introduced on 3 July 1901, by Clement Shorter, publisher of The Sphere. It was named after the original literary and society journal founded by Richard Steele in 1709. Originally sold occasionally as The Tatler and for some time a weekly publication, it had a subtitle varying on "an illustrated journal of society and the drama". It contained news and pictures of high society balls, charity events, race meetings, shooting parties, fashion and gossip, with cartoons by "The Tout" and H. M. Bateman.

In 1940, the magazine absorbed The Bystander, creating a publication called The Tatler and Bystander. In 1961, Illustrated Newspapers, which published Tatler, The Sphere, and The Illustrated London News, was bought by Roy Thomson.

London Life

In 1965, Tatler was retitled London Life. The magazine, under the editorship of Mark Boxer, became an influential record of the Swinging Sixties in London.

Return to the Tatler name

In 1968, London Life was bought by Guy Wayte's Illustrated County Magazine group and the Tatler name restored. Wayte's group had a number of county magazines in the style of Tatler, each of which mixed the same syndicated content with county-specific local content. Wayte, "a moustachioed playboy of a conman" was convicted of fraud in 1980 for inflating Tatler's circulation figures from 15,000 to 49,000.

Hong Kong Tatler was launched under licence in March 1977, the magazines are no longer associated and the Hong Kong edition now operates Tatler publications in Asia and Africa under Tatler Asia.

The magazine was sold and relaunched as a monthly magazine in 1977, called Tatler & Bystander until 1982. Tina Brown (editor 1979–83), created a vibrant and youthful Tatler and is credited with putting the edge, the irony and the wit back into what was then an almost moribund social title. She referred to it as an upper-class comic and by increasing its influence and circulation made it an interesting enough operation for the then owner, Gary Bogard, to sell to publishers Condé Nast. Brown subsequently transferred to New York, to another Condé Nast title, Vanity Fair.

After several later editors and a looming recession, the magazine was once again ailing; Jane Procter was brought in to re-invent the title for the 1990s. The circulation rose to over 90,000, a figure which was exceeded five years later by Geordie Greig. The magazine created various supplements including the Travel and Restaurant Guides, the often-referred to and closely watched Most Invited and Little Black Book lists, as well as various parties.

Kate Reardon became editor in 2011, having previously worked for American Vogue, Tatler and Vanity Fair. Under Reardon's directorship Tatler retained its position as having the wealthiest audience of Condé Nast's magazines, exceeding an average of $175,000 in 2013.

Reardon left the title at the end of 2017. The appointment of Richard Dennen as the new editor was announced at the beginning of February 2018, and he took up the post on 12 February.

Little Black Book

One of Tatler's most talked-about annual features is the Little Black Book. The supplement is a compilation of "the most eligible, most beddable, most exotically plumaged birds and blokes in town", and individuals previously featured have included those from a number of backgrounds: aristocrats and investment bankers sit alongside celebrities and those working in the media sector.

Editors and contributors

Past contributors

Christina Broom – photographer

Diana, Lady Mosley – commissioned to write a Letters from Paris section in the 1960s.

Una-Mary Parker – Social editor in the 1970s

The Marchioness of Milford Haven – Social editor

Isabella Blow – Contributing fashion editor-at-large