Questions & Answers about The Era CD.

Q: Will there be a standard price for all subsequent decade-sets?

A: No. Aside from the extended discount offer, the price will vary according to the quantity of pages (hence the number of discs) included in any particular set. In most cases the price will probably be slightly lower than for the 1890s set, but this will be subject to overhead costs remaining reasonably constant.

Q: Is The Era available anywhere on line?

A: No, there is no known on line source of Era material.

Q: Is there an index to the content of The Era?

A: No.

Q: What is the cost comparison between The Era on CD ROM and on other media?

A: Purchasing one year of The Era, from the 1890s decade, on microfilm would cost from £150 to £250. The CD format therefore has a considerable cost advantage. Cheaper films are available, such as those supplied by New York Public Library, but these in particular omit much of the important advertising material to save film! 
A single copy of The Era on the antique newspaper market is around £40 - if you can find one.

Q: Was The Era always about matters theatrical?

A: No, not entirely. It started out to be a champion of the licensed victualler (public houses) but rapidly took on theatrical matters although these probably don't predominate until the early 1850s.

Q: How big was each issue?

A: It varied from around 24 to 40 tightly packed pages.

Q: What was its geographical coverage?

A: It was a national newspaper, covering the whole British Isles but included significant international material. Provincial reporting was usually by means of a column called "Provincial Theatricals" - reports supplied by local correspondents. Overseas material usually came from "special correspondents" or copy from newspapers. The New York scene was well covered and there was a regular feature called 'The American Music Halls'. Detailed reports were telegraphed regularly from Australia, South Africa, and other parts of the Empire. Theatrical matters in many of the leading European capitals (Paris, Berlin, Vienna), were also covered. Reports of major happenings in other European cities are also to be found.    

Q: What is the depth of coverage?

A: This varied across the years but in general there is a wide cross-section of the entertainment industry reflecting the breadth and  depth of the public taste.

Q: When did photographs first appear in The Era?

A: In the 1880s. Woodcut illustrations or engravings appeared first in the 1850s and there are some excellent examples in the coverage of the 1851 Great Exhibition.

Q: Can I be sure that great grandfather will appear in The Era?

A: In all honesty, no. You will certainly find background material about the world in which he may have worked, and perhaps some direct information. Remember that a modern judgement of "fame" may not necessarily reflect a Victorian view of it. There can be quite unexpected amounts of data on people who are unknown today. It can be very helpful to follow up an ancestor's "more famous" contemporaries.

Q: How long can it take to search The Era CD ROMs?

A: Making a search for one single name (eg: "Lawrence") takes around 20-25 minutes for all the issues on one, six-month CD, on a Pentium 300MHz, 128MB ram & 24-speed CD ROM. This doesn't include cutting and pasting any relevant data. By contrast, it can take several hours to read one single week's issue in paper or microfilm format.

Q: Does The Era cover some of the less well known aspects of Victorian entertainment?

A: Certainly. Recent research has revealed The Era to be a hitherto untapped source of information on portable theatres and travelling companies for example. The "small advertisements" can supply valuable detail on some of the more unusual entertainment such as "freak shows", firework artists & balloonists. There is important coverage of the fairground showmen in the period preceding the founding of "World's Fair".

Q: What can I do if I cannot afford to purchase The Era on CD?

A: Please refer your local Library's Head Librarian to this web site. Point out that The Era is an exceedingly valuable research tool not only for theatre research but in areas as social & political history.
If you have a University with a Drama School or if your local Record Office, Local Studies office or Museum holds archives of national newspapers, tell them too.
Why not consider a co-operative purchase with your local Family History Society or Local Studies Group?

Q: Can The Era CD ROM be rented for research?

A: Regrettably no. The option may be considered if demand makes it feasible.

Q: Does The Era have any equivalent elsewhere?

A: Yes - in North America, The Clipper.

Q: Are there Births, Marriages and Deaths (BMDs) in The Era?

A: Yes, but this must be qualified by saying that BMDs can be very hard to find especially in earlier issues of the paper because they were used as column-fillers. Only towards the end of the 19^th century was there a formal BMD column. Earlier BMDs often contained the gentry and clergy rather that the entertainer. Birth announcements almost always omitted the child's name and sometimes the mother's.

E mail barrie@the-era.fsnet.co.uk with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: November 09, 2001