State Library of Victoria, Domed Reading Room Exhibition held from April 22 to June 9, 1996. Many articles in Girls Annuals of the late 19th century focus on the domestic skills that will be required of girl readers in their adulthood.
Annuals abound with advice on needlework, knitting patterns, cooking and general homemaking.
The fictional components of these volumes portray the domestic role a girl will be expected to play. Themes running through Girls Annuals changed markedly in the first half of the 20th century as the lives of middle class girls became less home based. School girl stories, adventure stories, clubs to join, hobbies to pursue and sporting activities occupy the pages of Girls Annuals. Girls of the 1960s, when Girls Annuals began to lose their appeal, are portrayed in adventure stories, triumphing in dangerous situations. In the early 1900s, the demand for magazines for both boys and girls was high and many titles were on the market.