The Strand Magazine quite quickly established the formula which it was to use for many years to come: a mixture of illustrated middle-brow short stories and non-fiction, mainly aimed at adults, with a children's story at the end (often a fairy tale translated from another language). Several features such as the Portraits of Celebrities were present from the very first interview, while others, such as the Illustrated Interviews, or the Queer Side of Things (more quirky/humorous stories or cartoons at the end of the magazine) appeared in the second volume.

Also starting with the second volume was a major reason for the initial success of the magazine, the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by A. Conan Doyle. These drove the sales of the magazine all the way until the end of Volume 6, with Holmes' dramatic 'death' at the hands of Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls.

Other directions were not taken up, such as the sensationalist "A Night in an Opium Den," or the series of articles calling for some (mild) reform of the law courts, The State of the Law Courts. We also see a short piece of music, The Winding Walk, which was tried a couple more times before being dropped from around Volume 5, when a separate Strand Musical Magazine was started.

• Introduction.
• The Story of the Strand.
• "A Deadly Dilemma," by Grant Allen.
• The Metropolitan Fire Brigade. Its home and its work.
• Scenes of the Siege of Paris, from the French of Alphonse Daudet.
• Portraits of Celebrities

• "A Fair Smuggler," from the Russian of Michael Lermontoff.
• "The Maid of Treppi," from the German of Paul Heyse.
• At the Animals' Hospital.
• "The Mirror," from the French of Léo Lespès.
  
• Fac-simile of the Notes of a Sermon of Cardinal Manning
• "The Queen of Spades," translated from the Russian of Alexander Pushkin.
• "The Two Genies," A Story for Children; from the French of Voltaire.

• "The Pistol Shot" from the Russian of Alexander Pushkin.
• A Night with the Thames Police.
• "The Maid of Treppi;" from the German of Paul Heyse (continued).
• Our Money Manufactory.
• "Slap-Bang," from the French of Jules Claretie.
• Portraits of Celebrities at different times of their Lives.

• Letters from Artists on Ladies' Dress.
• "How the Redoubt was Taken;" from the French of Prosper Mérimée.
• Actors' Dressing Rooms.
• "The Minister's Crime," by Maclaren Cobban.
• At the Children's Hospital.
• Fac-simile of the Notes of a Speech by John Bright.
• "A Passion in the Desert;" from the French of Balzac.
• "Barak Hageb and his Wives, a Story for Children;" from the Hungarian of Moritz Jokai.

• Pictures with Histories.
• "Making an Angel," by J. Harwood Panting.
• Birthday Cards..
• "The Architect's Wife;" from the Spanish of Antonio Trueba.
• On the Decay of Humour in the House of Commons, by Henry W. Lucy ("Toby, M.P.").
• "The Snowstorm;" from the Russian of Alexander Pushkin.
• "A Night at The Grand Chartreuse," by J. E. Muddock.
• Portraits of Celebrities at different times of their Lives.

• Fac-simile of a Handbill of Mr. H. M. Stanley's First Lecture in America.
• Stories of the Victoria Cross: Told by Those who have Won it.
• How Novelists Write for the Press.
• "Jerry Stokes," by Grant Allen.
• "The Piece of Gold;" from the French of François Coppée.
• "The Voice of Science," by Arthur Conan Doyle.
• "Camille;" from the French of Alfred de Musset.
• "The Stone-Breaker," a Story for Children; from the French of Quatrelles.

• Pictures with Histories (continued).
• "Two Fishers;" from the French of Guy de Maupassant.
• Babies.
• "On the Stump for the Pump," by Sir Wilfred Lawson.
• "The King's Stratagem," by S. J. Weyman.
• Portraits of Celebrities at Different Times of their Lives.

• A New Industry for Ladies, by Miss Grace Harriman.
• "The Waltz in 'Faust,'" by Richard Dowling.
• Orchids: From a popular point of view.
• "A Thing that Glistened," by Frank R. Stockton.
• The State of the Law Courts, I.
• Stories of the Victoria Cross: Told by Those who have Won it.
• Playwrights' Manuscripts.
• "The Luckiest Man in the Colony," by E. W. Hornung.
• Jamrach's.
• "The Spider's Web," a Story for Children; from the French of Jacques Normand.

• An Eighteenth Century Juliet by James Mortimer.
• A Day with an East-End Photographer.
• "The Notorious Miss Anstruther," by E. W. Hornung.
• "The Guest of a Cannibal King," by J. E. Muddock, F.R.G.S.
• Old Stone Signs of London.
• "Captain Jones of the 'Rose,'" by W. Clark Russell.
• Child Workers in London.
• Portraits of Celebrities at Different Times of their Lives.

• Humours of the Post Office, with Fac-similes.
• "Jenny;" from the French of Victor Hugo.
• The State of the Law Courts; II.—The County Court.
• "The Pastor's Daughter of Seiburg", an Episode of the Turkish War; from the German of Julius Theis.
• Stories of the Victoria Cross: Told by Those who have Won it.
• "The Enchanted Whistle", a Story for Children; from the French of Alexandre Dumas.

• "A Torture of Hope," from the French of Villiers de l'isle-Adam.
• How the Blind are Educated, by Edward Salmon.
• "Out of a Pioneer's Trunk," by Bret Harte.
  
• Anecdotes of the War Path, by Irving Montagu.
• "The Rynard Hold Reef Company, Limited," by Walter Besant.
• Portraits of Celebrities at Different Times of their Lives.

• Humours of the Post Office, with Fac-similes.
• Celebrated Beauties.
• "Three Birds on a Stile," by B. L. Farjeon.
• "A Night in an Opium Den," by the Author of "A Dead Man's Diary.".
• "Janko the Musician;" from the Polish of Sienkiwicz.
• A Silver Harvest by H. Tuck.
• The State of the Law Courts. III.--The Bar.
• The Home for Lost Dogs.
• "The Hermit", a Story for Children; from the French of Voltaire.

• Tableaux Vivants.
• "Woke Up At Last," by Kate Lee.
• Anecdotes of the War Path (continued), written and illustrated by Irving Montagu.
• "Why He Failed".
• A Regiment on Wheels.
• Portraits of Celebrities at Different Times of their Lives.

• "Sister Gabrielle," a Reminiscence of Max O'Rell During the War, by His Wife.
• Illustrated Interviews. No. I. Cardinal Manning, by Harry How.
• Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. I. A Scandal in Bohemia, by A. Conan Doyle.
• "The Bundle of Letters," from the Hungarian of Moritz Jokai.
• The State of the Law Courts. IV. The Criminal Courts.
• Captain Mayne Reid: Soldier and Novelist, by Maltus Questell Holyoake.
• "The King and the Artist,", a Story for Children; from the Spanish. By Mariana Monteiro.

• Illustrated Interviews. No. II. Henry Stacy Marks, R.A., by Harry How.
• Quarantine Island, by Walter Besant.
• Cats, by J. Maclaren Cobban.
• The Story of a Game; from the French of Albert Delpit.
• Celebrities at Play.
• The Doctor's Story; from the French of Guy de Maupassant.
• Portraits of Celebrities at Different Times of their Lives.

• In & About Newmarket.
• The Prisoner of Assiout, by Grant Allen.
• The Music of Birds.
• Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. II. The Red-Headed League, by A. Conan Doyle.
• Up a Shot Tower.
• The Blue Cat, a Story for Children; From the French of Daniel Dare.

• Illustrated Interviews. No. III. Madame Albani., by Harry How.
• The Postmistress of Laurel Run, by Bret Harte.
• Young Tommy Atkins, a Personal Experience.
• Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. III. A Case of Identity, by A. Conan Doyle.
• Street-Corner Men by H. Tuck.
• For an Old Debt, by J. Harwood Panting.
• Portraits of Celebrities at Different Times of their Lives.

• The Foundling Hospital.
• A Perilous Wooing, from the Norwegian of Bjornstjerne Bjornson.
• Wild Animal Training.
• The Last Touches, by Mrs. W. K. Clifford.
• Some Curious Inventions by J. H. Roberts.
• The Lucky Coin, a Story for Children, from the Portugese of Gonzalo Fernandez Francoso.
• The Queer Side of Things.
  • I.—Judicial Innocence, by J. F. Sullivan.
  • II.—A Variation on Two Suits.
  • Miscellaneous.

• Illustrated Interviews. No. IV. Mr. W. S. Gilbert., by Harry How.
• The P.L.M. Express. From the French of Jacques Normand.
• The Charge of the Light Brigade, by Private James Lamb, late 13th Hussars (One of the Six Hundred).
• Told in the Studios Three Stories of Artist Life, by "Rita".
• Notes on Jonathan's Daughters, by Max O'Rell.
• Portraits of Celebrities at Different Times of their Lives.

• Three in Charge, by W. Clark Russell.
• Tennyson's Early Years.
• Laying a Ghost, by George Manville Fenn.
• Figure-heads, by J. E. Rogers
• Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. IV. The Boscombe Valley Mystery, by A. Conan Doyle.
• Smugglers' Devices.
• Kojata, a Story for Children, from the Russian.
• The Queer Side of Things.
  • A Visit to Sir Ogre de Covetous, by J. F. Sullivan
  • Portrait Signatures.
  • Varieties of Alpine-Climbing, by Frank Feller.
  • Miscellaneous.

• George Tinworth and his Work, by Edward Salmon.
• A Breach of Confidence, by Annie Armitt.
• Lady Dufferin and the Women of India.
• Told in the Studios, by "Rita".
• Fireworks.
• Portraits of Celebrities at Different Times of their Lives.

• Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. V. The Five Orange Pips, by A. Conan Doyle.
• London from Aloft, by Griffith Brewer.
• Wife or Helpmeet? Study of a Woman, translated from the French of Jeanne Mairet.
• The Street Games of Children, by Frances H. Low.
• An Episode of '63, by Henry Murray.
• Illustrated Interviews. No. V. Mr. Montagu Williams, Q.C., by Harry How.
• Fairy Dust, a Story for Children, from the French of George Sand.
• The Queer Side of Things.
  • The Discovery of a Curious Creature, by J. F. Sullivan.
  • Portrait-Signatures.

• Illustrated Interviews. No. VI. Sir Augustus Harris, by Harry How.
• Two Kisses.
• Ghosts, by Irving Montagu.
• Told in the Studios, by "Rita".
• An Unpublished Latter of Charles Lamb by W. Carew Hazlitt.
• Major Pendallas, a Christmas Story, by Frank R. Stockton.
• Portraits of Celebrities at Different Times of their Lives.

• Otto's Folly, from the German of P. K. Rosegger.
• Christmas Crackers.
• Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. VI. The Man with the Twisted Lip, by A. Conan Doyle.
• The Winding Walk, by Frank L. Moir.
• A Day in the Country, by David Christie Murray.
• Quixarvyn's Rival, by H. Greenhough Smith.
• A Vision of St. Nicholas, a Poem for Children, by C. C. Moore.
• The Queer Side of Things
  • The Economical Club by J. F. Sullivan.
  • A Prize Family
  • Miscellaneous