George Rex Graham (January 18, 1813 – July 13, 1894) was a journalist, editor, and publishing entrepreneur from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

. He founded the journal Graham's Magazine

Graham's Magazine

Graham's Magazine was a nineteenth century periodical based in Philadelphia established by George Rex Graham. It was alternatively referred to as Graham's Lady's and Gentleman's Magazine , Graham's Magazine of Literature and Art , Graham's American Monthly Magazine of Literature and Art Graham's...

at the age of 27 after buying Burton's Gentleman's Magazine

Burton's Gentleman's Magazine

Burton's Gentleman's Magazine or, more simply, Burton's Magazine, was a literary publication published in Philadelphia in 1837-1841. Its founder was William Evans Burton, an English-born immigrant to the United States who also managed a theatre and was a minor actor.-Overview:The magazine included...

and Atkinson's Casket. His journal became very popular and it was known for its generous payment to contributors.

Graham worked with notable literary figures like Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...

 and Rufus Wilmot Griswold

Rufus Wilmot Griswold

Rufus Wilmot Griswold was an American anthologist, editor, poet, and critic. Born in Vermont, Griswold left home when he was 15 years old. He worked as a journalist, editor, and critic in Philadelphia, New York City, and elsewhere. He built up a strong literary reputation, in part due to his 1842...

, and possibly sparked the enmity between the two. After Poe's death, Graham defended him from Griswold's accusations and character assassination

Character assassination

Character assassination is an attempt to tarnish a person's reputation. It may involve exaggeration, misleading half-truths, or manipulation of facts to present an untrue picture of the targeted person...

.

Life and work

Graham was born on January 18, 1813; his father was a shipping merchant

Merchant

A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...

 who had lost much of his money in early in the 19th century. Graham was raised by his namesake and maternal uncle, George Rex, a farmer from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

Montgomery County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of 2010, the population was 799,874, making it the third most populous county in Pennsylvania . The county seat is Norristown.The county was created on September 10, 1784, out of land originally part...

. At age 19, Graham became an apprentice for a cabinet-maker

Cabinet making

Cabinet making is the practice of using various woodworking skills to create cabinets, shelving and furniture.Cabinet making involves techniques such as creating appropriate joints, dados, bevels, chamfers and shelving systems, the use of finishing tools such as routers to create decorative...

 before deciding to study law. After being admitted to the bar in 1839, Graham became interested in publishing at a time when Philadelphia stood neck-and-neck with New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 as leader of the book and periodical publishing industry in America.

Publishing career

Graham first began his publishing work with an editorial position with the Saturday Evening Post. Its owner Samuel C. Atkinson announced on November 9, 1839, that he had sold the Post to Graham and John S. Du Solle. He then became the proprietor of Atkinson's Casket. At the age of 27, Graham combined the fledgling publication with Burton's Gentleman's Magazine

Burton's Gentleman's Magazine

Burton's Gentleman's Magazine or, more simply, Burton's Magazine, was a literary publication published in Philadelphia in 1837-1841. Its founder was William Evans Burton, an English-born immigrant to the United States who also managed a theatre and was a minor actor.-Overview:The magazine included...

in December 1840. The acquired publication had 3,500 subscribers, bringing his total list to 5,000. In its first year, that number jumped to 25,000. Success was partially owed by Graham's willingness to include brand new engravings and illustrations at a time when most monthly publications were re-using old plates from other magazines. He also paid his freelance writers very well. In fact, in later years, a "Graham page" was the new standard of payment for magazine work.

Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...

 was hired as an editor and writer in February 1841. Graham agreed to help Poe with his planned journal The Penn

The Stylus

The Stylus, originally intended to be named The Penn, was a would-be periodical owned and edited by Edgar Allan Poe. It had long been a dream of Poe to establish an American journal with very high standards in order to elevate the literature of the time...

if Poe worked for him for six months. By all accounts, Poe and Graham got along very well and had a good working relationship. Poe was paid $800 per year while Graham boasted $25,000 in profits. Poe originally called this salary "liberal" but later referred to it as "nambypamby" when compared to Graham's profits. Graham's Magazine was the first to publish many of Poe's works, including "The Murders in the Rue Morgue

The Murders in the Rue Morgue

"The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe published in Graham's Magazine in 1841. It has been claimed as the first detective story; Poe referred to it as one of his "tales of ratiocination". Two works that share some similarities predate Poe's stories, including Das...

" and "The Colloquey of Monos and Una". Poe left the magazine in April 1842.

Graham would hire Rufus Wilmot Griswold

Rufus Wilmot Griswold

Rufus Wilmot Griswold was an American anthologist, editor, poet, and critic. Born in Vermont, Griswold left home when he was 15 years old. He worked as a journalist, editor, and critic in Philadelphia, New York City, and elsewhere. He built up a strong literary reputation, in part due to his 1842...

, Poe's rival, as his next editor. Griswold was paid a salary of $1000 per year, more than he had paid Poe, lending some additional venom to the animosity between the two men. To his credit, Griswold was able to contract with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline...

 to write for Graham's exclusively for a time.

Allegedly, Poe had offered first publication of "The Raven

The Raven

"The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in January 1845. It is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow descent into madness...

" to Graham, who refused. He may have given $15 to Poe as a friendly charity, but did not like the poem. Graham made it up to Poe a short while later by publishing the essay "The Philosophy of Composition

The Philosophy of Composition

"The Philosophy of Composition" is an 1846 essay written by American writer Edgar Allan Poe that elucidates a theory about how good writers write when they write well. He concludes that length, "unity of effect" and a logical method are important considerations for good writing. He also makes the...

" in which Poe tells of his inspiration for his famous poem and the technique of writing well.

After Poe's death, Graham defended him against critics like Griswold. In March 1850, he published in his magazine "Defense of Poe" and, four years later in February 1854, "The Genius and Characteristics of the Late Edgar Allan Poe."

Graham and his magazine worked with many other notable authors including William Cullen Bryant

William Cullen Bryant

William Cullen Bryant was an American romantic poet, journalist, and long-time editor of the New York Evening Post.-Youth and education:...

, James Fenimore Cooper

James Fenimore Cooper

James Fenimore Cooper was a prolific and popular American writer of the early 19th century. He is best remembered as a novelist who wrote numerous sea-stories and the historical novels known as the Leatherstocking Tales, featuring frontiersman Natty Bumppo...

, Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer.Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in the city of Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, a judge during the Salem Witch Trials...

, James Russell Lowell

James Russell Lowell

James Russell Lowell was an American Romantic poet, critic, editor, and diplomat. He is associated with the Fireside Poets, a group of New England writers who were among the first American poets who rivaled the popularity of British poets...

 and others.

Graham invested in copper

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...

, a decision that left him in severe financial difficulty. In 1848, he sold his magazine to Samuel Dewee Patterson, though he retained the title of editor. A year later, artist John Sartain

John Sartain

John Sartain was an artist who pioneered mezzotint engraving in the United States.-Biography:John Sartain was born in London, England on October 24, 1808. He learned line engraving, and produced several of the plates in William Young Ottley's Early Florentine School . In 1828, he began to do...

, whose engravings had become a major selling point of Graham's, left to found his own journal, Sartain's Union Magazine. By 1850, Graham was able to buy back his interest in Graham's Magazine with the help of friends who sympathized with his financial woes. However, competition with Harper's New Monthly Magazine

Harper's Magazine

Harper's Magazine is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts, with a generally left-wing perspective. It is the second-oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. . The current editor is Ellen Rosenbush, who replaced Roger Hodge in January 2010...

caused significant drops in subscriptions, as did the lack of an international copyright. Charles Godfrey Leland

Charles Godfrey Leland

Charles Godfrey Leland was an American humorist and folklorist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was educated at Princeton University and in Europe....

 took over when Graham left the magazine in 1853 or 1854 and Graham's Magazine ceased publication in 1858.

Later life

At the age of 70, Graham lost his eyesight though it was partially restored in an operation. He was assisted financially by George William Childs

George William Childs

George William Childs was an American publisher who co-owned the Philadelphia Public Ledger newspaper with financier Anthony Joseph Drexel.-Early life:...

 before dying on July 13, 1894, at a hospital in Orange, New Jersey

Orange, New Jersey

The City of Orange is a city and township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 30,134...

. He was buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery

Laurel Hill Cemetery

Laurel Hill Cemetery, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the second major garden or rural cemetery in the United States. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1998, one of only a few cemeteries to receive the distinction....

in Philadelphia.