Graham's Magazine
Encyclopedia
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 (1841-1842, and July 1843 - June 1844), Graham's Magazine of Literature and Art (January 1844 - June 1844), Graham's American Monthly Magazine of Literature and Art (July 1848 - June 1856), and Graham's Illustrated Magazine of Literature, Romance, Art, and Fashion (July 1856 - 1858).
The journal was founded after the merger of Burton's Gentleman's Magazine
and Atkinson's Casket in 1840. Publishing short stories, critical reviews, and music as well as information on fashion, Graham intended the journal to reach all audiences including both men and women. He offered the high payment of $5 per page, successfully attracting some of the best-known writers of the day. It also became known for its engravings and artwork. Graham's may have been the first magazine in the United States
to copyright each issue.
Edgar Allan Poe
became the editor of Graham's in February 1841 and soon was publishing the harsh critical reviews for which he became known. It was also where he first published "The Murders in the Rue Morgue
", now recognized as the first detective story
. After Poe left the journal, his successor was Rufus Wilmot Griswold
, a man who bitterly disliked Poe. Graham's began rejecting Poe's submissions and passed up the chance to publish "The Raven
". Graham left his magazine for a time in 1848 and it eventually ceased in 1858.
for $3,500, paying a dollar for each of its 3,500 subscribers, and merged it with another recently-purchased magazine, Atkinson's Casket, which only had 1500 subscribers. The Casket, subtitled "Flowers of Literature, Wit, and Sentiment" had been in existence since 1826 and, despite the small subscriber base, was flourishing financially.
Graham intended his new magazine to be popular amongst both men and women, containing fashion, photographs, music, short stories and critical reviews. He also hoped to reach out to both mainstream audiences and those with more refined tastes. Graham was not a writer himself, other than a section at the back of each issue called "Graham's Small Talk", and so relied heavily on contributors. To that end, Graham made sure it was popular amongst writers as a well-paying journal; the $5 standard become known as a "Graham page". Other journals at the time were paying the standard rate of $1 per page. His attempt at attracting the best contributors worked: Contributors to the magazine included William Cullen Bryant
, Nathaniel Hawthorne
, James Russell Lowell
, Christopher Pearse Cranch
, Fitz-Greene Halleck
, George D. Prentice
, Alice
and Phoebe Cary
. Not all writers, however, were paid. A notice in the May 1841 issue read:
James Fenimore Cooper
was reportedly the highest-paid contributor to Graham's, receiving $1,600 for the serial "The Islets of the Gulf, or Rose-Budd", later published as Jack Tier, or The Florida Reefs. He received another $1,000 for a series of biographies on distinguished naval commanders. Graham's at one point was advertised as having the most distinctive list of contributors ever achieved by any American magazine. Graham's boasted that many issues of his magazine cost $1,500 for "authorship" alone.
Graham's may have been the first magazine in America to copyright each issue. By March 1842, Graham's Magazine was issuing 40,000 copies. This boom was reflective of a changing market in American readership. John Sartain
believed its success was due to the appeal of the engravings he provided for each issue. The Saturday Evening Post
reported that the August 1841 issue of Graham's cost $1,300 for these "embellishments". The Post reported April 30, 1842: "It is doubtful, if engravings of equal beauty ever adorned an American work". Typical engravings in Graham's included bridges, happy maids, and scenes which focused on peaceful domestic life and promoted marriage. The editorial staff grew to include "two lady editors", Ann S. Stephens
and Emma Catherine Embury
.
as a critic and editor in February 1841 at an annual salary of $800. Poe suspended his plans to start his own journal, The Penn
, to work for Graham, who promised to help subsidize Poe's entrepreneurial endeavor within a year, though he never did. Poe complained about the content of Graham's; he particularly disliked "the contemptible pictures, fashion-plates, music and love tales" for which the magazine was known. Graham, however, was aware of Poe's status as an author and critic and knew he would increase the magazine's popularity. He introduced his new editor in the pages of the magazine: "Mr. POE is too well known in the literary world to require a word of commendation."
Poe had an assistant editor who aided in corresponding with contributors, allowing him enough free time to write his own stories. Poe also had a decent relationship with Graham and took advantage of the editorial control he was granted. The magazine was the first to publish "The Murders in the Rue Morgue
", "A Descent into the Maelström
", "The Island of the Fay" and others. He also reviewed Charles Dickens's
The Old Curiosity Shop
, Nathaniel Hawthorne's
Twice-Told Tales
, and works by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
, Washington Irving
and many others. He also further built up his reputation as a harsh literary critic, causing James Russell Lowell
to suggest Poe sometimes mistook "his phial of prussic acid for his inkstand". With Graham's, Poe also launched his Literati of New York series, which purportedly analyzes the signature
s of well-known figures in the New York scene, but which featured Poe taking pot-shots at their personalities. The Philadelphia Inquirer
in October 1841 called Poe's article "the most singular, and at the same time, the most interesting article" in the magazine.
Poe left Graham's employ in April 1842 but still made occasional contributions. In 1847, he voluntarily took a cut in the usual payment to $4 per page to cover a debt he owed to Graham.
Though he originally called his salary "liberal," Poe would later complain of his "nambypamby" payment of $800 per year when compared to Graham's alleged $25,000 in profit. A possibly apocryphal story is that Poe returned to the office in April 1842 after a brief illness to find Charles Peterson, another editor, sitting at his desk and performing his duties. Upset, he impulsively resigned on the spot. By then, however, he had already made a significant impact on Graham's. A year after Poe's departure, Philadelphia editor George Lippard
said, "It was Mr. Poe that made Graham's Magazine what it was a year ago; it was his intellect that gave this now weak and flimsy periodical a tone of refinement and mental vigor".
, a well-known critic and anthologist as well as Poe's greatest rival, took over editing after Poe's departure in April 1842. The replacement was so quick, a rumor persisted for years that Poe went to work one day and saw Griswold already in his chair. Though the story is not true, Griswold's hiring and Poe's departure were somewhat controversial. As reported in the Washington Index Jesse E. Dow wrote: "We would give more for Edgar A. Poe's toe nail, than we would for Rueful Grizzle's soul, unless we wanted a milk-strainer. Them's our sentiments." Griswold was reportedly paid a salary of $1000 a year, $200 more than Poe. As an editor, Griswold had some success, including a contract with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow to write for Graham's exclusively for a time. Longfellow was paid about $50 for each poem printed. Graham's was also the first to publish Longfellow's play The Spanish Student in 1842; he was paid $150 for it.
By September 1842, Graham was unhappy with Griswold's work and made an offer for Poe to return, though he refused. Late in 1844 Poe offered first publication of "The Raven
" to Graham, who turned it down. Some accounts say Graham may have given $15 to Poe as a friendly charity, but that he did not like the poem. Graham made it up to Poe a short while later by publishing the essay "The Philosophy of Composition
" in which Poe tells of his inspiration for his famous poem and his theories on good writing. Joseph Ripley Chandler
and Bayard Taylor
also had short runs as editorial assistants for the magazine in 1848 and Edwin Percy Whipple
was its main literary critic for a time.
investments, Graham sold the magazine to Samuel Dewee Patterson, though he retained the title of editor. Sartain, whose engravings had become an important part of Graham's, left to found his own journal, Sartain's Union Magazine, in 1849. People who sympathized with Graham's difficulties helped him regain some of his fortune and he bought back his interest in the magazine in 1850. Competition with Harper's New Monthly Magazine
beginning in that year caused significant drops in subscriptions, as did the lack of an international copyright. Charles Godfrey Leland
took over when Graham left the magazine in 1853 or 1854 and Graham's Magazine ceased publication in 1858.
George Rex Graham
George Rex Graham was a journalist, editor, and publishing entrepreneur from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He founded the journal Graham's Magazine at the age of 27 after buying Burton's Gentleman's Magazine and Atkinson's Casket...
. It was alternatively referred to as Graham's Lady's and Gentleman's Magazine (1841-1842, and July 1843 - June 1844), Graham's Magazine of Literature and Art (January 1844 - June 1844), Graham's American Monthly Magazine of Literature and Art (July 1848 - June 1856), and Graham's Illustrated Magazine of Literature, Romance, Art, and Fashion (July 1856 - 1858).
The journal was founded after the merger of 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 in 1840. Publishing short stories, critical reviews, and music as well as information on fashion, Graham intended the journal to reach all audiences including both men and women. He offered the high payment of $5 per page, successfully attracting some of the best-known writers of the day. It also became known for its engravings and artwork. Graham's may have been the first magazine in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to copyright each issue.
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...
became the editor of Graham's in February 1841 and soon was publishing the harsh critical reviews for which he became known. It was also where he first published "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...
", now recognized as the first detective story
Detective fiction
Detective fiction is a sub-genre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator , either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often murder.-In ancient literature:...
. After Poe left the journal, his successor was 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...
, a man who bitterly disliked Poe. Graham's began rejecting Poe's submissions and passed up the chance to publish "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...
". Graham left his magazine for a time in 1848 and it eventually ceased in 1858.
History
In December 1840, Graham had just acquired Burton's Gentleman's MagazineBurton'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...
for $3,500, paying a dollar for each of its 3,500 subscribers, and merged it with another recently-purchased magazine, Atkinson's Casket, which only had 1500 subscribers. The Casket, subtitled "Flowers of Literature, Wit, and Sentiment" had been in existence since 1826 and, despite the small subscriber base, was flourishing financially.
Graham intended his new magazine to be popular amongst both men and women, containing fashion, photographs, music, short stories and critical reviews. He also hoped to reach out to both mainstream audiences and those with more refined tastes. Graham was not a writer himself, other than a section at the back of each issue called "Graham's Small Talk", and so relied heavily on contributors. To that end, Graham made sure it was popular amongst writers as a well-paying journal; the $5 standard become known as a "Graham page". Other journals at the time were paying the standard rate of $1 per page. His attempt at attracting the best contributors worked: Contributors to the magazine included 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:...
, 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...
, Christopher Pearse Cranch
Christopher Pearse Cranch
Christopher Pearse Cranch was an American writer and artist.-Biography:Cranch was born in the District of Columbia. He attended Columbian College and Harvard Divinity School. He briefly held a position as a Unitarian minister...
, Fitz-Greene Halleck
Fitz-Greene Halleck
Fitz-Greene Halleck was an American poet notable for his satires and as one of the Knickerbocker Group. Born and reared in Guilford, Connecticut, he went to New York City at the age of 20, and lived and worked there for nearly four decades. He was sometimes called "the American Byron"...
, George D. Prentice
George D. Prentice
George Dennison Prentice was the editor of the Louisville Journal, which he built into a major newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky. He attracted readers by satire as well as exaggerated reporting and support of the Know-Nothing Party in the 1850s. His writing was said to contribute to rabid...
, Alice
Alice Cary
Alice Cary was an American poet, and the sister of fellow poet Phoebe Cary .-Biography:Alice Cary was born on April 26, 1820, in Mount Healthy, Ohio near Cincinnati. Her parents lived on a farm bought by Robert Cary in 1813 in what is now North College Hill, Ohio. He called the Clovernook Farm...
and Phoebe Cary
Phoebe Cary
Phoebe Cary was an American poet, and the younger sister of poet Alice Cary . The sisters co-published poems in 1849, and then each went on to publish volumes of her own...
. Not all writers, however, were paid. A notice in the May 1841 issue read:
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...
was reportedly the highest-paid contributor to Graham's, receiving $1,600 for the serial "The Islets of the Gulf, or Rose-Budd", later published as Jack Tier, or The Florida Reefs. He received another $1,000 for a series of biographies on distinguished naval commanders. Graham's at one point was advertised as having the most distinctive list of contributors ever achieved by any American magazine. Graham's boasted that many issues of his magazine cost $1,500 for "authorship" alone.
Graham's may have been the first magazine in America to copyright each issue. By March 1842, Graham's Magazine was issuing 40,000 copies. This boom was reflective of a changing market in American readership. 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...
believed its success was due to the appeal of the engravings he provided for each issue. The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post is a bimonthly American magazine. It was published weekly under this title from 1897 until 1969, and quarterly and then bimonthly from 1971.-History:...
reported that the August 1841 issue of Graham's cost $1,300 for these "embellishments". The Post reported April 30, 1842: "It is doubtful, if engravings of equal beauty ever adorned an American work". Typical engravings in Graham's included bridges, happy maids, and scenes which focused on peaceful domestic life and promoted marriage. The editorial staff grew to include "two lady editors", Ann S. Stephens
Ann S. Stephens
Ann Sophia Stephens was an American novelist and magazine editor. She was the author of dime novels and is credited as the progenitor of that genre.- Early life :...
and Emma Catherine Embury
Emma Catherine Embury
Emma Catherine Embury was an American author and poet.-Biography:Embury was born in New York City on February 25, 1806, to Dr. James R. Manley and Elizabeth Post. She became a regular contributor of juvenile verse and stories to the New York Mirror by the age of twenty. On May 10, 1828 she...
.
Poe as editor
Graham hired Edgar Allan PoeEdgar 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...
as a critic and editor in February 1841 at an annual salary of $800. Poe suspended his plans to start his own 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...
, to work for Graham, who promised to help subsidize Poe's entrepreneurial endeavor within a year, though he never did. Poe complained about the content of Graham's; he particularly disliked "the contemptible pictures, fashion-plates, music and love tales" for which the magazine was known. Graham, however, was aware of Poe's status as an author and critic and knew he would increase the magazine's popularity. He introduced his new editor in the pages of the magazine: "Mr. POE is too well known in the literary world to require a word of commendation."
Poe had an assistant editor who aided in corresponding with contributors, allowing him enough free time to write his own stories. Poe also had a decent relationship with Graham and took advantage of the editorial control he was granted. The magazine was the first to publish "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...
", "A Descent into the Maelström
A Descent into the Maelstrom
"A Descent into the Maelström" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. In the tale, a man recounts how he survived a shipwreck and a whirlpool. It has been grouped with Poe's tales of ratiocination and also labeled an early form of science fiction.-Plot:...
", "The Island of the Fay" and others. He also reviewed Charles Dickens's
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
The Old Curiosity Shop
The Old Curiosity Shop
The Old Curiosity Shop is a novel by Charles Dickens. The plot follows the life of Nell Trent and her grandfather, both residents of The Old Curiosity Shop in London....
, Nathaniel Hawthorne's
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...
Twice-Told Tales
Twice-Told Tales
Twice-Told Tales is a short story collection in two volumes by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The first was published in the spring of 1837, and the second in 1842...
, and works by 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...
, Washington Irving
Washington Irving
Washington Irving was an American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century. He was best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works...
and many others. He also further built up his reputation as a harsh literary critic, causing 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...
to suggest Poe sometimes mistook "his phial of prussic acid for his inkstand". With Graham's, Poe also launched his Literati of New York series, which purportedly analyzes the signature
Signature
A signature is a handwritten depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. The writer of a signature is a signatory. Similar to a handwritten signature, a signature work describes the work as readily identifying...
s of well-known figures in the New York scene, but which featured Poe taking pot-shots at their personalities. The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily newspaper that serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area of the United States. The newspaper was founded by John R. Walker and John Norvell in June 1829 as The Pennsylvania Inquirer and is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the...
in October 1841 called Poe's article "the most singular, and at the same time, the most interesting article" in the magazine.
Poe left Graham's employ in April 1842 but still made occasional contributions. In 1847, he voluntarily took a cut in the usual payment to $4 per page to cover a debt he owed to Graham.
Though he originally called his salary "liberal," Poe would later complain of his "nambypamby" payment of $800 per year when compared to Graham's alleged $25,000 in profit. A possibly apocryphal story is that Poe returned to the office in April 1842 after a brief illness to find Charles Peterson, another editor, sitting at his desk and performing his duties. Upset, he impulsively resigned on the spot. By then, however, he had already made a significant impact on Graham's. A year after Poe's departure, Philadelphia editor George Lippard
George Lippard
George Lippard was a 19th-century American novelist, journalist, playwright, social activist, and labor organizer. Nearly forgotten today, he was one of the most widely-read authors in antebellum America. A friend of Edgar Allan Poe, Lippard advocated a socialist political philosophy and sought...
said, "It was Mr. Poe that made Graham's Magazine what it was a year ago; it was his intellect that gave this now weak and flimsy periodical a tone of refinement and mental vigor".
After Poe
Rufus Wilmot GriswoldRufus 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...
, a well-known critic and anthologist as well as Poe's greatest rival, took over editing after Poe's departure in April 1842. The replacement was so quick, a rumor persisted for years that Poe went to work one day and saw Griswold already in his chair. Though the story is not true, Griswold's hiring and Poe's departure were somewhat controversial. As reported in the Washington Index Jesse E. Dow wrote: "We would give more for Edgar A. Poe's toe nail, than we would for Rueful Grizzle's soul, unless we wanted a milk-strainer. Them's our sentiments." Griswold was reportedly paid a salary of $1000 a year, $200 more than Poe. As an editor, Griswold had some success, including a contract with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow to write for Graham's exclusively for a time. Longfellow was paid about $50 for each poem printed. Graham's was also the first to publish Longfellow's play The Spanish Student in 1842; he was paid $150 for it.
By September 1842, Graham was unhappy with Griswold's work and made an offer for Poe to return, though he refused. Late in 1844 Poe 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 turned it down. Some accounts say Graham may have given $15 to Poe as a friendly charity, but that he 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 his theories on good writing. Joseph Ripley Chandler
Joseph Ripley Chandler
Joseph Ripley Chandler was a Whig member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.-Biography:Joseph R. Chandler was born in Kingston, Massachusetts. He was engaged in commercial work in Boston, Massachusetts, and moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1815...
and Bayard Taylor
Bayard Taylor
Bayard Taylor was an American poet, literary critic, translator, and travel author.-Life and work:...
also had short runs as editorial assistants for the magazine in 1848 and Edwin Percy Whipple
Edwin Percy Whipple
Edwin Percy Whipple was an American essayist and critic.-Biography:He was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts in 1819. For a time, he was the main literary critic for Philadelphia-based Graham's Magazine. Later, in 1848, he became the Boston correspondent to The Literary World under Evert Augustus...
was its main literary critic for a time.
Decline
In 1848, after some financial difficulties caused by poor copperCopper
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...
investments, Graham sold the magazine to Samuel Dewee Patterson, though he retained the title of editor. Sartain, whose engravings had become an important part of Graham's, left to found his own journal, Sartain's Union Magazine, in 1849. People who sympathized with Graham's difficulties helped him regain some of his fortune and he bought back his interest in the magazine in 1850. 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...
beginning in that year 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.
See also
Other American journals that Edgar Allan Poe was involved with include:- American Review: A Whig JournalAmerican Review: A Whig JournalThe American Review, alternatively known as The American Review: A Whig Journal and The American Whig Review, was a New York City-based monthly periodical. Published by Wiley and Putnam, it was owned and operated by George H. Colton.-History:...
- Broadway JournalBroadway JournalThe Broadway Journal was a short-lived New York City-based periodical founded by Charles Frederick Briggs and John Bisco in 1844. A year later, the publication was bought by Edgar Allan Poe, becoming the only magazine he ever owned, though it failed after only a few months under his...
- Burton's Gentleman's MagazineBurton's Gentleman's MagazineBurton'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...
- Godey's Lady's BookGodey's Lady's BookGodey's Lady's Book, alternatively known as Godey's Magazine and Lady's Book, was a United States magazine which was published in Philadelphia. It was the most widely circulated magazine in the period before the Civil War. Its circulation rose from 70,000 in the 1840s to 150,000 in 1860...
- Southern Literary MessengerSouthern Literary MessengerThe Southern Literary Messenger was a periodical published in Richmond, Virginia, from 1834 until June 1864. Each issue carried a subtitle of "Devoted to Every Department of Literature and the Fine Arts" or some variation and included poetry, fiction, non-fiction, reviews, and historical notes...
- The StylusThe StylusThe 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...
External links
- The Casket and Graham's Magazine at Edgar Allan Poe Society online
- Graham's Magazine at Google Book SearchGoogle Book SearchGoogle Books is a service from Google that searches the full text of books that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical character recognition, and stored in its digital database. The service was formerly known as Google Print when it was introduced at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October...