The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1884-11-24
DEAD MAGAZINES
Ferlodicals Of Note Which Proved I'd
Be Failures Financially.
hsos'on's Vebtares--Ne.y Eortsss gem.
porary Successes - Periodicals
which Brought Inadequate
Returns so Publishers.


Boston Herald
Inc extinction OF The Continent. the maoa-
z-he which Judge Albion Tourgce has for
Two years perslstently endeavoned to astab-
lish, draws attention to q number Of foiIn1c,
VI axe enterprises that have PROCEEDED if
W in the exception Of The North American
iSe'iew, which has been removed fror, The
place OF its nativity, and is published il, .
,IIoaihec form in New York, and Tire i.ady's
Dook' the Philadelphia fashion-plat tarioI
ieai, there Is now no American magazine
published which was in existence at IL, ti,pa
h9rpsls Magazine first appeared
BOSTON, though long the literary center of
.le country, has not been prolific in peri,J
lcals There are mon now livia.e who ,an,a,,,-
Ger fiat curious little affair The ro!vap+-,u-
WHICH Joseph F. buckingham edited. .Jat,as
russell Lowell il early life started The B.y,-
SION Miscellany, which was good eroueb viii,
contributions from Emerson. Iar~faU,,,
hawthorne and It's editor, to merit /, ma, J,
longer life than the very trief oaa il NJ
tanned. There was The Dial. too Of tha
Trdncendentaiists These are all the rnapa.
zines worthy Of note published in our ,;tv
unIi The Atlantic Monthly appeared.
New York had earlier a creditable perio3i-
Cal which obtained much moro Of the ela-
n1ent q permanency. 1t was The E,iclr,-
booker, eS ib!islied considerably oyer = hg!f
| century agi and for Il long time. with the
exception, perhaps, Of Ctrahan's Mara2ine If
Fhithd9lphia, the only literary magazine
| which Published hrst-class matter in the
! country Graham's Magazine was q fashion
periodical hut Bayard Taylor at one time
edited 1t, ard it had contributions from
! Longfeliow, Cooper, Poe and other eminent
writers. 1t died long ago The Knicker-
booker was edited successfully by tho
brothers Willis and Gaylord Clark.
the former a writer of refined noel,
cal temperament, tho latter with a
taste for humor and possessing rood cd
ltorial Judgment Irving, Hawthorne. and
nearly all the newer literati who appeared
were among its contributors. 1t published
| three serial novels which had great no1,nlar-
lty, from John /. Irving, a now almost for
gotten brother of Washington Irving, and
another serial tale from Rev. DR.. Bellows
then young man. Its publishers were a
Boston firm ct one time, though it was issued
in New York, and it was very Handsomely
printed. 1t was looked upon as q per,na-
neney until dafYtr's INtnams and The At
lantie appeared. Than it gradually fell OFT
In circulation until it ceased to be profitable.
and was bought by james r. Gilmore CID
nnna Kfrke'1, who united it with The Con-
tinenti Magazine in 1861. This periodical
| lived about four years afterward.
Harper's Magazine appeared in 1850 It
was followed three years later bv Putuarr's
magazine, the first volume of which was is
suatl in 1853 This was. perhaps, the most
promising of all the periodicals that have
been failures financially. It had q remark
ably able list OF contributors. M Charles
+. Briggs was its real editor, but George
William Curtis took great interest in the en-
terTriso and was identified close with ii. He
wipte his "Pruo and T. papers for its pages.
and many other articles Parke Goitvin was
another Of the New York writers who did
much for it. It enlisted Lowell aud Iongfrl
low from Boston, and il may b. said "a
have had every writer Of note that IL de-
! sired, for HaIpcl"s was then publishing
! chiefly selections from English magazines
Eutnam's sensational article Have Ne 1,
Bourbon Among Us?" appeared in its second
number. Therc are those who date its down
fall from this point It is more probable
however, that it died partly from lack Of
capital, partly from want of business skill
in its publication. and perhaps somewhat.
too, because tho country was not ready for q
strictly literary periodical Of so high q tone
Il ceased publication in December, 1851. IN
1858, p little more tGau ten years later, il
was revived; but il then lived only tive
years.
Hours at Home was the next periodical oi
importance started. It camc from the house
of Charlas Serihner 6 Co in 1865. It vas q
semi-reiigious magazine, very careful Of the
! moral tone Of Its articles. Hours at Home
never had much popularity, but there wa,
ample capital to continue it had its publish
ers been SO disposed 1t is now chiefly re-
mcnberei rs the proursor of Scribnoi',
Magazine, which is 50 widely known by it.
later name The Century
Tho Galaxy followed in 1865 This reyi
K odical was Utmost rs high in its literary tont
as was Putnam's Magazine, and it was con
siderebly more popular in the character o
It's matter We doubt il there has ever beer
n more readable publication than was ThC
Galaxy. 1t was very slillfully edited, hcins
mostly original i'll its contents, get intro
lucing some capital English novels to il,
readers. Mrs. Annie Edwards delightful
novel, archie Lowell, first appeared in thi
country in the pages OF the Galaxy, justin
Mccarthy wrote his admirable sketches o
English public men for it. II ought to hav,
lived indefinitely; it did continue twalvt
years The competition Of the Illustration
Of Rarper's and 'Scribner's was too much fol
it, and it died in 1878.
Appeton's Journal was established as
weekly literary journal in 1889. It continued
In this form till 1916, when it became ;
monthly. It was an expensive illustrated
periodical of considerable merit but it diC
not hit the popular taste Victor Hugo
1.-THE Man Who Laughs was its first serial
Il tried several others and struck out special
ties TO attra readers. I'll was Of no avail
ard the publishers, tired Of their outlay witt
out adequate return, abandoned its puhhcn
| tinn ut tie cllen of the YeGr 1850.