Graham's Magazine
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Graham's Magazine was a Philadelphia-based periodical established by George Rex Graham, 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, Graham's Illustrated Magazine of Literature, Romance, Art, and Fashion (July 1856 - 1858) [1]. In December of 1840, Graham had just acquired Burton's Gentlemen's Magazine, as well as its 3,500 subscribers, and merged it with another recently-purchased magazine, Atkinson's Casket, which only had 1500 subscribers.
Graham intended the magazine to be popular amongst both men and women, containing fashion, photographs, music, short stories and critical reviews.
Graham hired Edgar Allan Poe as a critic and editor in February 1841. Poe complained about the content of Graham's. He 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. 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" [2].
Even so, Poe had a decent relationship with Graham, and took advantage of his own editorial control. The magazine was the first to publish The Murders in the Rue Morgue, A Descent into the Maelstrom, 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, Rufus Wilmot Griswold and many others [3]. Poe left Graham's employ in April of 1842.
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. Griswold, arguably Poe's greatest rival, took over editing after Poe's departure in April 1842. Griswold was reportedly paid a salary of $1000 a year, $200 more than Poe. Like Poe, Griswold held his editorial role with Graham's for only about a year. To his credit, Griswold had some success, including a contract with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow to write for Graham's exclusively for a time [4].
Later, Poe allegedly offered first publication of "The Raven" to Graham, who refused. 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 the technique of writing well [5].
By March 1842, Graham's Magazine was issuing 40,000 copies. This boom was reflective of a changing market in American readership [6]. However, competition with Harper's New Monthly Magazine in 1850 caused significant drops in subscriptions. The publication ended in 1858.
[edit] See also
Other American journals that Edgar Allan Poe was involved with include:
- American Review: A Whig Journal
- Broadway Journal
- Burton's Magazine
- Godey's Lady's Book
- Southern Literary Messenger
[edit] Reference
Sova, Dawn B. Edgar Allan Poe: A to Z. Checkmark Books, 2001.
- ^ [1]
- ^ Silverman, Kenneth: Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance, p. 163.
- ^ [2]
- ^ Silverman, Kenneth: Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance, p. 216.
- ^ Hoffman, Daniel: Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe, pp. 79-80.
- ^ Silverman, Kenneth: Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance, p. 174.
