Cover of September 1911 issue. |
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| Categories | Literary magazine |
|---|---|
| Publisher | William d'Alton Mann (1900-1911) John Adams Thayer (1911-1914) Eugene Crowe and Eltinge F. Warner (1914-1930} |
| First issue | March 1900 |
| Final issue | July 1930 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Smart Set was a literary magazine founded in America in March 1900 by Colonel William d'Alton Mann.
Contents |
Mann had previously published Town Topics, a gossip rag which he used for political and social gain among New York City's infamous elite known as "The Four Hundred." With The Smart Set, Mann initially wanted to publish fiction written by The Four Hundred as his entrance into the literary world, but he found they had little talent. He soon gave full editorial authority to Charles Hanson Towne who ran the magazine from 1904 to 1909 when Norman Boyer took over the editorship until 1913.
During Boyer's control over The Smart Set, Mann sold the magazine in 1911 to retired publisher and former advertising guru John Adams Thayer for $100,000. Thayer offered the editorship of the magazine to both H.L. Mencken and George Jean Nathan, two contributors and reader favorites, who turned the position down; however, they recommended Willard Huntington Wright for the job. Wright would hold the position for only a single year, 1913–14, but in that time he introduced major European authors such as D.H. Lawrence to the magazine's readers. Despite Wright's international literary connections, his extravagant, and sneaky, spending of Thayer's money caused him to be fired.
Thayer held onto ownership of The Smart Set until 1914 when he sold his majority holdings to Eugene Crowe and Eltinge F. Warner. Shortly after gaining control of the magazine, Crowe and Warner convinced Mencken and Nathan to become co-editors. Under Mencken and Nathan's control, The Smart Set provided a haven for writers just getting started, as well as for established authors whose more daring efforts could find no other market. From 1914 to 1923, these friends would direct The Smart Set with a combination of literary dexterity and cantankerous aplomb. The two men of letters would help introduce readers to a wide scope of authors such as Dorothy Parker, Aldous Huxley, Sinclair Lewis, James Joyce, Dashiell Hammett, and many more.
Because of these two vastly talented men, The Smart Set was able to survive falling readership and revenue caused by Wright's financial indifference and, later, World War I. Beginning in 1915 with Parisienne, Mencken and Nathan gathered submitted short stories they deemed unsuitable for The Smart Set but, nonetheless, had monetary value. Parisienne along with Saucy Stories in 1916 and Black Mask in 1920 were all fiction magazines initially published by Mencken and Nathan for readers of detective and mystery stories. After establishing a solid readership, the two savvy businessmen sold the magazines for profit using the money to keep The Smart Set financially viable. After nine years of writing, editing, and publishing for others, Mencken and Nathan had had enough of The Smart Set wanting to begin a magazine which would be fully in their control. Upon leaving, the two men got together with publishing magnate Alfred A. Knopf and started The American Mercury. In May 1929, The Smart Set absorbed The New McClure's Magazine. The last issue was published in July 1930 after having changed its name to The New Smart Set for the last three issues.
Written by Doug Zimmerman.
F. Scott Fitzgerald, Willa Cather, Ben Hecht, Carl Van Vechten, Maxwell Anderson, S.S. Van Dine a.k.a. Willard Huntington Wright, Dorothy Parker, Sinclair Lewis, Dashiell Hammett, Aldous Huxley, James Joyce, Eugene O'Neill, Ezra Pound, D.H. Lawrence, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Robinson Jeffers, O. Henry
Inspired by the magazine, The Smart Set (TSS) - a nonprofit that works to increase interest, literacy, and involvement in science, design, and culture - was founded in 2006. The Smart Set became Future-ish in 2010.
In 2007, Drexel University launched an online cultural journal named The Smart Set. Drexel's journal shares some ideals with the original Smart Set, and lists Owen Hatteras, a pen name used by H.L. Mencken and George Jean Nathan of the original journal on its masthead, but its connection to Mencken and Nathan's magazine is unofficial.