The Pioneer (Boston, MA)

The Pioneer was an ambitious but short-lived magazine, for which only three issues were printed. The publishers were quickly overwhelemed by debt, exacerbated by Lowell's illness. The cover of each issue describe it as a “three sheet periodical,” noting that it was “printed by Freeman and Bolles,” with the cost of subscription being “$3 per. ann. in adv.”

Full Title: The Pioneer: A Literary and Critical Magazine

Issued: The Pioneer: Vol. I (January-March, 1843)

Editor(s): James Russell Lowell and Robert Carter

Publisher(s): Leland and Whiting. Printed in Boston by Freeman and Bolles.

Location: Boston, MA

8vo (noted in the prospectus and on the title page as “royal octavo”) (10 in x 6 1/2 in). Salmon colored paper wrappers, printed.

Because it was available for only three months, the usual number of six issues for a volume was not reached. Most surviving copies, therefore, are in the original paper wrappers, although these are not always intact or in good condition. Still, a surprizing number of copies survive, although it is unclear whether this is a testimony to Lowell or to the Poe material preserved in each of the three issues.

• Harvard College Library (Henry W. Longfellow's copies, with his signature)
• Poe Foundation (Richmond, VA)
• Huntington Library (San Marino, CA)
• Library of Congress (Washington, DC)
• American Antiquarian Society (Worcester, MA)
• Others