Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - Works - Annuals, Magazines and Periodicals

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It may seem strange today to consider that magazines and newspapers in Poe's day, in addition to providing news and information, were also the chief outlets for fiction and poetry. With the exception of a few of the poems, all of Poe's writings made their first appearance in the pages of magazines, newspapers and annuals. Even Poe's one novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, began as a serial in the pages of The Southern Literary Messenger. One must also remember that Poe was employed over the years by several magazines in some editorial capacity. (Briefly, he owned The Broadway Journal.) As an editor, and sometimes merely as a regular contributor, Poe wrote a great deal of material in the form of literary reviews and notices, miscellaneous essays, editorial filler and even plate articles.

Most magazines listed below survive today chiefly in the form of bound volumes, although they were originally sold as individual issues, with paper covers. These covers were often brightly colored, and featured ornate borders and titles. In many case, they carried a table of contents for the issue on the front or back cover, with the interior sides generally taken up by advertising or the magazine's own prospectus. For magazines, a reader could purchase a single copy through a bookstore or other agent, or subscribe for six issues, generally sent one per month. At the end of a period, most typically running January - June and July - December, the last issue included a title page and index or table of contents for the volume. The individual issues were then taken to a binder, and bound in accordance with the preferences and the financial means of the owner. In the process of binding, the covers were generally discarded, making them quite scarce today.

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Annuals and Gift Books (with at least one first printing or authorized reprinting)

In the middle of the 19th century, annuals were popular gifts for the new year. These annuals printed a pleasant mixture of poetry, fiction and occasionally essays or other articles. In keeping with the spirit of being gifts, the collections were often beautifully bound and carried lavish engravings. Most annuals were issued by about November of the year prior to the official date of the collection.

(These items are listed alphabetically)

The American Keepsake (New York, Poe item in the volume for 1851)
The Baltimore Book (Baltimore, Poe item in the volume for 1838) (Some copies, presumably residuals from 1838, were modified and sold for 1839. In these copies, the publication date of 1838 has been removed from the title page and “1839” added to the spine of the binding.)
The Gift (Philadelphia, Poe items in the volumes for 1836, 1840, 1842, 1843 and 1845)
The Irving Offering (New York, Poe items in the volume for 1851) (Reprinted as The Wintergreen for 1852) (Both of these incarnations include the same Poe story, “A Descent Into the Maelstrom.”)
The May Flower (Boston, Poe item in the volume for 1846)
The Missionary Memorial (New York, Poe item in the volume for 1846) (Reprinted as Christ's Messengers in volumes for 1847 and 1848) (Also reprinted as The Missionary Offering in volumes for 1850 and 1853, and as The Christian Souvenir in a volume for 1851.) (All of these various incarnations include the same Poe poem, “The Lake.”)
The Opal (New York, Poe items in the volumes for 1844, 1845)

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Magazines and Newspapers (of which Poe served in an editorial capacity at some point)

(These items are listed chronologically by Poe's period of serving on the staff.)

The Southern Literary Messenger (Richmond, VA, August 1834 - June 1864.) (Poe served on the staff July 1835 - January 1837)
Burton's Gentleman's Magazine (Philadelphia, July 1837 - December 1840.) (Poe served on the staff about June 1839 - May 1840)
Alexander's Weekly Messenger (Philadelphia, January 4, 1837 - Nov. 1, 1848 [?]) (Also, Alexander's Express Messenger and Weekly Chronicle, later Alexander's Express Messenger and Alexander's Pictorial Messenger.) (This newspaper was connected with W. E. Burton, and Poe served as a dual editor of Burton's and Alexander's December 18, 1839 - May 6, 1840.)
Graham's Magazine (Philadelphia, January 1841 - December 1858) (Full title: Graham's Lady's and Gentleman's Magazine) (Formerly: The Casket)
The Saturday Museum (Philadelphia, December 10, 1842 - October 5, 1844.) (About March 1843, it was announced that Poe was officially connected with this newspaper, although Poe wrote to J. R. Lowell that the announcement was premature.)
The Evening Mirror (New York) (See also: The New York Mirror) (Based on a description by N. P. Willis, Poe served as a sub-editor of the Evening and Weekly Mirror, September 1844 - February 1845)
The Weekly Mirror (New York) (See also: The New York Mirror)
The Broadway Journal (New York, January 4, 1845 - January 3, 1846.) (Poe served on the staff March 1, 1845 - Jan. 3, 1846)

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Magazines and Newspapers (with at least one first printing or authorized reprinting)

(These items are listed alphabetically)

The American Monthly Magazine (New York, 1833 - May 1838)
The American Museum (Baltimore, September 1838 - June 1839) (Full title: The American Museum of Science, Literature, and the Arts)
The American Review (New York, January 1845 - December 1852) (Later, The American Whig Review.)
The Baltimore Saturday Visiter (Baltimore, February 4, 1832 - April 10, 1847 (?).)
The Casket (Philadelphia, January 1826 - December 1840) (See also: Graham's Magazine)
The Columbia Spy (Columbia, Pennsylvania, 1830-1919)
The Flag of Our Union (Boston, Massachusetts, 1846-1871)
Godey's Lady's Book (Philadelphia, July 1830 - August 1898)
The Home Journal (New York, February 14, 1846 - March 23, 1901) (after 1901, it became Town and Country)
The New York Mirror (New York, 1823 - 1858 (?)) (Began as The New York Mirror and Ladies's Literary Gazette. Also, The New Mirror, later The Evening Mirror and The Weekly Mirror)
The New Mirror (New York) (See also: The New York Mirror)
The Pioneer (Magazine, Boston, January 1843 - March 1843)
The Saturday Courier (Newspaper, Philadephia, 1831 - March 4, 1848) (Also, M’Makin's Model American Courier, March 11, 1848 - March 1, 1851, and later continued as the American Saturday Courier, March 8, 1851 - Nov. 8, 1856.)
United States Magazine and Democratic Review (Washington, D. C. and New York, October 1837 - October 1859.)
xxxxxxxxx (xxxxxx, xxxx - xxxx.)

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Magazines and Newspapers (with only unauthorized reprintings)

These items are listed alphabetically.

Bentley's Miscelleny (Magazine, London, January 1837-1868 and New York, January 1838 -?)
Boston Museum (Boston and Cleveland, June 3, 1848 - 1860 [?])
xxxxxxxxx (xxxxxx, xxxx - xxxx.)

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Bibliography:

Blanck, Jacob, compiler, Bibliography of American Literature, 8 vols, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1955-1990. (Compiled for the Bibliographical Society of America. Edgar Allan Poe is included in volume 7, edited and completed by Virginia L. Smyers and Michael Winship, 1983. This bibliography includes only the poetry and tales, with some additional material. It makes no attempt to list Poe's voluminous editorial material, essays or reviews. It includes several of the annuals, but does not concern itself with magazines or newspapers.)
Brigham, Clarence S., Edgar Allan Poe's Contributions to “Alexander's Weekly Messenger”, Worcester, Mass.: The American Antiquarian Society, 1943.
Harrison, James A., “Bibliography of the Writings of Edgar A. Poe” in The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe, New York: T. Y. Crowell, 1902, vol. XVI, pp. 355-379. (Reprinted by New York: AMS Press, 1965) (This bibliography contains a number of items that have since been determined are not by Poe and does not include some that are by Poe. Its usefulness has been greatly undercut.)
Heartman, Charles F. and James R. Canny, A Bibliography of the First Printings of the Writings of Edgar Allan Poe, Hattiesburg: The Book Farm, 1943. (Reprinted by New York: Kraus Reprint Co., 1977. This book is extremely useful, but far from definitive.)
Heartman, Charles F. and Kenneth Rede, A Census of First Editions and Source Materials by Edgar Allan Poe in American Collections, Metuchen, 1932, 3 vols. (This bibliography is now exceedingly rare and has generally been supplanted by the Heartman and Canny bibliography listed above.)
Mabbott, Thomas Ollive, Index to Early American Periodical Literature 1728-1870: Part 2 - Edgar Allan Poe, New York: Pamphlet Distributing Company, 1941. (Note: Mabbott later repudiated this index, which was published without giving him a chance to review the text. By his own admission, it includes many items that are probably not by Poe. Mabbott, Poems, 1969, p. 503 n3.)
Mabbott, Thomas Ollive, The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe - Volume I, Poems, Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1969. (Mabbott's definitive collection effectively establishes the canon for the poems.)
Mabbott, Thomas Ollive, The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe - Volumes II & III, Tales & Sketches, Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1978. (Mabbott's collection effectively establishes the canon for the short stories and several editorial items.)
Mott, Frank Luther, A History of American Magazines, 3 vols., Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1938-1939. (An invaluable resource for the history of 18th and 19th century American magazines.)
Robertson, John W., A Bibliography of the Writings of Edgar A. Poe, 2 vols, San Francisco: Russian Hill Private Press, Edwin and Robert Grabhorn, 1934.
Spannuth, Jacob E. and T. O. Mabbott, Doings in Gotham, Pottsville, PA.: Jacob E. Spannuth, 1929. (Poe's contributions to the Columbia Spy.)
Trent, William Peterfield, John Erskine, Stuart P. Sherman and Carl Van Doren, eds., “Bibliographies — Poe,” The Cambridge History of American Literature, 4 vols, New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1934, vol 2, chapter XIV, pp. 452-460. (This simple, chronological listing of Poe's works carries no explanations for attributions. Although the editors note that they have omitted disputed items, they still managed to include some material that has since been rejected from the canon.)

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[S:0 - JAS] - Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - Works - Annuals, Magazines and Periodicals