Magazine History

The Magazinist

Critical Thinking for Publishers

Magazine History

In the weeks ahead we'll continue to post sections of A Publisher's History of American Magazines, a comprehensive overview of the business of magazine publishing as it evolved in this country.

This is a manuscript still very much in development, and parts may change from time to time. Later chapters may be started before earlier chapters are complete. That's to hold your interest while ours wanders.

Citations will probably remain incomplete for a while. We'll eventually post references for each chapter... but in the meantime, trust is a wonderful thing.

Questions and concerns can be addressed to the author. We welcome all inquiries and comments... corrections most of all.

A Publisher's History of American Magazines

Chapter One: Background and Beginnings

Part One: A few thoughts on evolution, especially of language and writing.

Part Two: Gutenberg causes more fuss than he may have intended.

Part Three: The peace is disturbed by journalists and similar miscreants.

Part Four: The press lands in America and makes itself at home.

Part Five: Showing that today's uncivil partisans are mere pikers compared to their 18th-century predecessors.

A Table of Colonial American Newspapers

Chapter Two: Eighteenth-Century American Magazines

Part One: The gun sounds, Bradford gets the jump on Franklin, and we're off and running.

Part Two: America's toddling magazine business finds its feet and totters forward.

Part Three: Showing how publishers threw their shoulders to the wheel as the smoke cleared.

Part Four: Inquiring why reasonable people would do such things.

A Table of 18th-century American magazines.

Chapter Three: Magazine Growth in the Nineteenth Century

Part One: Showing that the country, like its youth, learned to read as it grew.

Part Two: In which printing keeps pace with the press.

Part Three: Distribution, probably neither here nor there.

Part Four: The emergence of advertising in American magazines.

References for Chapter Three

Chapter Four: Magazines in the Early Nineteenth Century

Part One: Joseph Dennie and the Port Folio. New posting!

Part Two: A circle forms around the Dial.

Part Three: Edgar Allan Poe and the invention of the short story.

Part Four: Washington Irving and his wandering fancy. New posting!