The name of these original “magazines” naturally suggests to the present-day reader a very incorrect idea of their general appearance and contents, thanks to the luxurious works of art that American enterprise has put into publications now classed as magazines.
Franklin’s magazine, for example, had but one illustration, and a poor one at that, a representation of the Prince of Wales’ feathers and the motto “Ich dien” on its front page.
It was only a 12mo; yet under existing conditions the labor of filling seventy-six pages with small print month after month and the neat manner in which the work was performed reflect the highest credit upon the publisher and was deserving of more favorable circumstances. The contents of each number bear a favorable comparison with the best magazines of today.
Dr. William Smith, provost of the University of Pennsylvania, soon manifested a practical interest in intellectual affairs in the province in an effort to found a literary review called “The American Magazine and Monthly Chronicle for the British Colonies.”
The first number appeared October, 1757, and was printed by William Bradford, presumably for “a society of gentlemen,” which in truth consisted of Dr. Smith and several of his pupils in the college. This periodical was principally devoted to political matters, literary discussions and poetry. It was discontinued November 14, 1758, and Pennsylvania had not yet had a successful magazine.
Between 1741 and the close of the century nearly fifty magazines were born in America, only deservedly to die. Philadelphia and Boston struggled for literary supremacy, yet the four magazines of today which may be called the veterans of the field are the North American Review, Harper’s, and Scribner’s, each published in New York, and the Atlantic, published in Boston.
But Philadelphia was long the home of three widely circulated magazines—Graham’s, Peterson’s and Godey’s Lady’s Book. The last named was perhaps the most famous, established in July, 1830, by Louis A. Godey, and it reached the enormous circulation of 150,000 a month in the heyday of its prosperity.
If the Saturday Evening Post is regarded as a magazine, Philadelphia is today the home of the oldest and largest in the world.