American magazines got off to an auspicious start during the colonial era as the first two publications lasted for three, then six monthly issues respectively. Published by and for the new American aristocracy in a nation plagued by bad roads, poor postal service, and a population more concerned with settlement than style, most focused on political content. Though they employed the essay style popularized in England, they were designed to stimulate a new American literature. The persistence of the eras early pioneers paid off during the first half of the 19th century as American magazines emerged with their own editorial standards and a strong nationalist voice. This volume is the first of three devoted to American magazine editors and publishers of periodicals having substantial literary content.
46 entries include: William Bradford III, Mathew Carey, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Griswold Goodrich, Sarah Josepha Hale, John Inman, Edgar Allan Poe, George Ripley, Ann Sophia Stephens and Noah Webster.