American Children's Periodicals, 1789-1872

By Pat Pflieger

Between 1789 and 1873, almost 400 periodicals for children were published in the United States.

They contained the work of major writers and artists.  Harriet Beecher Stowe edited the Youth's Magazine and Juvenile Harp and wrote for Our Young Folks; Louisa May Alcott edited and wrote for Robert Merry's Museum; Nathaniel Hawthorne published in Boys' and Girls' Magazine.  Winslow Homer provided illustrations for Our Young Folks.  Thomas Nast illustrated The Little-Pig Monthly.

They were read by future presidents (Theodore Roosevelt enjoyed Our Young Folks even in his 50s) and future architects (Daniel Hudson Burnham read Robert Merry's Museum as a boy).  And they were read by thousands of ordinary Americans.

American Children's Periodicals, 1789-1872 is an attempt to describe every American periodical for children founded or publicly proposed before 1873.  Each periodical is described as completely as possible, with interesting or revealing quotes from the periodical. A bibliography at the end of each description lists places where the periodical has been described or mentioned.

Separate sections list the titles, the editors, the publishers, and the places of publication.  Other lists highlight periodicals edited by female editors, periodicals in languages other than English, religious periodicals, literary periodicals, periodicals devoted to temperance, periodicals for the very young, antislavery periodicals, periodicals founded in the Confederacy, and periodicals affected by the Chicago Fire.  A separate list includes titles not in this bibliography which have appeared in other works on early American periodicals for children.  A annotated bibliography lists works about early American children's periodicals in general.  An introduction gives a brief history of American children's periodicals and discusses aspects of founding and editing them.

American Children's Periodicals, 1789-1872 is the most complete discussion available of these periodicals and the result of over 30 years of research.  It should be valuable to anyone interested in the history of works for children or the history of American periodicals.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: merrycoz books
• Release date: Apr 21, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393233862

Book preview

American Children’s Periodicals,

1789-1872

Second edition

a decoration

Researched and compiled by

Pat Pflieger

About this bibliography

American Children’s Periodicals, 1789-1872 is an attempt to describe every American periodical for children founded or publicly proposed before 1873. The bibliography and descriptions have been compiled from copies I’ve seen; copies reproduced in various microfilm or digital collections; information in directories and academic works; listings in the National Union Catalog and various online library catalogs; and thousands of advertisements, notices, and mentions in newspapers.

While many amateur publications were published during the period, most were available only to the publishers’ family and friends. Here I’ve included those advertised or made available to a wider audience—such as the The Weekly Magpie and Oliver Kendall’s Juvenile Gazette. Other amateur periodicals have slipped in if they’re now widely available: the four issues of the 1815 Youth’s Cabinet are included here because they’ve been reproduced in widely available databases. School papers haven’t been included unless they were widely available.

While gauging audience is always a problem in works for children, and it can be difficult to judge intended readership from catalog descriptions, I’ve tried to focus on works for readers up to age 17 or 18. I’ve also defined periodical to exclude dime novels, which are described in several reference works.

The bibliography is organized chronologically. Descriptions come from copies I’ve seen or from issues reproduced in microform or digitally; when I haven’t found a copy in any format, I’ve combed secondary sources and online library catalogs for information. In the entries, I’ve tried to be as informative as possible, including interesting or revealing quotes from or about the periodical. I also indicate when issues are available on microfilm or digitally, especially when they’re part of collections available at most university libraries in the U. S. When excerpts from a periodical are available in another source, I’ve indicated it; unfortunately, reprinted material may be edited or contain typographical errors. The bibliography at the end of each entry lists most places I’ve found the periodical mentioned.

Separate sections list the titles, the editors, female editors, the publishers, and the places of publication. Other lists highlight periodicals in languages other than English, religious periodicals, literary periodicals, periodicals devoted to temperance, periodicals for the very young, antislavery periodicals, periodicals founded in the Confederacy, and periodicals affected by the Chicago Fire.

A separate list includes titles not in this bibliography which have appeared in other works on early American periodicals for children.

A annotated bibliography lists works about early American children’s periodicals; for works focused on a particular periodical, go to the entry for that title.

This is the second edition of the reference book. Forty titles have been added; dates and information for dozens of works listed in the first edition have been refined. Several hundred pages of text probably have been added. (I haven’t had the heart to calculate how many.)

No project proceeds far without the help of others. I’d especially like to acknowledge the help of Dr. Deidre Johnson, who loaned reference works. The librarians at the Chester County Historical Society, West Chester, Pennsylvania; and at the Winterthur Library, Wilmington, Delaware, also were helpful. Carol Feurtado, of the Dexter Historical Society, Dexter, Maine, identified Ezekiel Loveyouth and provided information pertinent to Youth’s Cabinet and Little Joker. Writer Jerry Stubblefield pointed out 20th-century issues of The Young Pilgrim. And especially I would like to acknowledge the dedicated librarians at West Chester University, West Chester, Pennsylvania, who have provided outstanding collections of digital material and information on how to use them.

(Why end with 1872? Personal preference. The last issue of one of the most interesting—Robert Merry’s Museum—was published November 1872. While 1873 saw the first issue of St. Nicholas Magazine, an important periodical for children which has made a major impact on American culture, these later periodicals are slicker, more professional, and to me less interesting and engaging.)

American children’s periodicals: Titles

Titles of periodicals are alphabetized by the first title under which the periodical was published. All titles of each periodical are included, followed by beginning and end dates of publication. When the publishing dates of two periodicals with the same title overlap, the place of publication is listed.

The Acorn (1839-1840)

Ke Alaula (April 1866-March 1873)

American Boy’s Magazine • Philadelphia Monthly (June 1870-May 1872)

Apples of Gold (1871-1917)

The Asteroid (1 Aug 1848-after July 1849?)

Band of Hope Visitor (1859)

The Baptist Tract and Youth’s Magazine • Baptist Tract Magazine (July 1827-Dec 1835)

The Bee (9 March 1844-22 April 1845)

The Bouquet (Dec 1841-23 Dec 1843)

The Boys’ and Girls’ Journal • The Boys’ and Girls’ Weekly Penny Journal • The Boys’ and Girls’ Penny Journal • Fithian’s Magazine for Girls and Boys • Fithian’s Miniature Magazine: A Student Manual and Fireside Miscellany Devoted to the Useful and Beautiful (Jan 1848-at least 1854)

Boys’ and Girls’ Literary Bouquet • Boys’ and Girls’ Monthly Bouquet • Boys’ and Girls’ Bouquet (Nov 1842-Dec 1845)

The Boys’ and Girls’ Literary Journal (also, The Boys and Girls Literary Journal) (June-after Aug 1868)

Boys’ and Girls’ Magazine • Boys’ & Girls’ Monthly Library (Jan 1843-after March 1844)

The Boys’ and Girls’ Magazine, and Fireside Companion • Forrester’s Boys’ and Girls’ Magazine, and Fireside Companion (Jan 1848-Dec 1857)

Boys’ and Girls’ New Monthly Magazine (July 1868-)

The Boys and Girls Own Magazine (Jan 1859-Dec 1861)

Boys’ and Girls’ Weekly Catholic Magazine • Boys’ and Girls’ Catholic Magazine • Catholic Weekly Instructor • Weekly Catholic Instructor (6 June 1846-1851)

The Boys’ Daily Journal • Boys’ Journal (Aug 1854-1857)

Boys’ Journal (July 1868-after 1871?)

Boys’ Ledger (1872-1873?)

Boys’ Monthly Gazette (May 1857-April 1858)

The Bright Side • Bright Side and Family Circle (July 1869-after 29 June 1873)

The Bubble (1849?)

Burke’s Weekly for Boys and Girls • Burke’s Magazine for Boys and Girls (6 July 1867-Dec 1871)

The Busy Bee (Nov 1866-after Feb 1874)

The Cadet of Temperance (1852)

The Cadet’s Companion (1851)

California Youths’ Companion • Pacific Pioneer and Youth’s Literary Companion (3 Dec 1864-after 27 Jan 1867)

The Carrier Dove (Sept 1853-Dec 1877)

The Catholic Youth’s Magazine (Sept 1857-Aug 1861)

The Child at Home (Dec 1859-1879?)

Child’s Banner • The Children’s Banner (15 Feb 1865-1865)

The Child’s Cabinet (1832)

The Child’s Casket (also, Children’s Casket) (March-Sept? 1863)

Child’s Companion (1838-Tenth month 1839)

The Child’s Companion and Youth’s Friend (also The Child’s Companion and Truth’s Friend) (Jan 1845-after 1870)

The Child’s Friend • The Child’s Friend and Youth’s Magazine • The Child’s Friend and Family Magazine (Oct 1843-Oct 1858)

The Child’s Friend (1872-after 1873)

"Child’s Gazette" (1843)

The Child’s Gospel Guide (1847-1849)

The Child’s Index • Child’s Delight (Sept 1862-1869)

The Child’s Magazine (July 1827-1844)

The Child’s Magazine (May 1857-April 1858)

The Child’s Newspaper (7 Jan-Sept 1834)

The Child’s Paper (Jan 1852-1897?)

The Child’s Universalist Gazette, and Monthly Visiter (also, The Child’s Universalist Gazette, and Monthly Visitor) • The Child’s Gazette (12 July 1834, Jan 1835)

Child’s World • Youth’s World (1862-after 1884)

Children of the West (1868-1869)

Children’s Advent Herald • Youth’s Guide (May 1846-1860?)

The Children’s Argus (June-after Nov 1870)

Children’s Banner (Syracuse, New York; 1857-after 1885)

Children’s Banner • The Life Boat (Raleigh, North Carolina; April-after July 1867)

The Children’s Book of Choice and Entertaining Reading for the Little Folks at Home (also, The Children’s Monthly Book) (Jan 1855-April 1860)

The Children’s Catholic Magazine (March 1838-Feb 1840)

Children’s Friend (Jan 1826-1827?)

Children’s Friend • The Child’s Friend (April 1851-after Nov 1853)

The Children’s Friend • Friend for Boys and Girls (Dayton, Ohio; 1854-1917)

Children’s Friend (June 1859-after Oct 1861)

The Children’s Friend (Richmond, Virginia; Aug 1862-1 Feb 1865, 1866-June 1915)

The Children’s Friend (West Chester, Pennsylvania; Fifth month [May] 1866-Twelfth month [Dec] 1887)

The Children’s Friend (Louisville, Kentucky; May 1867-after July 1870)

The Children’s Friend (Lexington, Kentucky; 1868-after 1878)

Children’s Guest (Jan 1860-Dec 1870)

Children’s Guide (July 1863-Aug 1865)

The Children’s Hour (Jan 1867-June 1874)

Children’s Magazine (Jan-April 1789)

The Children’s Magazine (Jan 1829-1874)

The Children’s Paper (Jan 1871-after 1873)

Christian Sunday School Journal • The Christian Sunday-School Journal (May 1851-after May 1852)

Der Christliche Kinderzeitung • Christliche Kinderfreund (Cleveland, Ohio; June 1856-after 1879)

Die Christliche Kinderzeitung (St. Louis, Missouri; 1867-1885?)

Classical Journal and Scholar’s Review • Juvenile Rambler • Juvenile Rambler, or, Family and School Journal (Jan 1830-26 Dec 1833)

Cold Water Army and Youth’s Picnic • Cold Water Army (Aug 1841-1843)

The Cold Water Boy (1842-1843)

The Cold Water Girl (1842-1843)

Companion for Youth (17 Nov 1838-11 May 1839)

The Dawn (1 May-1 Oct, 1 Nov 1822)

The Dayspring • Youth’s Dayspring (Jan 1842-Dec 1855)

The Deaf Mute Casket (1860-after 1870)

Demorest’s Young America (Nov 1866-1875)

The Eastern Rose-Bud • Eastern Rose-Bud and Sabbath School Companion (6 March 1841-22 April 1843)

The Encourager (Dec 1844-1847?)

Every Boy’s Magazine (1871)

Every Youth’s Gazette • Youth’s Gazette • Peter Parley’s Youth’s Gazette (22 Jan-31 Dec 1842)

The Excelsior (1858)

The Experiment: a Juvenile Monthly (Jan 1864-)

Expostulator, or Young Catholic’s Guide (31 March 1830-23 March 1831)

Family and School Visitor (Jan 1839-before 31 July 1839)

The Family School (Sept, Nov 1836)

The Favourite Magazine of Instruction and Amusement for Boys and Girls • The Favorite (April-Sept 1852)

Fireside Miscellany and Young People’s Encyclopedia (Sept 1850-July 1851)

The Flower Basket • Flower Basket; or Youth’s Magazine • The Flower Basket; or Youth’s Monthly Monitor (Oct 1850?-March 1852)

The Fly; or Juvenile Miscellany (16 Oct 1805-2 April 1806)

Forest Garland (1853-1854)

The Fountain Fountain (after June 1860)

Frank Leslie’s Children’s Friend • Frank Leslie’s Boys’ and Girls’ Illustrated Weekly • Frank Leslie’s Boys’ and Girls’ Weekly (April 1866-9 Feb 1884)

The Friend of Youth (March 1839-1839)

Friend of Youth (Nov 1849-Oct 1852)

The Genius of Youth (1 June 1852-mid/late 1852)

Die Glocke (The bell) • Sonntagschul Glocke (Sunday-school bell) (about 1856-1900?)

Golden Hours (Jan 1869-1880)

The Golden Rule (May 1846-)

Good Words for the Children (1872-after 1878)

Good Words for the Young (Nov 1868-Oct 1872)

The Guardian, or Youth’s Religious Instructor (Jan 1819-Dec 1824)

The Guardian (1 Sept-15 Nov 1833)

The Guardian and Monitor (Jan 1825-Dec 1828)

Guardian Angel (1867-after 1884)

The Guiding Star: A Sunday Paper for Boys and Girls (4 July 1868-1873)

Happy Hours (1871-1872)

Hebrew Sabbath School Companion (1872)

The Hive (27 Sept 1828-20 Sept 1830)

The Home Gem (Jan 1859-after Feb 1860)

I Will Try (May 1859-after Oct 1860)

The Infants’ Delight • Infants’ Delight (1870-after Dec 1872)

The Infants’ Magazine (Jan 1829-Dec 1842)

Der Jugend-Freund aller Christlichen Benennungen • Christen-Bote und Jugend-Freund • Jugend-Freund und Christen-Bote • Der Jugend-Freund • Der Jugend-Freund und Illustrierte JugendBlätter (16 June 1847-after 1917)

Der Jugend-Pilger (1870-1914?)

Jugend-Zeitung (1843-1845)

The Junior (June 1869-after Nov 1870)

The Juvenile Depository, or Youth’s Mental Casket • Youth’s Mental Casket, and Literary Star • Casket and Star (July 1838-1842?)

Juvenile Gazette (1818)

Juvenile Gazette (Nov 1819-Jan 1820?)

Juvenile Gazette (24 Nov 1827-15 Nov 1828)

Juvenile Gazette (May 1827-1828)

Juvenile Gazette (2 July 1831-)

Juvenile Gazette (Dec 1833)

Juvenile Gazette (18 March 1848-?)

Juvenile Instructor (1844-1867)

The Juvenile Instructor • Instructor • New Era (1 Jan 1866-present)

The Juvenile Key • Family Pioneer and Juvenile Key (18 Sept 1830-23 May 1837)

The Juvenile Lyceum (21 Jan 1837-after 25 April 1837?)

The Juvenile Magazine, or Miscellaneous Repository of Useful Information (1802)

The Juvenile Magazine (May-June 1811, July-Aug 1813)

The Juvenile Magazine (April 1823)

The Juvenile Magazine (27 Jan 1827-Dec 1828)

Juvenile Magazine, and Youth’s Monthly Visiter (Oct 1830, Feb 1831-after April 1832)

Juvenile Mirror and Youth’s Literary Companion (1841)

The Juvenile Miscellany (Sept 1826-Feb 1836, April 1836)

The Juvenile Missionary Intelligencer (March 1835-Feb 1838)

Juvenile Museum (16 Sept 1822-27 Sept 1823)

Juvenile Museum (1829)

Juvenile Port-folio and Literary Miscellany (17 Oct 1812-7 Dec 1816)

The Juvenile Reformer and Sabbath School Instructor (27 May 1835-13 May 1836)

The Juvenile Repertory (Sept 1828-Jan 1829?)

The Juvenile Repository (4 May 1822-28 June 1823)

The Juvenile Repository (Jan-27 March 1830)

The Juvenile Repository (6 July 1833-1834?)

The Juvenile Temperance Watchman • Juvenile Watchman (2 Jan 1854-)

Juvenile Watchman (8 March, 26 April 1833-1835)

The Juvenile Weekly Gazette (9 Feb 1850-13 Dec 1851)

The Juvenile Wesleyan (1843-1852?)

Kind Words for the Sunday School Children • Kind Words, the Child’s Delight (Jan 1866-29 Sept 1929)

Der Kinder-Bote (1871-?)

Der Kinderfreund (1872-1874?)

Kinderzeitung (15 April 1859-15 March 1862)

Ke Kumu Kamalii (Jan-Dec 1837)

Der Lämmer-Hirte • Der Lämmerhirt • Der Lämmer Hirte • Der Lammerhirte • Lammerherte (1857-1940)

The Laurel Wreath (1872?-after 1874)

The Literary Kaleidoscope (1822)

Little American (1 Oct 1862-1864)

Little Bouquet • Little Bouquets • Lyceum Banner • Little Bouquet (15 May 1866-after Dec 1876)

The Little Chief (Jan 1867-Feb 1872)

Little Christian (1871-1904?)

The Little Corporal (July 1865-April 1875)

The Little Corporal’s School Festival • School Festival • National School Festival (Jan 1870-1874)

The Little Folks (1869-1877)

The Little Forester (Jan 1854-Oct 1855)

The Little Gleaner (Aug 1867-1871?)

Little Messenger (July 1868-1 Aug 1873)

The Little Missionary (Dec 1870-1920)

The Little-Pig Monthly (also, The Little Pig Monthly) (May, July 1859)

The Little Pilgrim (Oct 1853-April 1869)

The Little Pioneer (Jan 1860-1861?)

The Little Schoolmate (Dec 1870-Jan 1876; May 1876)

The Little Sower (Jan 1865-1886)

The Little Sunbeam (also, Sunbeam) (June-after Nov 1869)

Little Traveler (Waynesville, Ohio; 1853-1855)

The Little Traveler (Cincinnati, Ohio; Nov 1854-after Dec 1854)

Little Truth-Teller: A New-Church Magazine for Children (Nov 1845-1852)

The Little Watchman (1870-1876)

The Little Wolverine (1854-?)

Loving Words for Children (1871-after 1872)

The Lutheran Sunday-School Herald (Jan 1860-Dec 1910)

Lutherisches Kinder- und Jugendblatt (Jan 1871-Dec 1938)

The Maine Spectator • The Spectator (Jan 8-June 1859)

The Mentor and Youth’s Instructive Companion (15 Dec 1830-after Jan 1831)

The Mentor (May 1850-Dec 1851?)

The Minnesota Pupil • The Minnesota Pupil and Youth’s National Gazette (Dec 1868-after 1872)

The Missionary (1839)

The Missionary News (1837-)

Missionary Visitor • Children’s Visitor (1865-1901)

Monday Express (in 1852)

The Monitor (Jan 1823-Dec 1824)

Monthly Instructor and Fire Side Companion • Forrester’s Playmate • Youth’s Casket and Playmate (July 1854-after Jan 1868)

Monthly Preceptor; or, Universal Repository of Knowledge, Instruction and Amusement (1815)

The Monthly Repository and Library of Entertaining Knowledge (June 1830-1835)

The Monthly Rose (also, the Albany Monthly Rose) (Jan-Dec 1845)

The Monthly Rose • The Monthly Rose, and Literary Cabinet • The Monthly Rose, and Otis School Cabinet • The Monthly Rose, and School Cabinet • The Monthly Rose, and Literary Cabinet • The Monthly Rose (July 1845-after Nov 1847)

The Monthly School Visitor • Clark’s School Visitor • Our Schoolday Visitor • The Schoolday Visitor Magazine • The Schoolday Magazine (1 April 1857-15 April 1875)

Monthly Voice (Jan 1862-Aug 1863, Dec 1863-Jan 1864, April 1864)

The Moral and Religious Repository; or Youth’s Christian Monitor • The Moral and Religious Repository, and Youth’s Christian Monitor • Youth’s Christian Monitor (9 July 1824-)

Morning Light (Jan 1871-after Jan 1877)

The Mt. Vernon Enterprise (1847-?)

The Mountain Rill (April 1845-after May 1845)

The Myrtle (Dover, New Hampshire; 17 May 1845-31 Dec 1904)

The Myrtle (Boston, Massachusetts; 2 Aug 1851-1918)

New Church Magazine for American Children • The Children’s New-Church Magazine (Jan 1843-1891?)

The Nursery (Jan 1867-Oct 1880)

The Ohio Cadet (1852)

Oliver Optic’s Magazine: Our Boys and Girls • Oliver Optic’s Magazine (5 Jan 1867-Dec 1875)

Onward • Mayne Reid’s Magazine Onward (Jan 1869-Feb 1870)

Our Friend (25 Dec 1865-1906?)

Our Leisure Moments (Feb-Dec 1870)

Our Little Ones • Story World (1872-after 31 Aug 1969)

Our Little People • Our Little People Quarterly (Jan 1871-1934)

Our Paper (1861)

Our Young Folks (Jan 1865-Dec 1873)

Our Young Folks’ Illustrated Paper (1 Oct 1871-15 Dec 1873)

The Pacific Youth (1870-1872)

The Parent’s Gift; or Youth’s Magazine (Jan 1830-after Aug 1832)

Parley’s Magazine (16 March 1833-1844)

The Pastor’s Helper • The Child’s Treasury (Jan 1859-after 1903)

The Penny Library for School Children (1 April-3 June 1845)

Picture Lesson Paper • The Picture Story Paper (Jan 1870-1941)

The Pierian (Jan-Sept 1843)

Pioneer (4 May 1857-13 Oct 1858)

The Pious Youth (Jan 1870-Dec 1871)

The Playmate (Sept 1847-May 1848)

The Portfolio (June-Sept 1861)

The Pupil: A Monthly Treasury for School Children (Oct 1855-March 1856?)

Pupil’s Monitor (7 Dec 1833-8 Nov 1834)

Republication of Parley’s Magazine (1857)

Riverside Magazine for Young People (Jan 1867-Dec 1870)

Robert Merry’s Museum (Feb 1841-Nov 1872)

The Rose Bud (March 1832-after Feb 1834?)

Rose Bud, or Youth’s Gazette • Southern Rose Bud • Southern Rose (11 Aug 1832-17 Aug 1839)

Sabbath School Contributor • Light of Zion, and Sabbath School Contributor (6 June 1839-22 June 1843)

The Sabbath School Friend (1840?-)

The Sabbath School Gem (1863-1864, 1869-1873)

The Sabbath School Gem (Nashville, Tennessee; June 1867-after 1891)

Sabbath School Magazine (1832)

The Sabbath School Messenger, and Children’s Friend (Oct 1828-Sept 1829?)

The Sabbath School Messenger, and Children’s Friend (1 May 1831-1832?)

Sabbath School Messenger (June 1837-16 April 1846)

The Sabbath School Monitor • Sunday School Monitor • Light Ship and Sabbath School Monitor (1840-1846 or 1847)

The Sabbath School Repository and Teacher’s Assistant (Jan-Dec 1823)

The Sabbath School Repository (1841)

Sabbath School Star (Feb 1863-after 1870)

Sabbath School Visitant (June 1824-1828)

The Sabbath School Visitant and Juvenile Magazine • Western Sabbath School Visitant, and Juvenile Magazine (10 Jan-31 Dec 1829)

The Sabbath School Visiter (1833-Dec 1843)

Sabbath School Visiter (May 1846-)

Sabbath School Visitor • Presbyterian Sabbath School Visitor (1 Jan 1851-26 Sept 1909)

St. Alfonso’s Angel (perhaps, St. Alphonsus’ Angel) (in 1865)

Sargent’s School Monthly (Jan-Dec 1858)

The Satchel (Feb 1846-1847)

The Satchel (Feb-May 1849)

Scattered Seeds (Fifth month (May) 1869-1935)

The Scholar’s Gazette • Scholar’s Weekly Gazette (13 April 1831-1832)

The Scholar’s Penny Gazette (29 April 1848-17 Aug 1850)

The Scholar’s Quarterly Journal • Scholar’s Journal (Feb 1828-15 Nov 1829)

The Scholars’ Leaf of the Tree of Knowledge (6 Jan 1849-16 Dec 1850)

The School and Family Visitor (15 April-Sept 1864)

The School and Fireside (11 Jan 1867-March 1868)

School Reader (1842)

The Schoolfellow (Jan 1849-Sept 1857)

The Schoolmate (Feb 1852-Oct 1855)

Der Schul- und Hausfreund (1853-)

Schul- und Jugend-Zeitung (about 1855)

Der Schutzengel (1872-1875?)

Schuylkill County School Journal (Jan-Oct? 1854)

The Slave’s Friend (April 1835-before April 1839)

Southern Boys’ and Girls’ Monthly (Jan 1867-July 1868)

The Souvenir, and Youth’s Literary Messenger (Nov 1846-)

Spare Hours (Jan-Dec 1866)

The Sparkling Fount (1858-)

The Sparkling Gem (1867-after 1868)

The Standard-Bearer (1851-after 1867)

The Star of Youth (Dec 1856-1857)

The Student • The Student and Family Miscellany (Nov 1848-Oct 1855)

The Student and Schoolmate • The Student and Schoolmate, and Forrester’s Boy’s and Girl’s Magazine • The Student and Schoolmate • The Schoolmate (Nov 1855-1872)

The Student and Young Tutor (Nov 1846-Oct 1848)

The Sunday-Scholar’s Mirror (1847-1850)

The Sunday Scholars’ Magazine; or, Monthly Reward Book (Jan 1821-)

Sunday School Advocate • Sabbath School Advocate (5 Oct 1841-31 Dec 1921)

Sunday-School Banner (Jan 1859-Dec 1861)

Sunday School Children’s Magazine (1838)

Sunday School Companion (Jan 1869-1904)

Sunday School Gazette • The Dayspring (4 Aug 1849-after Dec 1879)

Sunday School Gem (Jan 1867-after 1946)

Sunday School Herald (1865-after 1926)

Sunday School Magazine (June 1835-1851)

The Sunday-School Magazine • Church School Magazine (Jan 1871-Dec 1931)

Sunday School Messenger (Cleveland, Ohio; June 1864-29 June 1947)

The Sunday School Messenger (Chicago, Illinois; 1868-after June 1875)

The Sunday School Paper for the South (May 1861-April 1862?)

The Sunday School Scholar • Scholar (Jan 1869-1876)

Sunday School Visitor • The Children’s Visitor • The Visitor (Nov 1850-Dec 1854, May 1855-March 1862, 1866-after 1921)

The Sunday Visitant; or, Weekly Repository of Christian Knowledge (3 Jan 1818-25 Dec 1819)

Die Taube (1859-1862)

Teacher’s Offering; or Sabbath’s Scholar’s Magazine • Teacher’s Offering; or Sunday Scholar’s Magazine • Youth’s Friend, and Scholar’s Magazine (Nov 1823-after 1845)

The Tutor, and Boys’ and Girls’ Weekly Album (26 Feb 1841-30 Sept 1842)

Uncle Ezekiel’s Youth’s Cabinet (May 1844-15 March 1846?)

Uncle Peter’s Juvenile Cabinet • The Youth’s Cabinet (May 1846?-?)

Union Sunday School Visitor (1850-1853?)

The Weekly Magpie (30 April?-29 Oct 1859)

The Well-spring • The Wellspring for Young People • The Well-spring and Missionary Echoes • The Wellspring (5 Jan 1844-1928)

Western Sabbath School Repository, and Friend of Youth (1833)

What Next? (March 1872-1874)

What Not (1859-1860)

Work and Play (Jan 1870-March 1872)

The Wreath (1 Nov 1842-1 June 1843)

Young America (West Chester, Pennsylvania; March 1856-after March 1858)

Young America (Cincinnati, Ohio; June 1857-after June 1858?)

Young America and Excelsior (also, The Excelsior, and Young America Magazine)(Jan-after April 1859)

Young America Monthly Magazine (Jan-Dec 1858)

Young American (2 May 1855-9 April 1856)

The Young American (7 Oct 1857-1 Sept 1858)

The Young American (Nov 1859)

The Young American (April-Dec 1869)

Young Americans (1867-1904)

The Young American’s Magazine of Self-Improvement (Jan-Dec 1847)

The Young Cadet (Aug-Oct 1872, Dec 1872-1873?)

The Young Catholic (Oct 1870-after July 1876)

The Young Catholics’ Friend (also, Young Catholic’s Friend) (6 May 1840-after 26 Dec 1840)

Young Catholic’s Friend (1865-1880?)

The Young Catholic’s Guide (May 1867-after July 1870)

Young Catholic’s Magazine (Dec 1841-1842?)

The Young Christian (Jan 1851-1859)

The Young Christian Soldier • The Young Christian Soldier and Children’s Guest • The Young Christian Soldier (Dec 1867-Dec 1911)

Young Churchman’s Miscellany (Jan 1846-Dec 1848)

The Young Crusader • Young Crusader (Jan 1869-Oct 1875?)

The Young Evangelist • The Junior World (1865-1949?)

The Young Folks Gem (Nov 1872-after Nov 1876)

Young Folks’ Friend (Sept 1868-1869)

Young Folks Journal • Little Things (March 1871-May 1874)

Young Folks’ Monitor, and The World We Live In (April 1861-after June 1861)

The Young Folks’ News (16 Dec 1868-after 1882)

Young Folks’ Rural • Young Folks’ Monthly • Young Folks’ Rural (also, Young Folks’ Rural Monthly) (Nov 1870-1883)

Young Israel • Libanon (Jan 1871-1900)

The Young Ladies’ Casket (1841-24 March 1842)

The Young Minnesotian (19 April 1869-6 Dec 1870)

The Young People’s Book (Sept 1841-Aug 1842)

Young People’s Helper • Young People’s Helper and Temperance Visitor (1862-April 1872)

Young People’s Illuminated Magazine (April-June 1857)

Young People’s Journal of Science, Literature, & Art (Nov 1848-?)

Young People’s Magazine (Jan-Dec 1846)

Young People’s Magazine (1868-1887)

The Young People’s Mirror and American Family Visitor • Young People’s Mirror • Mirror (1 Jan 1848-1 Dec 1849)

Young People’s Monthly (15 July, Aug-after Dec 1858)

The Young Pilgrim (Sept 1863-after 1925)

The Young Pilot • Young Pilot and Little Men (Nov 1870-Sept 1871)

The Young Reaper • Young Reaper (Jan 1844-1908?)

The Young Spectator (15 Third month [March]-24 Fifth month [May] 1856)

The Young Sportsman (Portsmouth, New Hampshire; 1870?-1872)

The Young Sportsman (Boston, Massachusetts; Jan 1870-?)

Youth’s Banner (1852-after May 1853)

Youth’s Cabinet (31 March-21 April 1815)

Youth’s Cabinet • New-York Teacher’s Lyceum • Woodworth’s Youth’s Cabinet • Woodworth’s Youth’s Cabinet and Uncle Frank’s Dollar Magazine (28 April 1837-March 1857)

The Youth’s Cabinet (1869-1871)

Youth’s Cabinet and Little Joker (April 1857-after Oct 1857)

The Youth’s Casket (early 1850-1852?)

The Youth’s Casket (Jan 1852-Dec 1857)

Youth’s Companion • Youth’s Companion and Sabbath School Recorder • Youth’s Companion (Boston, Massachusetts; Portland, Maine; 16 April 1827-Sept 1929)

Youth’s Companion, and Weekly Family Visitor • Youth’s Companion and Family Visitor (New York, New York; 1 April 1832-22 March 1834)

Youth’s Companion (Rochester, New York; 1833)

Youth’s Companion (Columbus, Georgia; 1843)

The Youth’s Eclectic (June-after Oct 1867)

The Youth’s Emancipator (May 1842, Aug 1842-Mar 1843)

Youth’s Enterprise (in 1852)

Youth’s Evangelist • The Youth’s Evangelist (Jan 1859-1930?)

Youth’s Family Instructor and Sunday School Visitor (7 Jan 1841-after May 1842)

The Youth’s Friend (El amigo de la juventud) (May 1825)

The Youth’s Friend • Youth’s Monthly Friend (also Monthly Youth’s Friend) (Cincinnati, Ohio; 6 March 1846-1860)

The Youth’s Friend (Augusta, Georgia; 8 Feb 1850-)

The Youth’s Friend (Jan 1866)

Youth’s Galaxy (Jan-June 1853)

Youth’s Gazette (13 Jan-after Feb 1827)

The Youth’s Gazette (1843-26 July 1843)

Youth’s Gazette (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; 10 Twelfth month ]Dec] 1859-17 Third month [March] 1860, 8 Twelfth month [Dec] 1860-23 Third month [March] 1861)

Youth’s Gazette (New York, New York; Jan 1860-after 9 Sept 1865?)

Youth’s Gazette (1871)

Youth’s Gem (1850)

Youth’s Gem and Southern Cadet (Jan 1851-?)

Youth’s Guide and Star (Jan-July 1843)

Youth’s Guide to Piety and Virtue • Youth’s Guide to Piety and Virtue, and Literary Casket (3 Sept 1836-after 5 Aug 1837)

Youth’s Herald and Sabbath School Magazine (Jan 1829-Dec 1830)

Youth’s Instructer and Guardian • Youth’s Instructor and Sabbath School Assistant • Youth’s Instructor and Sabbath School and Bible Class Assistant (1823-1832)

The Youth’s Instructor • Instructor (Washington, District of Columbia; 1852-after Jan 14 1936)

Youth’s Instructor • Insight (Rochester, New York; Battle Creek, Michigan; Aug 1852-present?)

Youth’s Journal (Jan 1828-1829?)

Youth’s Literary Gazette (1 Dec 1832-22 Nov 1833)

Youth’s Literary Messenger (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; May 1837-April 1839)

Youth’s Literary Messenger (Albany, New York; 1838)

Youth’s Lyceum (April-after Sept 1837)

Youth’s Lyceum and Literary Gazette (1834-1836?)

Youth’s Magazine: or, Evangelical Miscellany (Jan 1818-)

Youth’s Magazine; or, Spirit of the Juvenile Miscellany (Jan-Dec 1830)

Youth’s Magazine (Cincinnati, Ohio; 30 Sept 1834-after May 1838)

Youth’s Magazine: A Monthly Miscellany (New York, New York; May 1838-April 1841)

Youth’s Magazine (May 1860-April 1861)

Youth’s Magazine and Juvenile Harp (Jan 1841-after July 1842)

Youth’s Manual • The Weekly Manual • The Youth’s Manual • The Temperance Star • The Youth’s Guide (Jan-26 June, Aug-Dec 1868, Jan-Feb, July-Oct, Dec 1869-Jan, April-12 May 1870)

Youth’s Medallion (17 April 1841-10 Dec 1842)

The Youth’s Miscellany (Utica, New York; Jan 1830-1839?)

The Youth’s Miscellany (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; 27 Feb-after May 1833)

Youth’s Monitor (1840-1842)

Youth’s Monitor (1851-after 1854)

The Youth’s Monitor (Dec 1866-1867)

Youth’s Monthly Magazine (July 1850-June 1851?)

Youth’s Monthly Visitor • Youth’s Monthly Visiter (March 1844-1846)

Youth’s National Gazette (Dec 1854-after June 1856)

The Youth’s News Paper (30 Sept-4 Nov 1797)

Youth’s Penny Gazette • The Youth’s Sunday-School Gazette (also The Youth’s Sunday School Gazette) (11 Jan 1843-1861)

The Youth’s Penny Paper (May 1838-after Feb 1839)

The Youth’s Pictorial Magazine (May 1848)

Youth’s Repository of Christian Knowledge (March, Sept 1813)

Youth’s Repertory and Child’s Magazine (Sept 1831-)

Youth’s Sunday Casket (1842)

Youth’s Temperance Advocate • Youth’s Temperance Advocate and Band of Hope Recorder (Nov 1839-after May 1865)

The Youth’s Temperance Banner (Aug 1846-1846)

The Youth’s Temperance Banner (Jan 1866-1917)

Youth’s Temperance Enterprise (1842-1847)

The Youth’s Temperance Lecturer (July 1832-1833?)

The Youth’s Temperance Monitor (1 Aug 1851)

The Youth’s Temperance Visitor (Feb 1860-April 1861, Sept 1862-April 1872)

The Youth’s Visitor (Jan 1864-Oct 1872)

Youth’s Western Banner (Aug 1853-1853)

Zion’s Hope (1 July 1869-1972)

American children’s periodicals, 1789-1872: Introductory

Between 1789 and 1873, around 430 periodicals for children were published or proposed in the United States. That we’re not knee-deep in them is due to the fact that many appeared for less than a year; several published only one or two issues. Some years were better than others: fourteen periodicals began in 1841. Some were worse: of the twelve periodicals begun in 1857—the year of the Panic—eight ended in 1858.

If many periodicals didn’t outlast their first twelve issues, still, they offered young readers the opportunity to enjoy the works of some of the premiere artists of the time. Samuel Griswold Goodrich edited and wrote for Robert Merry’s Museum, as did Louisa May Alcott. Our Young Folks featured the work of John Townsend Trowbridge and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Popular writer E. D. E. N. Southworth published in Friend of Youth; Nathaniel Hawthorne published an early story in the Boys’ and Girls’ Magazine. Winslow Homer provided illustrations for Our Young Folks, as did Mary Ann Hallock; F. O. Darley’s engravings appeared in the Riverside Magazine for Young People, and he drew the mascot for The Little Pilgrim. Thomas Nast sent an illustration to celebrate the The Little Corporal’s survival after the Chicago Fire and did all the illustrations for The Little-Pig Monthly.

And there is every indication that young readers appreciated the effort. In his fifties, Theodore Roosevelt reminisced about his boyhood reading of Our Young Folks, which I then firmly believed to be the very best magazine in the world—a belief, I may add, which I have kept to this day unchanged, for I seriously doubt if any magazine for old or young has ever surpassed it. … I really believe that I enjoy going over Our Young Folks now nearly as much as ever. Boys in the 1870s voted Our Young Folks their favorite contemporary magazine. One reader of Robert Merry’s Museum fought a boy who slighted the magazine; and some readers who had subscribed as children subscribed to the Museum for their own children. The Museum even had its own fan convention, with subscribers and editors meeting for a social evening. It and Woodworth’s Youth’s Cabinet fostered lively epistolary communities among subscribers by publishing and commenting on their letters, as did Forrester’s Playmate and The Boys’ and Girls’ Magazine, and Fireside Companion.

It took a while for children’s periodicals to become established. They began with the nation: the first issue of Children’s Magazine was January 1789. The emphasis of the Magazine’s four issues was on education: it contained geographical descriptions of the world and fiction on the subject of mathematics, along with poetry and stories exploring social values. Education was the point for most early American periodicals: The Youth’s News Paper distilled articles from newspapers for adults, because A knowledge of this world … would be highly useful to you. The Fly promised Historical and Biographical sketches, Poetry, Tales, Epigrams, Anecdotes, and a variety of incidental matter.

Interestingly, the first title to last more than a handful of issues was published by a teenager: Juvenile Port-folio and Literary Miscellany, which became a paper for adults. Religious periodicals had a better record, because they had an established customer base. One of the earliest, The Sunday Visitant; or, Weekly Repository of Christian Knowledge, appeared for two full years; founded a few years later, The Guardian, or Youth’s Religious Instructor appeared monthly for six years before merging with The Monitor to become The Guardian and Monitor (published for four years).

Religious periodicals dominated periodicals for children in 1820s. In fact, the longest-running secular periodical for children—Youth’s Companion—had its start as a religiously focused paper; a regular feature was the obituary of a young person who had become a Christian.

Secular periodicals began to make headway in the 1830s and 1840s, most blending literature and education, with a sprinkling of generic Protestantism. The Juvenile Miscellany was one of the earliest literary magazines. Parley’s Magazine introduced readers to a wide variety of copiously illustrated subjects, as did Robert Merry’s Museum, The Student, The Schoolfellow, and The Boys’ and Girls’ Magazine, and Fireside Companion.

The emphasis on education continued into the 1850s, with publication of The Schoolmate and The Student and Schoolmate. But there also was a focus on imparting social values, through periodicals like The Little Pilgrim, The Youth’s Casket, and Forrester’s Playmate.

A number of periodicals record the growing tensions as the nation argued its way into Civil War. The Juvenile Miscellany was abandoned by subscribers after its editor promoted the abolition of slavery. Issues of The Slave’s Friend and the Youth’s Cabinet were destroyed by pro-slavery advocates. Robert Merry’s Museum was castigated by both sides; and its subscribers pre-fought the War in the late 1850s. (The Southerners lost.)

Keeping a periodical going was difficult during the Civil War—Northern periodicals missed their Southern subscribers, and fervent Southerners weren’t enough to keep Confederate periodicals going—but the period after the War saw a flood of periodicals for children. Some founded right at the end of the war retained a military air: The Little Corporal used as a mascot Old Abe, a bald eagle carried into battle by a Wisconsin regiment, and its young human mascot was dressed as a Zouave; for its first three years, Our Young Folks centered a sword-wielding Columbia on its cover. Demorest’s Young America tried for gentility, showing on its cover a white middle-class family that readers could aspire to emulate, while the less-literary Oliver Optic’s Magazine appealed to its general audience with images of sports-playing boys and girls. Both magazines lasted longer than the literary Riverside Magazine for Young People, but none lasted as long as two magazines for very young readers: The Children’s Hour and The Nursery. These important titles didn’t, however, outlive the Youth’s Companion, which lasted a generation into the twentieth century, having shed its overwhelming focus on religion.

Editors had many reasons to launch a periodical. Some appear to have done it out of love: of education (the The Juvenile Magazine; I Will Try), of family (Jane Fraser founded the Youth’s Literary Messenger in an effort to help her financially struggling sister). Others were influenced by literary parents: Thomas G. Condie, jr, (Juvenile Port-folio and Literary Miscellany) was the son of a bookseller and writer; The Juvenile Key was, in theory, printed by the young sons of a printer. Some were serial serialists: Ross Alley founded a new periodical every time he moved, as did Joseph F. Witherell and Joseph Tallcot. Editors sometimes had a cause to promote: Slave’s Friend, Youth’s Cabinet, and Friend of Youth focused on abolition; temperance papers included Youth’s Temperance Advocate, The Youth’s Temperance Banner, and The Youth’s Temperance Visitor. Other editors were promoting religion: Protestant (The Well-spring; The Myrtle), Catholic (Expostulator; The Catholic Youth’s Magazine), Spiritualist (Little Bouquet), Jewish (Young Israel), and Mormon (The Juvenile Instructor). Hawaiian children could read two religious periodicals (Ke Alaula; Ke Kumu Kamalii) in their native language; German-speaking children could read over a dozen (Die Taube; Schul- und Jugend-Zeitung).

Publishers often seem to have been tempted to start a periodical for children. Hudson & Goodwin was publishing books for children and adults when it founded Children’s Magazine; Ticknor & Fields published books and The Atlantic Monthly before starting Our Young Folks. The editors of Every Youth’s Gazette already published The New World for adults. And two publishers apparently founded papers in order to spite former business partners. William C. Forde attempted larceny and assault in order to get the subscription books for The Pacific Youth, which he published with J. Clarence Collins until Collins appropriated the business papers; Forde claimed he was publishing his own periodical, Youth’s Gazette. (No copies have ever been located.) Howard Durham, William T. Coggeshall, and Coates Kinney already published books and a periodical for adults when they established The Little Forester in Cincinnati, Ohio. Seven months into the Forester’s run, Durham apparently had an acrimonious split with his partners and started The Little Traveler. Both papers folded quickly.

Founding a periodical often involved publishing a prospectus in order to gauge interest. Some titles are known only because of the prospectus: there’s no evidence that Felix Varela ever actually published The Youth’s Friend. Sunday School Children’s Magazine was advertised for three months, but probably never appeared. Specimen issues showed potential subscribers what they’d be getting—within limits. The only issue of The Youth’s Pictorial Magazine was printed so poorly that the editor addressed it in a paragraph, promising that later issues would be printed on much better paper, with much better proofreading. However, a sample issue didn’t always lead to success. Editors of The Little-Pig Monthly published a May 1859 issue which later was referred to as the June 1859 issue; a July 1859 issue was still receiving notices in other periodicals in September; and after that there were no more issues. Some periodicals never made it past the specimen stage (The Youth’s Pictorial Magazine, The Juvenile Magazine, the Juvenile Gazette).

Illustrations were a major selling point. Sometimes text was written around whatever wood blocks were available. Preparing to publish Burke’s Weekly for Boys and Girls, T. A. Burke advertised for duplicates of Engravings, or Electrotypes of Woodcuts, suitable for illustrating a Child’s Magazine. Publishing in Cincinnati, Ohio, Thomas Brainerd apparently had a limited number of illustrations to use in the Youth’s Magazine, and a handful of illustrations appear again and again; the same is true for issues of The Slave’s Friend. Most periodicals were printed only in black and white. Robert Merry’s Museum featured hand-colored plates during its first year, and later full-page plates had borders printed in red. The Child at Home printed a colored edition with the masthead and illustrations on the front and back pages printed in red, yellow, blue, and black—at a higher price than the plain edition.

Choosing the periodical’s format sometimes depended on the expense involved. In the beginning, newspapers enjoyed cheaper postage than magazines. Even after changes in postage rates, many periodicals appeared as newspapers—usually four pages. Page size of a newspaper, however, could be inconvenient, and after several years as an eight-page newspaper The Little Pilgrim reduced the page size and expanded to twelve pages to accommodate readers because [i]n the old style, it was found that our paper was too long to fit on the book-shelves, and too thin to be bound more than once in two years.

A newspaper could be cheap to produce (only one side of the paper needed to be printed in color for the color edition of The Child at Home), but a magazine with a cover offered more advertising space. Magazines could include pages of advertising at the back of each issue (these were removed when the individual issues were bound—often by a reader’s local binder), and advertisements often appeared on the inside front and back covers.

A magazine also had the advantage that it could use the cover to advertise itself. Few magazines appear to have changed the cover frequently. Parley’s Magazine found a new illustration to print on the cover of each issue in 1835. The Juvenile Miscellany apparently featured a different cover each year. For its first three years, Our Young Folks changed the cover every three months, with an illustration of Columbia surrounded by four vignettes representing the season in which that issue was produced. Most magazines, however, used the same cover for years; Robert Merry’s Museum used one cover for a decade. A change in cover could signal a change in publisher or focus. Absorbing Woodworth’s Youth’s Cabinet, the Museum incorporated the image on the Cabinet’s cover into its own; when the Museum changed publisher, editor, and tone in 1868, the new cover signaled a new regime. Subscribers to The Schoolfellow opened the cover of the October 1857 issue to find the cover of Robert Merry’s Museum glued beneath it—a signal that the Schoolfellow had merged with the Museum. When The Little Corporal absorbed The Little Pilgrim, an image of the Pilgrim appeared on the Corporal’s cover for several months.

Editing a children’s periodical could be complicated. Some problems—like collecting subscription money—were just part of publishing in nineteenth-century America. Published in Utah Territory, The Juvenile Instructor implied in one issue that it sometimes was paid in grain. Even being paid in currency wasn’t simple; instructions in The Little Pilgrim highlight the complexities of nineteenth-century American currency: [A]s far as possible all subscriptions under five dollars, may be forwarded in gold dollars, and larger amounts in Philadelphia, Eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey or New York City Bank notes. By keeping this in mind, [subscribers] can, with little trouble and no expense to themselves, save ‘The Little Pilgrim’ a good many dollars in the course of a year, which he must otherwise lose in the heavy discount to which notes of distant sections of the country are subject in Philadelphia.

Editors of periodicals for children also soon realized that the audience made a stronger connection with their product than did adults, and many editors created mascots or putative editors with which readers could sympathize or identify. Early mascots tended to be adult mentors. Parley’s Magazine was named for Peter Parley, a beloved character in Samuel Griswold Goodrich’s books who explained science, geography, and history to young readers. When Goodrich went on to found and edit Robert Merry’s Museum, he created Robert Merry, an old man of fifty who’d had Goodrich’s experiences as a child. Readers were enamored of Merry, sending him gifts (a basket of chestnuts, a live squirrel) and letters which were published in a regular column in the magazine. Uncle Ezekiel’s Youth’s Cabinet had a mentor at the helm; Youth’s Medallion was edited by Uncle Christopher; and Every Youth’s Gazette was putatively edited by Grandfather Felix. Editors used their mascots to connect with readers, sometimes having them explain editorial decisions.

Later mascots were role models rather than mentors. Young mascots graced the mastheads and covers of The Young Reaper, The Little Forester, The Little Chief, and The Young Pilgrim. Helmeted Columbia, holding her shield and sword on the cover of Our Young Folks was exchanged after the first three years for a child-version of the helmeted goddess Athena, sulking with her owl. A little Zouave brandishes a saber at the head of the first issues of The Little Corporal, reads to a middle-class family when the Corporal gains a cover, and on a later cover poses with saber and American flag, looking toward an unknown future. The Little Forester shows his paper to admiring children; and the plaid-wrapped Little Chief points readers toward a distant temple. While the mascot of The Little Pilgrim cheerfully climbs a generic mountain path toward the reader, the Young Pilgrim bypasses a city destroyed by lightning, falling stars, and an erupting volcano on his journey toward a heavenly city filled with light. The young audience was expected to identify with the young mascot. When F. O. C. Darley’s image of the Pilgrim first appeared at the head of The Little Pilgrim, Sarah Lippincott expected her readers to make an emotional connection: Are you not all charmed and delighted, dear readers, with our new heading? … The freshness and youth of his round, sunny face, must win quick responses from the freshness and youth of your generous hearts; and his sweet, wondering eyes draw tender, loving looks from yours—especially yours, ye little maidens. Is he not beautiful to behold? When the Pilgrim marged with the Little Corporal, for a few months a small image of the Pilgrim appeared on the cover of the Corporal, apparently guiding the Pilgrim’s readers into their new magazine.

Establishing a close relationship between editor and reader was good business, and some editors went beyond speaking through their mascots. Portraits of the editors of Young People’s Magazine, Robert Merry’s Museum, and Woodworth’s Youth’s Cabinet were sent to subscribers; the editors of Demorest’s Young America included in the magazine portraits not only of themselves, but of their toddler.

Success also could hinge on puffing your periodical. The wonderful growth of this young Napoleon of the juveniles has been as surprising as it is interesting, a suggested notice for The Little Corporal pronounces unblushingly. It also could depend on connecting the periodical with the right brand name. The Little Corporal’s School Festival hoped to share the success of The Little Corporal. E. C. Allen may have tried to make a mental connection between his Our Young Folks’ Illustrated Paper and the more literary Our Young Folks, whose publishers sued him. Robert Merry may have been as much a brand name as he was the putative editor of Robert Merry’s Museum. Parley’s Magazine was intended to profit from Samuel Goodrich’s most famous creation. The editor of Every Youth’s Gazette had planned to associate his work with the Parley name, but had to settle for using a Parleyesque figure in the masthead.

Still, it wasn’t the easiest way to earn a living. A lot of hard work was involved. More than one editor had more than one job, either editing another publication or teaching; J. S. Hostetter, editing I Will Try, described the work involved: Two thirds of the nights of the past winter did we work until midnight, and that after a hard day’s work in the school room. Editing a periodical could provide a harsh lesson in human nature; Faithful, alas, to the precedents of Catholic literature in this country, lamented the editor of Spare Hours, five millions of Catholics have proved themselves unwilling to support a magazine filled with wholesome reading …. Perhaps our fault has been that our issues have not been crowded with ‘blood and thunder’ …. Finances (and, thus, publication) could be erratic: two issues of The Juvenile Magazine appeared in 1811, then two more appeared in 1813. When Nathaniel Southard left the Youth’s Cabinet in the hands of another editor—presumably so he could find the means to improve the paper—publication was suspended until Southard resumed editorship months later.

Editing a periodical for children often included writing most of each issue. Jane Fraser wrote most of the first volume of the Youth’s Literary Messenger. Mayne Reid wrote so much of Onward that readers complained. Much of the material in the early issues of Robert Merry’s Museum was written by Samuel Griswold Goodrich, who included details from his own childhood in Robert Merry’s autobiography; editing the Museum in the late 1860s, Louisa May Alcott complained to her uncle that the publisher mildly suggests that I should write the whole magazine, which was not in the bargain. (quoted in Madeleine B. Stern. The Persistence of New England Transcendentalism: James P. Walker & Horace B. Fuller, Transcendental Publishers. Imprints on History. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1956; p. 57)

Editors resorted to other techniques for filling the pages. The Youth’s Magazine specialized in reprinting space-filling illustrations that were vaguely on the subject at hand (one illustration of Niagara Falls appeared in three successive issues), as did the Youth’s Temperance Advocate.

But most common was extracting an article or several from other publications: books, newspapers, other periodicals for children. Most editors at the time—for children and for adults—mined other publications for material, and more than one author discovered her or his popularity when their writing appeared in publications they’d never heard of. Even the first American children’s magazine reprinted earlier work: Children’s Magazine, published from January through April 1789, consisted of reprints from The Family Magazine and The Juvenile Magazine, published by John Marshall in London, England, in 1788. In 1842 Every Youth’s Gazette presented its reprinting as a service to its readers: All the new popular works for children which appear in England will be obtained; and from these the best articles will be chosen and published entire in the columns of the Gazette, together with the engravings by which they may be illustrated. … Thus, at a price far less than that for which such works could be reprinted in the shape of books in this country, will the most excellent treatises and stories for the young be presented. The Gazette’s first issue even included material from an earlier generation: I am indebted to a number of the Juvenile Miscellany, published sixteen years ago, for some of the articles in this number. The Miscellany was very popular with all young folks in its day; but, as its readers have since grown up to be men and women, the present generation will find them as new as if it had now appeared for the first time.

Despite the best efforts of an editor, a lot of things could sink a periodical. The frontier could be a factor. The editor of The Juvenile Instructor, the first children’s periodical published in Utah, had to wait for paper and engravings to arrive from the East. Frozen rivers halted the transportation of vital materials. Thomas Brainerd apologized when an issue of Youth’s Magazine was late: It has been a source of great regret to the editor that, in consequence of the sudden death of our printer, and the failure to obtain paper in consequence of the coldness of the weather, our Magazine has been delayed about three weeks. The Chicago Fire destroyed offices and issues of six magazines, five of which recovered. Having lost her offices, unmailed issues, and personal property, Mrs. Lou H. Kimball—the editor of Lyceum Banner—was reported dead; a supplement she printed to replace the burned issues was lost by the shipping company; and the insurance company went bankrupt without paying her, leading to the Banner being suspended until Kimball could find another publisher, who ended up selling issues at cost.

Other historical events endangered some periodicals. Issues of The Slave’s Friend and Youth’s Cabinet—both anti-slavery periodicals—were taken from the mail and destroyed before they could reach readers; the Tennessee-based Sunday School Visitor had its presses commandeered by the Union army at the end of the Civil War. Only three of the eight periodicals founded under the Confederacy survived the War, and only two of those made it to the next decade.

Ambition could get an editor only so far. "Arrangements have been made to continue [Every Youth’s Gazette] for a year at least, one editor boasted, and such has been the encouragement, with which it has already been received, that our friends need not fear that it will be always published. (The Gazette lasted 49 weeks.) We prepare the book for children of whatever growth, announced the editor of The Little-Pig Monthly, and hope that all ages will find somewhat of mirth and profit in its pages." (It lasted two issues.)

Early American publishing traditions didn’t always help to keep periodicals alive. Issues were sent to the subscriber on request, whether the subscriber had paid or not. Many editors invited prepayment by discounting the price; a magazine priced at $1.50 or $1.25 per year would cost $1 if paid in advance. And editors often sent issues to subscribers well after the subscription had run out, printing guilt-inducing pieces in issues of the periodical, to be ignored by subscribers ignoring the editor’s bill. Youth’s Companion included poetry reminding subscribers to pay their bills; Robert Merry’s Museum had its imaginary editor remind subscribers that We know you will not let Robert Merry … go hungry.

And, it just wasn’t all that profitable. Not every periodical found an audience. Though Mayne Reid was a hugely popular English writer, the magazine he edited in the U. S. failed; he personally lost the dollar equivalent of 4,285 yearly subscriptions to the magazine. And the audience did eventually age out, leaving editors in a constant search for new subscribers. Juvenile magazines do not pay, the editor of Demorest’s Young America groused as that magazine merged with one for adults. Benson Lossing, editor of The Young People’s Mirror, agreed: "Profit was not expected, and the publisher would cheerfully give his time, if his money outlay could be reimbursed. But he does not feel warranted in working for nothing and paying the expense."

Luckily for many publishers, a periodical could make money even after it folded. Copies of the Children’s Magazine—the very first American periodical for children—were available two years later from another publisher. Stories, poems, and puzzles from Robert Merry’s Museum were reprinted in book form while the magazine was published; and stereotypes of these books were reprinted by another publisher years after the Museum published its last issue. Many editors planned for subscribers to have their own issues bound at a local bindery, providing in the last issue of the year an illustrated title page, a frontispiece, and a table of contents; but most periodicals also were sold by the magazine’s publisher as professionally bound books at the end of each year. Bound volumes of The Slave’s Friend were given decorated title pages and sold as each year closed; they were still advertised four years after the Friend ended publication. Many years of Woodworth’s Youth’s Cabinet were available as gift books with titles that gave no hint that they were issues of a magazine. Some years of The Boys’ and Girls’ Magazine, and Fireside Companion and Parley’s Magazine also were treated as gift books. Parley’s, in fact, probably holds the record for most distribution after the magazine folded. The pages were stereotyped and reprinted in quarterly and yearly volumes, sometimes with changes in illustrations and text; many bound volumes in libraries and digital databases are from these altered plates. Twenty years after Parley’s was first published, the stereotyped plates were republished as The Youth’s Galaxy (edited by Obadiah Oldfellow) and as Republication of Parley’s Magazine.

Financial failures and faithless readers aside, somehow adults from Maine to California managed the fiscal, physical, and mental wherewithal to found around 430 newspapers and magazines for children before 1873. (It’s tempting here to quote the young editor of Youth’s Cabinet: Mankind are frail; and, prompted by self interest, can be persuaded to almost any thing—including boundless optimism about a magazine’s chances.)

More than one editor may have understood the intangible benefits that Horace Scudder described after four years of editing the Riverside Magazine for Young People:  … I have had four or five years of pleasure, editing this Magazine. Nobody can take those away from me. I have made friends by it that I hope never to lose.

Every editor, though, must have sympathized to some extent with the astonishingly chipper farewell in Youth’s Literary Messenger, in which an imaginary critic of the Messenger describes a sort of anomaly in literature … too far advanced for childhood, too childish for maturer years; too grave for the gay, too light for the serious; too rational for the romantic, too religious for the worldling, too worldly for the pious; too orthodox for the sectarian; too liberal for the orthodox. In the endeavour to avoid exciting the passions it failed to awaken interest; and in steering a middle course, which enabled it to shun the rocks above water, it often went aground on the shoals. But though it was not good enough for commendation, it scarcely deserved censure; and judicious counsel might have done much to amend it, had its career been prolonged.

Explanations and abbreviations

Unless noted, page size is the size when trimmed, usually for binding; page size is approximate. Page size is described as height by width, thus: [measurement in inches]″ h x [measurement in inches]″ w

• about frequency: semimonthly: twice a month (usually 24 issues per year); biweekly: every other week (usually 26 issues per year); bimonthly: every other month (usually 6 issues per year)

• about availability: selections or complete issues available for free on the Internet, or available at libraries on microform or in databases

• abbreviations:

• AAS, American Antiquarian Society, Massachusetts, online library catalog

• AASHistPer, American Antiquarian Society Historical Periodicals (digital database; series 1-5)

• APS, American Periodical Series (microfilm; also, digital database)

• Batsel, Union List of United Methodist Serials, 1773-1973, comp. John D. Batsel and Lyda K. Batsel (Evanston, IL: n. p., 1974)

• NUC, National Union Catalog

• OCLC, database available at many institutions via WorldCat (information may also be available in the NUC)

• ULS, Union List of Serials in Libraries of the United States and Canada, ed. Winifred Gregory (New York, NY: H. W. Wilson Co., 1927)]

American children’s periodicals, 1789-1799

Children’s Magazine ; Jan-April 1789

published: Hartford, Connecticut; printed by Hudson & Goodwin

frequency: monthly

description: 48 pp.; page size, 7.5″ h x 3.75″ w; price, 6 pence/ issue; 12 copies, 4 shillings 6 pence

• Jan 1789 issue published 16 Feb 1789. [This Day Published]

• Feb 1789 issue published 16 March 1789. [This Day is Published]

relevant quotes:

• Prospectus: "Each Number of this work will contain 48 Pages, duodecimo, printed on good paper and letter, and will be sold at Four Shillings and Six-Pence a dozen, or Six Pence a single number. This work is designed to furnish Children, from seven to twelve years of age, with a variety of lessons on various subjects, written in a plain, neat, familiar style, and proper to lead them from the easy language of Spelling-Books up to the more difficult style of the best writers." [advertisement. Connecticut Courant. 2 Feb 1789; p. 3, col 3]

• Introduction: "It is a general complaint among the teachers of schools, that children want some lessons, written in a familiar style and on entertaining subjects, to conduct them in their progress from a Spelling-Book to such reading as is found in the American Selection, Scotts Lessons and the Art of Speaking. It is also a complaint that children are obliged to read too long in the same book ; by which means the subjects become familiar and cease to command the attention. To remove these complaints, is the design of this publication. The subjects are such as children can mostly comprehend …. The language and manner of writing are reduced to their capacities—the variety of subjects will at the same time, gratify and keep alive the passion of curiosity, which prompts the young mind to exertions; while the desire of novelty will be, in some measure, satisfied by the reading of a new book every month. … The undertaking is novel, and the Editors could not but feel some doubt of its success; yet when they considered the great advantage to youth that must result from a faithful execution of the plan, they determined to hazard something in an attempt to serve the interest of education, and now commit a success to an indulgent public. [Preface." 1 (Jan 1789): iii-iv]

• That there were only four issues is verified by an advertisement in 1791 advertising them as being received and now ready for sale in Bennington, Vermont: Just received and now ready for sale, at the printing-office in Bennington, MORSE’S GEOGRAPHY, abridged for the use of SCHOOLS. Likewise, The CHILDREN’s MAGAZINE. For the Use of FAMILIES and SCHOOLS. For January, February, March and April. The usefulness of the last mentioned publication is generally acknowledged. We shall therefore only say, it is worthy the perusal of those of every age in life, but peculiarly calculated for the service of youth. [Vermont Gazette]

relevant information:

• Except for the introduction to the magazine, all the pieces in the Children’s Magazine appeared first in one of two magazines published in England by John Marshall in 1788: The Family Magazine or The Juvenile Magazine, which was chiefly intended for young people from Seven to Fourteen years of age. [1 (Jan 1788); p. 2] Pieces sometimes were localized when they were reprinted: London becomes New York in one story, while a Briton is changed to Columbia in a poem. In the British periodicals, some pieces were illustrated with engravings which apparently didn’t appear in the Children’s Magazine.

• The Feb issue wasn’t available when the periodical was microfilmed as part of the American Periodicals Series; the issue is available as part of the American Antiquarian Historical Periodicals database.

source of information: APS reel 8; AASHistPer; The Juvenile Magazine (London), Jan-Dec 1788 bound vols; advertisements, etc., below; AAS catalog

available: AASHistPer, series 1

• APS I (18th-century), reel 8

bibliography:

• advertisement. Connecticut Courant [Hartford, Connecticut] 2 Feb 1789; p. 3. Also, The Herald of Freedom, and the Federal Advertiser [Boston, Massachusetts] 20 Feb 1789; p. 188.

• This Day Published. Connecticut Courant [Hartford, Connecticut] 16 Feb 1789; p. 1.

• This Day is Published. Connecticut Courant [Hartford, Connecticut] 16 March 1789; p. 3.

• advertisement of March issue. Connecticut Courant [Hartford, Connecticut] 20 April 1789; p. 3.

• advertisement of April issue. Connecticut Courant [Hartford, Connecticut] 11 May 1789; p. 6.

• advertisement. The Vermont Gazette [Bennington, Vermont] 25 July 1791; p. 3.

• d’Alte A. Welch. A Bibliography of American Children’s Books Printed Prior to 1821. N.p.: American Antiquarian Society & Barre Publishers, 1922.

• Mabel F. Altstetter. Early American Magazines for Children. Peabody Journal of Education 19 (Nov 1941); p. 131

• Betty Longenecker Lyon. A History of Children’s Secular Magazines Published in the United States from 1789-1899. PhD diss. Johns Hopkins, 1942; pp. 8, 21, 29-32.

• Edwin Charles Strohecker. American Juvenile Literary Periodicals, 1789-1826. PhD diss. Michigan, 1969.

• Children’s Periodicals of the United States, ed. R. Gordon Kelly. Westport, Connecticut & London, England: Greenwood Press, 1984.

The Youth’s News Paper ; 30 Sept-4 Nov 1797

edited by: Charles Smith

published: New York, New York: Charles Smith, 30 Sept-4 Nov 1797; Smith at 51 Maiden Ln. Printed by J. S. Mott

frequency: weekly

description: 8 pp.

• Prices: 30 Sept 1797, $3/ year. 7 Oct-4 Nov 1797, $2/ year

relevant quote: The paper contained news and information extracted from newspapers for adults: "A knowledge of this world …, dear youth, would be highly useful to you. This world, indeed, is not that, for which we