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37 3 Superior Embellishments” INNOVATIONS TO THE GRAPHIC ARTS IN THE PHILADELPHIA PICTORIALS In January 1843, an upstart little monthly entitled Miss Leslie’s Magazine: Home Book of Fashion, Literature and Domestic Economy entered the Philadelphia magazine fray with a bold new claim to its readership: “. . . we have caused our fashion plates for the present month to be arranged in a novel and ingenious manner, such as has not before been attempted in this country; nor, as far as we know, in any other, except in costly books of which the edition is very limited” (Miss Leslie’s, January 1843, 1, emphasis added). The editor, Eliza Leslie, a sister to the painter Charles Leslie, had already established her literary reputation as editor of the popular Carey & Hart annual The Gift, and as a writer of recipe books and advice manuals for ladies and children.1 She and her magazine publisher, Morton McMichael,2 used their inaugural editorial column to establish their magazine’s claims to artistic innovation: “We confidently assert that no magazine published either at home or abroad, has ever presented to its patrons fashion plates in which so much regard has been paid to grace, beauty and elegance, as in these of ours. Indeed, apart from their value as guides in costume, they are superior embellishments. Which would do credit to the pages of any periodical” (Miss Leslie’s, January 1843, 1). In making a claim for their magazine’s “superior embellishments,” Leslie and McMichael announced their intention to compete head-to-head with the other established Philadelphia pictorial monthly magazines, including, most notably, Godey’s Lady’s Book and Graham’s Lady’s and Gentleman’s Magazine .3 However, Leslie and McMichael were not alone in issuing a challenge to Godey’s and Graham’s: also arriving on the Philadelphia magazine scene was Peterson’s Magazine, launched by Charles Peterson as a cheaper alternative “ 38 INNOVATIONS TO GRAPHIC ARTS IN THE PHILADELPHIA PICTORIALS to Godey’s. Peterson hoped his $2.00/year subscription fee would undercut Godey’s and Graham’s $3.00/year fee and thereby attract readers of more modest means. This chapter will focus on the technological innovations featured by Miss Leslie’s in 1843 that ignited fierce competition between the Philadelphia illustrated magazines. As noted in the introduction, prior to the 1840s few magazines featured pictorial embellishments, and those that did typically bought and recycled used European plates. During the 1830s, Louis Godey had made steady improvements to his fashion plates. By the end of the decade both he and his nearest competitor, William Burton (editor and publisher of Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine, which George Graham bought out to form Graham’s) began featuring in each six-month volume a few steel plates, including mezzotints engraved by John Sartain. However, until Miss Leslie’s emerged on the scene, no illustrated magazine attempted to secure a large subscription base largely on the strength of its pictorial matter, or to offer a serious challenge to Godey’s in this department. In this chapter, I argue that the 1843 arrival of Miss Leslie’s on the Philadelphia magazine scene fueled fierce competition between the established illustrated monthlies that contributed to the production, distribution, and commodification of uniquely American artwork. At a time before widespread reliance on advertising, publishers relied almost solely on subscription and single-copy sales to keep magazines solvent . Not surprisingly, many monthlies failed within their inaugural year. Godey’s, entering its twelfth year of publication, was clearly the best established of Philadelphia’s illustrated monthlies. Graham’s, Peterson’s, and Miss Leslie’s, all rising to prominence between 1841 and 1843, hoped to take advantage of the rapidly increasing demand for illustrated American newspapers and magazines. As the decade of the 1840s opened, the entire cycle of production, distribution , and consumption of American magazines relied on an array of technological improvements: in the printing press; in the quality of paper, ink, and binding; in transportation (improved roadways, canals, railroads); and, in the case of the artwork in the pictorials, in innovative reproductive imaging technologies.4 Godey’s and Graham’s already featured a variety of engraving processes that had been used for several centuries: mezzotint engraving, line engravings, woodcuts, and the more recently developed lithography. However, beginning in 1843, with the challenges offered by Miss Leslie’s and Peterson’s, the periodicals began to display innovative engraving and printing technologies as well. [18.226.187.199] Project MUSE (2024...

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