Graham's+Magazine+History

//Graham's Magazine// began when George R. Graham bought //The Casket,// an off shoot of the Saturday Evening Post, in May of 1839. In November of 1840 Graham purchased //Burton's Gentleman's Magazine// and merged the two together as one, calling it //Graham's Magazine.// The magazine published fantastical tales about travel and love. Poetry and book reviews were also included. During the first year of it's publication the magazine had writers such as, James Russel Lowell, Edgar Allen Poe, Mrs. Sigourney, George Pope Morris, Alfred B. Street, Park Benjamin, Willis Gaylord Clark, and Thomas Buchanan Read. One thing that magazine had that distinguished it from other's was its collections of light essays. Nathaniel Parker Willis was one of the most well known essayists of the time and his contributions were a large help to the magazine. Part of the magazine's success in the 1840's is due to the fact that George Graham had all of the illustrations made exclusively for the magazine by John Statain. In the years to come C.H. Bodmer, H.S. Sadd, W.E. Tucker, A.L. Dick, Hatch and Simille, and Rawdon Wright all contributed to the artwork. George Graham payed very well for major names in literature, poetry, and art. Because of this he profited greatly and his magazine is one of the most important from the 1840's. The editorial staff played a large part in the magazine. Charles J. Peterson and Mrs. Ann S. Stephens were important members of this staff, but unfortunately they were lost when Peterson started his own magazine, //Peterson's Magazine// in 1842. In 1841 Edgar Allen Poe became the literary editor. Many of his short stories were included in the magazine, his first being "Rue Morgue." Poe disagreed with many of his fellow editors and resigned in May of 1842. He was replaced by Rufus W. Griswold who also lasted for little more then 15 months. Griswold became interested in other activities. Robert T. Conrad, Joseph R. Chandler, Bayard Taylor appear as editors in the following years. During this time Graham purchased another magazine, the //United States Gazette//, oh which Chandler was already an editor. Conrad had written a few successful plays and contributed to a few newspapers before being picked up by Graham. Taylor was found by Griswold, but his involvement with the magazine never increased to anything full time. Shortly after these men were hired Graham picked up two other major Philadelphia newspapers that would cost him his success and fortune. He merged the two into the //North American// and was also financing another paper, the //Evening Bulletin.// These papers were a failing venture and Graham was forced to sell all of his papers to Samuel D. Patterson and Company. Patterson made very few noticeable changes to the magazine and in 1850 Graham was able to gain control again. Unfortunately it was very hard for Graham to revive the magazine in such a declining economy that the magazine never again reached it's peak success of the early 1840's. New competitors were popping up everywhere and a mjor one was //Harper's//. Graham could not compete with the new magazines success. Graham published an article with Northern sentiment about //Uncle Tom's Cabin// thinking that it would again gain him publicity. Unfortunately the book became a huge hit in the North and Graham was again forced to sell his magazine. He held positions on numerous newspapers after the final decline of //Graham's// but he never again reached the rate of success that he had in the beginning.