THE AMERICAN MONTHLY MAGAZINE v. 1-6, Mar. 1833-Feb. 1836; new ser., v. 1-6, Jan. 1836-Oct. 1838. New York, G. Dearborn.

12 v.

New series v.1-6 also numbered as v.7-17.

Absorbed the New England Magazine, Jan. 1836.

In 1833, Henry William Herbert, assisted by A.D. Patterson, began publication of the American Monthly Magazine, which was a rival for the Knickerbocker. Its prospectus promised moral essays, poetry, biography, and travel. The early numbers were written largely by Herbert; he wrote on the theater, art exhibitions, and on concerts, and also contributed a serial novel, "The Brothers, a Tale of the Fronde." Other contributors were James K. Paulding, Gulian Verplanck, and James Hall. In 1836 Charles Fenno Hoffman and Park Benjamin took over the editorship, and although greatly improved in variety and attractiveness, it did not make money. There was much on travel, much interest in German literature, and "Letters from Arkansas" by Albert Pike and other articles about the West and the Indians. Theater was given some attention, book reviews were regular, and short stories and "nouverettes" added variety. Special attention was also given to the reports of the American Lyceum. Alfred B. Street, Arthur Cleveland Coxe, and Grenville Mellen were among the poets. After Hoffman left the Monthly in 1837, Benjamin increased the political content, but it still published other material as well.

APS II, Reel 377