The first volume of this work, covering the period from 1741-1850, was issued in 1931 by another publisher, and is reissued now without change, under our imprint. The second volume covers the period from 1850 to 1865; the third volume, the period from 1865 to 1885. For each chronological period, Mr. Mott has provided a running history which notes the occurrence of the chief general magazines and the developments in the field of class periodicals, as well as publishing conditions during that period, the development of circulations, advertising, payments to contributors, reader attitudes, changing formats, styles and processes of illustration, and the like. Then in a supplement to that running history, he offers historical sketches of the chief magazines which flourished in the period. These sketches extend far beyond the chronological limitations of the period. The second and third volumes present, altogether, separate sketches of seventy-six magazines, including The North American Review, The Youth's Companion, The Liberator, The Independent, Harper's Monthly, Leslie's Weekly, Harper's Weekly, The Atlantic Monthly, St. Nicholas, and Puck. The whole is an unusual mirror of American civilization.

The first volume of this work, covering the period from 1741-1850, was issued in 1931 by another publisher, and is reissued now without change, under our imprint. The second volume covers the period from 1850 to 1865; the third volume, the period from 1865 to 1885. For each chronological period, Mr. Mott has provided a running history which notes the occurrence of the chief general magazines and the developments in the field of class periodicals, as well as publishing conditions during that period, the development of circulations, advertising, payments to contributors, reader attitudes, changing formats, styles and processes of illustration, and the like. Then in a supplement to that running history, he offers historical sketches of the chief magazines which flourished in the period. These sketches extend far beyond the chronological limitations of the period. The second and third volumes present, altogether, separate sketches of seventy-six magazines, including The North American Review, The Youth's Companion, The Liberator, The Independent, Harper's Monthly, Leslie's Weekly, Harper's Weekly, The Atlantic Monthly, St. Nicholas, and Puck. The whole is an unusual mirror of American civilization.

"The five volumes of A History of American Magazines constitute a unique cultural history of America, viewed through the pages and pictures of her periodicals from the publication of the first monthly magazine in 1741 through the golden age of magazines in the twentieth century"--Page 4 of cover.

From the Introduction: An examination of American magazines and an investigation into their history show that their importance rests upon three services which they perform and which may be noted briefly here. First, they provide a democratic literature which is sometimes of high quality. The general magazine's audience must perforce be a popular one, and even the specialized periodicals whose appeal is limited to particular classes are subject to the referendum and recall of an annual subscription campaign just as the general manager is. Periodicals must keep very close to their public; they must catch the slightest nuances of popular taste. Second, the magazine has played an important part in the economics of literature. Third, periodical files furnish an invaluable contemporaneous history of their times. This fact has found increasing recognition among historians during the last forty years. The session of the American Historical Association for 1908 was devoted to a consideration of the use of periodicals in historical studies. Even the writing of literary history shows some signs in these days of catching up with the procession and recognizing the importance of social, economic, geographical, industrial, and educational factors in the development of literature. The time is happily past when biographical sketches plus criticisms of masterpieces may be accepted as literary history. --page 2-3.