Columbia Library columns (v.23(1973Nov-1974May))

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  v.23,no.3(1974:May): Page 25  



Magazines for Voting America                      25

adapted popular juvenile stories issued previously in London by
John Newbery; but these illustrated histories of Little Goody
Two-Shoes, King Pippin and Giles Gingerbread were expensive,
and relatively few households could afford to buy them.

It was at the beginning of 1789 in Hartford, Connecticut, that
the first American attempt was made at producing a juvenile peri¬
odical, and it was suitably titled the Children's Magazine. A
listing of the contents for one issue shows the degree of balance
between instruction and morality introduced under the guise of
amusement:

An easy Introduction to Geography. The Schoolboy addressed to
the Editors. Moral Tales continued: The Jealous Wife. The Affec¬
tionate Sisters. Familiar Letters on Y'arious Subjects: Letter V from
Phyllis Flowerdale to Miss Truelove; Letter VI from iMiss Truelove
to Phyllis Flowerdale. Poetry: The Sweets of May. The Cottage Re¬
tirement. Advice to the Fair. The Contented Cottager. The Tear.
The Honest Heart.

Not unlike the various missionary and tract society journals, the
Children's Magazine concentrated too heavily on the sins of hu¬
man error, and after three monthly issues it ceased publication.

Whatever be the reason, few attempts were made during the
next decades to produce juvenile-oriented magazines. Religious
publishers continued to promote the study of the Bible in public
schools, while many tract society chapbooks appeared in the place
of inexpensive periodical reading for children. In fact, there was
such an increase in the production of juvenile books between 1790
and 1800 that d'Alte A. AVelch, in the introduction to his Bibliog¬
raphy of American Children's Books Printed Prior to 1821 (Wor¬
cester, 1972), claims "they were so numerous that it is possible to
mention [in passing] only those that went through seven or more
editions." Occasionally, editorials would occur in family maga¬
zines proposing various systems or curricula for educating the
young, but rarely did any periodical contributions aim directly
at youth.
  v.23,no.3(1974:May): Page 25