Much Ado About "Nothings"

ROBERT A. WOLVEN

Shakespeare's King Lear would have it that "Nothing will
come of nothing,'' but in the year 1857a different Shakes¬
pearian reference must have seemed more apposite. For, in
the February 7 issue of the fledgling//ar^er's Weekly that year, there
appeared an anonymous poem with the title, "Nothing to Wear."
In the months that followed, a great deal would come of this par¬
ticular "Nothing," including no fewer than five full-length satires,
rejoinders, and imitations, all capitalizing on the "Nothing to"
formula.

In its initial appearance in Harper's, "Nothing to Wear" is a sim¬
ple, unadorned poem of some 3 30 lines. It tells the story of how

Miss Flora IVl'Flimsey of Washington Square
Has made three separate journeys to Paris

all, apparently, for the purpose of acquiring a rich and extensive
wardrobe. Yet, on every conceivable social occasion, she declares
she has "nothing to wear." While it is essentially a one-joke poem,
the situation is elaborated with considerable verve and verbal wit,
and with many gentle attacks on fashionable society. The central
idea, now a cliche, at the time was seen as fresh and original.

The poem had an immediate and enormous success. Besides sell¬
ing in tremendous quantities in Harper's (the publisher estimating
80,000 copies sold), it was extensively reprinted in newspapers in
this country and was republished in England, France, and Ger¬
many. Republication in book form was a natural suggestion, but
Harper & Brothers apparently feared that its already wide circula¬
tion would interfere with any further sales. The rights of publi¬
cation were therefore granted to the publishing firm of Rudd &
Carleton.

Rudd & Carleton was a new firm whose birth dates from that
same month of February 1857. Nothing to Wear was brought out