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Henry James and the Rise of the Illustrated Magazines

in The Illustration of the Master: Henry James and the Magazine Revolution

This book reconsiders a significant portion of Henry James's oeuvre in light of the explosive growth of the periodicals industry in Europe and the United States in the late nineteenth century. The ... More

This book reconsiders a significant portion of Henry James's oeuvre in light of the explosive growth of the periodicals industry in Europe and the United States in the late nineteenth century. The technology-driven “magazine revolution” during this period was a pivotal moment in the history of publishing and had far-reaching consequences not only for the future of print culture, but also for the practice of authorship. This book looks at how various elements of the contemporary publishing milieu exerted pressure on James's production, particularly its composition, themes, and reception. By way of introduction, this chapter focuses on the rise of illustrated magazines in the United States and other countries and its impact on the reading public and the writing profession in the second half of the nineteenth century. It begins by considering the formative influence of popular print culture on James's earliest memories. It then shows how public discourse on the evolution of American illustration came to be framed within a larger narrative of national progress.Less

Propaganda, Play, and the Pictorial Turn: Cartoon (Manhua Yuekan), 1950–1952

John A. Crespi

in Maoist Laughter

“Propaganda, Play, and the Pictorial Turn” re-visits the early Peoples Republic of China cartoon by contextualizing this form of popular art within the media ecology of the illustrated magazine. ... More

“Propaganda, Play, and the Pictorial Turn” re-visits the early Peoples Republic of China cartoon by contextualizing this form of popular art within the media ecology of the illustrated magazine. Focusing on the first several years (1950-1952) of the satire pictorial Cartoon, the essay questions the tendency to read early Mao-era cartoon art strictly in terms of Cold War binaries, arguing instead for attention to cartoons as just one among many dynamically interrelated, heterogeneric elements comprising the print genre of the illustrated magazine or huabao. Cartoon is to a significant extent a lineal descendent of Republican-era, Shanghai-based huabao whose varied imagetext contents encouraged forms of spectatorship historically linked to practices of urban consumerist play. The primary concern for the artists and editors of Cartoon, then, was adapting this existing visual technology of print to promote active forms of socialist play aligned with the political and educational goals of mass mobilization.Less

James, Pennell, and the Art of the Travelogue

in The Illustration of the Master: Henry James and the Magazine Revolution

In the decades after the Civil War, European travel emerged as an important part of modern American life, and noted authors published numerous travel articles in upscale periodicals. Henry James ... More

In the decades after the Civil War, European travel emerged as an important part of modern American life, and noted authors published numerous travel articles in upscale periodicals. Henry James regularly wrote travel pieces during the 1870s and 1880s not only as a form of subsidized research for his stories and novels, but also as a means to cultivate a wider and more receptive audience for his oeuvre. He collected dozens of these articles in a series of travel books on England, France, and Italy, collaborating with Joseph Pennell (1857–1926) for the illustrations. This chapter discusses James's contributions to the modern travelogue, a literary genre whose development can be attributed in large part to the success of the illustrated magazines. It also examines the significance of James's project for repackaging his travel writing and Pennell's role in that work.Less

“The Business of Art”: Essays on Illustration

in The Illustration of the Master: Henry James and the Magazine Revolution

This chapter deals with the analytic techniques used by Henry James to appraise modern illustration in a series of essays he wrote on some of its best-known practitioners. James contributed catalogue ... More

This chapter deals with the analytic techniques used by Henry James to appraise modern illustration in a series of essays he wrote on some of its best-known practitioners. James contributed catalogue notes for several illustrators' exhibitions, devoted one of his “American Letters” for the periodical Literature to a discussion of illustrated magazines, wrote essays on illustrators for Harper's, and published lengthy appreciations of George Du Maurier's work. This chapter looks at the sketches of contemporary illustrators prepared by James for Harper's New Monthly and Harper's Weekly between 1886 and 1890 and republished in 1893 in slightly revised form, along with his essays on Honoré Daumier and John Singer Sargent, under the title Picture and Text. It examines why James commemorated at length the achievements of modern illustration in the essays he produced for Harper's, first by discussing his relationship to the Harper organization and then by assessing his critical methodology in the essays.Less

Conclusion: The Ascendancy of New Yark, and Market Stratification

Cynthia Lee Patterson

in Art for the Middle Classes: America's Illustrated Magazines of the 1840s

This chapter discusses the rise of lithographic art print companies such as Goupil, Vibert and Co. and Currier and Ives in the 1850s, which eclipsed the prominence of illustrated magazines in ... More

This chapter discusses the rise of lithographic art print companies such as Goupil, Vibert and Co. and Currier and Ives in the 1850s, which eclipsed the prominence of illustrated magazines in Philadelphia. Lithographic prints were cheaper and easier to produce, and with the artists working for both Goupil, Vibert and Co. and Currier and Ives, the American public started to shift their focus toward art prints. Both Graham’s Lady’s and Gentleman’s Magazine and Sartain’s Union Magazine ended in the 1850s. Godey’s Lady’s Book and Peterson’s Magazine continued to thrive, as they continued to publish high quality literature and they kept a loyal readership.Less

Comic Books at War (1940–1945)

Jean-Paul Gabilliet

in Of Comics and Men: A Cultural History of American Comic Books

During World War II, the American comic book industry continued to experience growth as the number of titles proliferated. In addition, contents became increasingly diverse and recurring characters ... More

During World War II, the American comic book industry continued to experience growth as the number of titles proliferated. In addition, contents became increasingly diverse and recurring characters multiplied in comic magazines. Comic books gave rise to an industry that became a source of considerable revenue and acknowledged by the public to be different from newspaper comics and pulp magazines. The increase in household income, coupled with reduced availability of consumer durables, provided the impetus for comic books and all forms of mass entertainment. The war also witnessed the emergence of illustrated magazines, which benefited from the momentum gathered by the nascent industry before the war. This chapter examines the status of the comic book industry during World War II, its competition with newspapers, and the publishing of comic books that targeted preadolescent readers by injecting them with juvenile characters and humor. It also looks at the rise of educational comic books based on history and literature.Less

Public Reception of Merovingian-Period Finds

Bonnie Effros

in Uncovering the Germanic Past: Merovingian Archaeology in France, 1830-1914

This chapter examines public reception of archaeological finds from the Merovingian period in nineteenth-century France. More specifically, it looks at the publication of news of archaeological ... More

This chapter examines public reception of archaeological finds from the Merovingian period in nineteenth-century France. More specifically, it looks at the publication of news of archaeological discoveries and advances in research in newspapers and illustrated magazines, and whether such news reached a contemporary readership beyond the members of archaeological societies. It also considers how amateur archaeologists raised the profile of their undertakings and attracted a more general audience. In addition, the chapter discusses the debates among historians about the origins of France, as publicised in the Revue des deux mondes, as well as the artistic imaginings of French history in paintings based on archaeological discoveries. Finally, it analyses the inclusion of Merovingians in the primary and secondary school curriculum as a way to disseminate archaeological research and its impact on the popular imagination.Less