Frederick Gleason
Encyclopedia
Frederick Gleason was a publisher in Boston
, Massachusetts
in the mid-19th century. He is best known for establishing the popular illustrated weekly Gleason's Pictorial
, at the time an innovation in American publishing. He has been called "the father of illustrated journalism."
, Gleason moved to the United States in his youth.
He began his career as a bookbinder, working from a second-floor office on Tremont Street in Boston. In the late 1940s Gleason published a string of short novels written by his "stable of hack authors" including Benjamin Barker and Maturin Murray Ballou
, often published pseudonymously. Representative are works by the pseudonymous "Harry Halyard," including The Doom of the Dolphin and Wharton the Whale-Killer! Each novel ran "exactly 100 pages long and reflect[ed] the emphasis on glib dialogue and fast-paced action characteristic of the emerging 'dime novel
' tradition."
Gleason began publishing a weekly story paper, The Flag of Our Union
, in 1846. It became popular (75,000 copies circulated) and lucrative for Gleason ("an income of $25,000 a year") His expanding publishing enterprise operated out of a series of offices through the years; for some time Gleason's Publishing Hall was located on Tremont Street, in the former Boston Museum
building.
In the 1840s Gleason built "Belvidere," a summer home on Bluehill Avenue in West Roxbury, Massachusetts
, near Franklin Park
; the house was "an elegant mansion ... landscaped with serpentine drives, fountains, and stands of mature trees." Pictures of the house appeared in Gleason's Pictorial, along with description:
In 1848, Gleason and his wife travelled abroad to London, Berlin and Paris. He returned to the US "full of new ideas."
In 1851, Gleason and Ballou
established the weekly paper Gleason’s Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion, modelled on The Illustrated London News. Gleason's Pictorial "won instant success and proved very profitable." Gleason sold his share of the Pictorial to Ballou in November 1854, "declaring that he had 'realized an ample competency' and now wished to 'retire from business altogether.'" Ballou then changed the paper's title to Ballou's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion.
The success of Gleason's Pictorial inspired others; imitators quickly became rivals in the publishing field. An item in the New York Daily Times
in 1852 emphasizes the growing competition between publishers of pictorials:
After the Pictorial, Gleason published Gleason's Literary Companion 1860-1870; Gleason's Home Circle 1871-1890; and Gleason's Monthly Companion 1872-1887. He retired in 1890.
Financially, Gleason's net worth fluctuated over the years. In the 1850s he earned high profits but publishing rivals thereafter diminished his profit share. In terms of other investments, starting around 1857, Gleason "got into Wall Street, made $50,000 one week, lost $300,000 the next, and at the time of the crisis found his liabilities amounting to $2 million, with only $500,000 to meet them."
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
in the mid-19th century. He is best known for establishing the popular illustrated weekly Gleason's Pictorial
Gleason's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion
Gleason's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion was a 19th-century illustrated periodical published in Boston, Massachusetts. The magazine was founded by Frederick Gleason in 1851. It became Ballou's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion in 1855, after managing editor Maturin Murray Ballou bought out the...
, at the time an innovation in American publishing. He has been called "the father of illustrated journalism."
Biography
Born in GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Gleason moved to the United States in his youth.
He began his career as a bookbinder, working from a second-floor office on Tremont Street in Boston. In the late 1940s Gleason published a string of short novels written by his "stable of hack authors" including Benjamin Barker and Maturin Murray Ballou
Maturin Murray Ballou
Maturin Murray Ballou was a writer and publisher in 19th-century Boston, Massachusetts. He co-founded Gleason's Pictorial; was the first editor of the Boston Daily Globe; and wrote numerous travel books and works of popular fiction.-1820s - 1840s:Ballou was born in Boston in 1820, to parents Hosea...
, often published pseudonymously. Representative are works by the pseudonymous "Harry Halyard," including The Doom of the Dolphin and Wharton the Whale-Killer! Each novel ran "exactly 100 pages long and reflect[ed] the emphasis on glib dialogue and fast-paced action characteristic of the emerging 'dime novel
Dime novel
Dime novel, though it has a specific meaning, has also become a catch-all term for several different forms of late 19th-century and early 20th-century U.S...
' tradition."
Gleason began publishing a weekly story paper, The Flag of Our Union
The Flag of Our Union
The Flag of our Union was a popular, weekly newspaper published in Boston, Massachusetts in the mid-19th century. In addition to news, it published works of fiction and poetry, including contributions from notable writers.-Brief history:...
, in 1846. It became popular (75,000 copies circulated) and lucrative for Gleason ("an income of $25,000 a year") His expanding publishing enterprise operated out of a series of offices through the years; for some time Gleason's Publishing Hall was located on Tremont Street, in the former Boston Museum
Boston Museum (theatre)
The Boston Museum , also called the Boston Museum and Gallery of Fine Arts, was a theatre, wax museum, natural history museum, zoo, and art museum in 19th-century Boston, Massachusetts...
building.
In the 1840s Gleason built "Belvidere," a summer home on Bluehill Avenue in West Roxbury, Massachusetts
West Roxbury, Massachusetts
West Roxbury is a neighborhood in Boston bordered by Roslindale to the north, the Town of Dedham to the east and south, the Town of Brookline and the City of Newton to the west. Many people mistakenly confuse West Roxbury with Roxbury, but the two are not connected. West Roxbury is separated from...
, near Franklin Park
Franklin Park
Franklin Park may refer to some places in the United States:* Franklin Park, Boston, a large public park in Boston, Massachusetts* Franklin Park, Florida* Franklin Park, Illinois* Franklin Park, New Jersey* Franklin Park, Oakland...
; the house was "an elegant mansion ... landscaped with serpentine drives, fountains, and stands of mature trees." Pictures of the house appeared in Gleason's Pictorial, along with description:
Its great charm is the delightful and extended prospect it affords of the entire harbor of Boston, and the surrounding plain and hills for many miles in extent. The grounds immediately belonging to the house are some three acres in extent, and are improved to the best advantage by a thrifty growth of every species of rich and valuable tree … the house is situated on the Dorchester and Roxbury lines and is about four miles from the City of Boston.Gleason entertained frequently at the house. (By 1906, the building had been replaced by the Franklin Park Refectory).
In 1848, Gleason and his wife travelled abroad to London, Berlin and Paris. He returned to the US "full of new ideas."
In 1851, Gleason and Ballou
Maturin Murray Ballou
Maturin Murray Ballou was a writer and publisher in 19th-century Boston, Massachusetts. He co-founded Gleason's Pictorial; was the first editor of the Boston Daily Globe; and wrote numerous travel books and works of popular fiction.-1820s - 1840s:Ballou was born in Boston in 1820, to parents Hosea...
established the weekly paper Gleason’s Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion, modelled on The Illustrated London News. Gleason's Pictorial "won instant success and proved very profitable." Gleason sold his share of the Pictorial to Ballou in November 1854, "declaring that he had 'realized an ample competency' and now wished to 'retire from business altogether.'" Ballou then changed the paper's title to Ballou's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion.
The success of Gleason's Pictorial inspired others; imitators quickly became rivals in the publishing field. An item in the New York Daily Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
in 1852 emphasizes the growing competition between publishers of pictorials:
Mr. Gleason of the Pictorial. What can Beach and Barnum do against him, who has got all his artists to come together and give him some articles of plate shining resplendently on the banqet of a multiplied newspaper paragraph? the artists declare that Mr. G is a Pericles in his patronage of the arts; and that gentleman certainly patronizes as many arts as Pericles -- perhaps more. But the artists are right. They will find reversed the meaning of the old saying that whenever the kings rage against one another, the people under them have cause to weep. In the coming literary contention, the men of the graver will only grow the jollier.
After the Pictorial, Gleason published Gleason's Literary Companion 1860-1870; Gleason's Home Circle 1871-1890; and Gleason's Monthly Companion 1872-1887. He retired in 1890.
Financially, Gleason's net worth fluctuated over the years. In the 1850s he earned high profits but publishing rivals thereafter diminished his profit share. In terms of other investments, starting around 1857, Gleason "got into Wall Street, made $50,000 one week, lost $300,000 the next, and at the time of the crisis found his liabilities amounting to $2 million, with only $500,000 to meet them."
Further reading
- Father of pictorials; Frederick Gleason, Who Started the First Illustrated Paper Published in America—Once Worth Half a Million, Now He is Happy Without Riches. Boston Daily Globe. Sep 9, 1894. p. 30.
- An old-time publisher. New York Times Saturday Review. ca.1904.
- F. Adimare, "The Dime Novel: Its Place in American Literature," Dime Novel Round-Up 2 (1932–1933).
- Mary Noel, Villains Galore: The Heyday of the Popular Story Weekly (New York, 1954).
- Peter Benson, "Gleason's Publishing Hall," in Publishers for Mass Entertainment in Nineteenth Century America, ed. Madeleine B. SternMadeleine B. SternMadeleine Bettina Stern , born in New York, New York, was an American historian and rare books dealer and noted Louisa May Alcott scholar....
(Boston, 1980), 137-45. - J. Randolph Cox. The dime novel companion: a source book. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2000.
- Shelley Streeby. American sensations: class, empire, and the production of popular culture. University of California Press, 2002
- Joshua Brown. Beyond the lines: pictorial reporting, everyday life, and the crisis of Gilded Age America. University of California Press, 2002.
External links
- http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/english/on-line-exhibits/osgoode/big/big_33_gleasons_pictorial.aspx
- http://www.ric.edu/faculty/rpotter/gleasons.html