Louis Antoine Godey was an American editor and publisher, known as the founder of Godey's Lady's Book

Godey's Lady's Book

Godey's Lady's Book, alternatively known as Godey's Magazine and Lady's Book, was a United States magazine which was published in Philadelphia. It was the most widely circulated magazine in the period before the Civil War. Its circulation rose from 70,000 in the 1840s to 150,000 in 1860...

, the first successful American women's fashion magazine.

Biography

Godey was born to French immigrant parents in New York. His family was poor and he had no formal schooling, but he was self-educated. At age 15, he took a job as a newspaper boy in New York. Several years later, he moved to Philadelphia and became an editor for the Daily Chronicle. In 1830, he published the first edition of the Lady's Book, composed of reprinted articles and illustrations from French magazines. Godey married Maria Duke in 1833 and had five children.

Godey hired Sarah Josepha Hale

Sarah Josepha Hale

Sarah Josepha Buell Hale was an American writer and an influential editor. She is the author of the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb"...

 editor of Godey's Lady's Book in 1837. The magazine became extremely popular, becoming America's highest circulated magazine in the 1840s and reaching over 150,000 subscribers by 1858. Godey published two other magazines, The Young People’s Book (1841) and Lady’s Musical Library (1842) with less successful results. Godey copyright

Copyright

Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...

ed each issue of Godey's Lady's Book starting in 1845, making it one of the first magazines in America to do so.

In the 1870s, he retired to St. Augustine, Florida

St. Augustine, Florida

St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...

, but returned to Philadelphia where he died in 1878. He and his wife are buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery

Laurel Hill Cemetery

Laurel Hill Cemetery, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the second major garden or rural cemetery in the United States. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1998, one of only a few cemeteries to receive the distinction....

 in Philadelphia.

External links

• http://www.pabook.libraries.psu.edu/LitMap/bios/Godey__Louis_Antoine.html Louis Godey biography (Pennsylvania Center for the Book, Penn State University
  Pennsylvania State University
  The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
  
  )]
• Columbia Encyclopedia entry for Louis Godey
• Godey in The Literary History of Philadelphia