The Californian (1880s magazine)
Encyclopedia
The Californian was a San Francisco literary periodical issued monthly during 1880–1882, published by Anton Roman who had helped found the earlier (and later) Overland Monthly
. The Californian was a continuation of the Overland Monthly after its 1875 cessation, and changed back into the Overland Monthly in late 1882.
The Californian was first edited by Frederick M. Somers as a purely Western-focused magazine. Some have called it "Somers' Californian" to distinguish it from an earlier 1860s newspaper, The Californian
, and from the later Californian Illustrated Magazine funded by Charles Frederick Holder
and edited by Edmund Clarence Stedman
. The first editorial statement, in the first issue, was
Contributors included Joaquin Miller
, Edward Rowland Sill
, Ambrose Bierce
, John Muir
, Josiah Royce
, Joseph LeConte
, Charles Edwin Markham
Yda Hillis Addis
, Katherine Lee Bates, Kate Douglas Wiggin
and Ina Coolbrith
.
A half year after publication began, the reaction in other periodicals was good. In California, the San Francisco Bulletin said the new magazine was "a serial which more and more proves its claim to be no unworthy successor of The Overland..." The Oakland Tribune wrote that "[i]t is a capital magazine, creditable to its editor and contributors, and a proud monument to the originality and culture of the Pacific Coast." Praise for the magazine spread eastward, too, signaled with this note from the Daily Hawkeye
in Burlington, Iowa
: "...the articles it contains are fully equal to those in the Eastern periodicals. It is a credit to the Pacific Coast..." In Philadelphia, the Chronicle-Herald noticed that "many of the contributors are women, some of whom write with much grace and force. There is the odor of the Pacific about the whole publication, which deserves to win its way into to many Eastern homes."
Lawyer and poet Charles Henry Phelps followed Somers as editor. Phelps edited the periodical until it folded in September 1882. The editors and contributors published The Californian and Overland Monthly for three months beginning in October 1882, then in January, 1883 dropped the word "Californian" entirely to revive the old Overland Monthly.
Overland Monthly
Overland Monthly was a monthly magazine based in California, United States, and published in the 19th and 20th century.The magazine's first issue was in July 1868, and continued until the late 1875. The original publishers, in 1880, started The Californian, which became The Californian and Overland...
. The Californian was a continuation of the Overland Monthly after its 1875 cessation, and changed back into the Overland Monthly in late 1882.
The Californian was first edited by Frederick M. Somers as a purely Western-focused magazine. Some have called it "Somers' Californian" to distinguish it from an earlier 1860s newspaper, The Californian
The Californian (1860s newspaper)
The Californian was a San Francisco literary newspaper published weekly from May 28, 1864 until February 1, 1868.-History:The Californian was started in May 1864 by publishers P.J. Thomas, A.A. Stickney and John Collner. Charles Henry "Inigo" Webb was the first editor, and Fitz Hugh Ludlow was one...
, and from the later Californian Illustrated Magazine funded by Charles Frederick Holder
Charles Frederick Holder
Charles Frederick Holder was the inventor of big-game fishing and a founder of Pasadena's Tournament of Roses and the Tuna Club of Avalon on Santa Catalina Island....
and edited by Edmund Clarence Stedman
Edmund Clarence Stedman
Edmund Clarence Stedman , American poet, critic, and essayist was born at Hartford, Connecticut, United States.-Biography:...
. The first editorial statement, in the first issue, was
Contributors included Joaquin Miller
Joaquin Miller
Joaquin Miller was the pen name of the colorful American poet Cincinnatus Heine Miller , nicknamed the "Poet of the Sierras".-Early years and family:...
, Edward Rowland Sill
Edward Rowland Sill
Edward Rowland Sill , American poet and educator, was born in Windsor, Connecticut.He graduated from Yale in 1861, where he was Class Poet and a member of Skull and Bones. He engaged in business in California, and entered the Harvard Divinity School in 1867 but soon left it for a position on the...
, Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist and satirist...
, John Muir
John Muir
John Muir was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, have been read by millions...
, Josiah Royce
Josiah Royce
Josiah Royce was an American objective idealist philosopher.-Life:Royce, born in Grass Valley, California, grew up in pioneer California very soon after the California Gold Rush. He received the B.A...
, Joseph LeConte
Joseph LeConte
Joseph Le Conte was an American geologist and professor at the University of California, Berkeley.-Biography:...
, Charles Edwin Markham
Edwin Markham
Charles Edwin Anson Markham was an American poet. From 1923 to 1931 he was Poet Laureate of Oregon.-Life:Edwin Markham was born in Oregon City, Oregon and was the youngest of 10 children; his parents divorced shortly after his birth...
Yda Hillis Addis
Yda Hillis Addis
Yda Hillis Addis, was the first American writer to translate ancient Mexican oral stories and histories into English. The most widely published of her more than 100 stories are "The Romance of Ramon" and "Roger's Luck"....
, Katherine Lee Bates, Kate Douglas Wiggin
Kate Douglas Wiggin
Kate Douglas Wiggin was an American educator and author of children's stories, most notably the classic children's novel Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. She started the first free kindergarten in San Francisco in 1878...
and Ina Coolbrith
Ina Coolbrith
Ina Donna Coolbrith was an American poet, writer, librarian, and a prominent figure in the San Francisco Bay Area literary community...
.
A half year after publication began, the reaction in other periodicals was good. In California, the San Francisco Bulletin said the new magazine was "a serial which more and more proves its claim to be no unworthy successor of The Overland..." The Oakland Tribune wrote that "[i]t is a capital magazine, creditable to its editor and contributors, and a proud monument to the originality and culture of the Pacific Coast." Praise for the magazine spread eastward, too, signaled with this note from the Daily Hawkeye
The Hawk Eye
The Hawk Eye is a general-circulation newspaper based in Burlington, Iowa, and boasts itself as "Iowa's Oldest Newspaper."-History:The newspaper traces its roots to the Wisconsin Territorial Gazette and Burlington Advertiser, which was established July 10, 1837, by James Clarke, and Cyrus Jacobs...
in Burlington, Iowa
Burlington, Iowa
Burlington is a city in, and the county seat of Des Moines County, Iowa, United States. The population was 25,663 in the 2010 census, a decline from the 26,839 population in the 2000 census. Burlington is the center of a micropolitan area including West Burlington, Iowa and Middletown, Iowa and...
: "...the articles it contains are fully equal to those in the Eastern periodicals. It is a credit to the Pacific Coast..." In Philadelphia, the Chronicle-Herald noticed that "many of the contributors are women, some of whom write with much grace and force. There is the odor of the Pacific about the whole publication, which deserves to win its way into to many Eastern homes."
Lawyer and poet Charles Henry Phelps followed Somers as editor. Phelps edited the periodical until it folded in September 1882. The editors and contributors published The Californian and Overland Monthly for three months beginning in October 1882, then in January, 1883 dropped the word "Californian" entirely to revive the old Overland Monthly.
External links
- The Californian, Volume I, January–June 1880
- The Californian, Volume II, July–December 1880
- The Californian, Volume III, January–June 1881
- The Californian, Volume IV, July–December 1881
- The Californian, Volume V, January–June 1882
- The Californian, Volume VI, July–September 1882