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The Knickerbocker

The Knickerbocker, or New-York Monthly Magazine, was a literary magazine of New York City, founded by Charles Fenno Hoffman in 1833, and published until 1865. Its long-term editor and publisher was Lewis Gaylord Clark, whose "Editor's Table" column was a staple of the magazine.

For other uses, see Knickerbocker.

Editor and publisher

Lewis Gaylord Clark

Washington Irving, Francis Parkman, James Russell Lowell

Literary magazine

Monthly

Charles Fenno Hoffman

1833

October 1865

The United States

New York City

English

The circle of writers who contributed to the magazine and populated its cultural milieu are often known as the "Knickerbocker writers" or the "Knickerbocker Group". The group included such authors as William Cullen Bryant, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, James Russell Lowell and many others.[1]: 104 


The Knickerbocker was devoted to the fine arts in particular with occasional news, editorials and a few full-length biographical sketches.[1]: 102  The magazine was one of the earliest literary vehicles for communication about the United States' "vanishing wilderness." As such, The Knickerbocker may be considered one of the earliest proto-environmental magazines in the United States.[2]

The Knickerbacker: or, New-York monthly magazine, from January through June 1833

The Knickerbocker: or, New-York monthly magazine, from 1833 through 1862

The Knickerbocker monthly: a national magazine, from 1863 through February 1864

The American monthly knickerbocker, from March through December 1864

The American monthly, from January through June 1865

The Fœderal American monthly, from July through October 1865

, by Francis Parkman – An 1846 story of exploring the West published in 21 installments. It portrays heroic frontiersmen, struggling immigrants, and savage Native Americans. Though it is a romantic work, Parkman does not shy from the violence of the frontier, providing his audience a more realistic view of the frontier than some of his contemporaries. However, he does place emphasis on the beauty of the conquered nature over the wild.[16]

The Oregon Trail

"Scalp-Hunter," by Francis Parkman - A short story of 1845, chronicling the young Parkman's experiences in the American wilderness. The story contains frenzied hunting scenes, dangerous rock climbing and his daring ascent of a steep, crumbling ravine. The story romanticized nature, transforming harrowing experiences into wilderness adventures.

[16]

"Hints on Human Nature," by One of the People (anonymous) – December 1845 piece that compared humans with animals. It suggested that "man shares many of his intellectual and social capabilities with the lower animals. the beaver also laid up stores, the ants also established communities and governments. It was, furthermore the nature of all animals to love, hate, sorrow and rejoice. There were differences to be sure. If dogs and men alike stole, dogs did not pray to their Maker nor take his name in vain since man did both, it was fair to concede that he possessed a conscience...and the general anti-intellectualism of the piece was reflected in the remark that little could be learned about human nature from books or schools or even colleges."

[17]

, by Washington Irving - A collection of short stories and essays, reprinted in a single volume in 1855, covering a variety of topics including: man's relationship with the land, man's relationship with man and the natural society. This work is the result of Irving's travels and research across the country and his portrayal of the beautiful nature he saw.[10] It has been said however, that this work is rather simplistic and fails to provide any true analysis of the environment.[10]

Wolfert's Roost

"Prometheus," by James Russell Lowell, among the first American poets to rival the popularity of British poets. The work provided readers with a contemporary view of nature through the lens of a classical text.

[18]

Eric Kaufman, a professor of politics commented in his paper on "American Naturalistic Nationalism" that the "naturalistic aesthetic first took root among writers in New England and New York. These intellectuals, connected by New York literary periodicals like Knickerbocker Magazine ... responded in several ways to the new naturalistic sensibility" the influence of which can be seen in many of their published works.[15]


Some famous works first published in The Knickerbocker that have influenced environmental thought include:

The Knickerbocker Group

Prometheus myth

Tarrytown, New York

Wolfert's Roost

Meservey, Anne Farmer (1978). "The Role of Art in American Life: Critics' Views on Native Art and Literature, 1830–1865". . 10 (1): 72–89.

American Art Journal

Mott, Frank Luther (1930). A History of American Magazines, Volume 1 (1741–1850). /Belknap. ISBN 0-674-39550-6.

Harvard University Press

Spivey, Herman Everette (1936). The Knickerbocker Magazine, 1833–1865: A Study of its History, Contents, and Significance (PhD thesis). .

University of North Carolina

at Internet Archive (scanned books original editions color illustrated)

The Knickerbocker

at Google Book Search

The Knickerbacker v. 1

at Google Book Search

The Knickerbocker v. 2

at the HathiTrust

The Knickerbocker