Whitman at Pfaff's: Commercial Culture, Literary Life and New York Bohemia at Mid-Century

Andrews is described as an "anarchist and sex radical" who presided over the New York Free Love League, "a discussion group of men and women" (120).

To help publicize "Leaves of Grass" Clapp "cheerfully" published Beach's "revolted review" of the third edition.

To help publicize "Leaves of Grass" Clapp "cheerfully" published Beach's "revolted review" of the third edition.

Deland was an actress who came to Pfaff's with her male companion/manager. She is also mentioned as one of "the handful of women artists [who] figure in the accounts of New York Bohemia" (111).

He is listed as one of the Pfaffian writers that "have fallen into obscurity." Stansell wonders how much influence these writers weilded on Whitman's literary career (108).

Stansell writes that for Poe and O'Brien a decade later, journalism became "a profession for the broken and disappointed of the gentlemanly classes" (114). She also describes him as "dashing" and writes that O'Brien was, "a once wealthy Irishman and Pfaffian in the late '50s who had arrived in New York with impressive letters of introduction to New York's most powerful editors, 'a large and valuable library,' 'dressing cases; pictures' a ward-robe of much splendor; and all sorts of knick knackery, such as young bachelors love to collect'" (114).

As one of the "Pfaffian regulars" who did "serious writing along with journalism", O'Brien wrote short stories (114). Stansell writes that at Pfaff's "There was verbal play with literary material: O'Brien took the idea for a sensationalist Poe-esque story about a glass eye from a story Clapp told one night" (117). Stansell writes that "O'Brien...would dash into Pfaff's to sponge off freinds when he was dead broke, then dash out again with an idea for a story of knock off" (118).

Stansell writes that for Poe and O'Brien a decade later, journalism became "a profession for the broken and disappointed of the gentlemanly classes" (114).

He is listed as one of the Pfaffian writers that "have fallen into obscurity." Stansell wonders how much influence these writers weilded on Whitman's literary career (108).

He is listed as one of the Pfaffian writers that "have fallen into obscurity." Stansell wonders how much influence these writers weilded on Whitman's literary career (108).

As one of the "Pfaffian regulars" who did "serious writing along with journalism", Shephard wrote poetry (114).

Stansell writes that Stedman remembered the 1850s in New York as "bleak": "there was not much of a literary market at that time" (121).

Stansell writes that Clapp incorported his "disdain for puffery" as a "point of principle for his Saturday Press" (117).

Stansell notes that while many contemporary sources claim that literary life was quite difficult in the 1850s in New York, evidence of the wide spread of New York publications, such as the Saturday Press to places like Columbus, Ohio, where it was noticed and contributed to by Howells, show that matters were improving for the New York literary world (121).

Clapp used the Saturday Press as a venue for "stirring up" issues around Leaves of Grass to promote the book. The paper seems to have discussed both the poetry and Whitman; publishing twenty items on Whitman in eleven months as well as poetic contributions, critical reviews of the work, notes about the poems, advertisements, and parodies (122).

Stansell notes that one of the political fights that occurred at Pfaff's was between Whitman and Arnold; the two men had a falling-out over some pro-Southern remarks Arnold made.

Stansell looks to Winter as a source about Pfaff's and writes: "Winter described a caustic collective style articulated through verbal facility, mockery and male bravado:

'Candor of judgment, indeed, relative to literary product was the inveterate custom of that Bohemian group. Unmerciful chaff pursued te perpetrator of any piece of writing that impressed those persons as trite, conventional, artificial, laboriously solemn, or insincere; and they never spared each other from the barb of ridicule. It was a salutary experience for young writers, because it habituated them to the custom not only of speaking the truth, as they understood it, about the writings of their associates, but of hearing the truth, as others understood it, about thier own productions'" (117).

Stansell also quotes Winter's description of Clapp p.120. In discussing the literary life in New York in the 1850s, Stansell quotes Winter: "a harder time for writers has not been known in our country than the time that immediately preceeded the outbreak of the Civil War" and notes that he uses the life stories of several Pfaff's regulars to illustrate this point (121).

He is listed as one of the Pfaffian writers that "have fallen into obscurity." Stansell wonders how much influence these writers weilded on Whitman's literary career (108).