Periodicals

The bohemians of antebellum New York published regularly in the daily newspapers, literary weeklies, and monthly magazines that proliferated throughout the United States in the years leading up to the Civil War. Writers and artists at the beginnings of their careers published in periodicals as a way to build their reputations and attract the attention of book publishers. A number of the periodicals that began during this period, such as The New York Tribune and Harper's Monthly, became very successful and continued to be published well into the twentieth century. Many other periodicals, however, lasted only for a few years. Two such periodicals, The New York Saturday Press and Vanity Fair, began around the tables at Pfaff's bar. The Saturday Press ran from October 1858 until December 1860, and was briefly revived in August 1865 only to cease publication again in June 1866. Similarly, Vanity Fair began publishing in December 1859 and ended its run in July 1863. During that brief window, however, the two periodicals were a showcase for a variety of irreverent, playful, and socially savvy literary and artistic productions. Vanity Fair regularly featured illustrations and was primarily a humor magazine with a strong political bent; the Saturday Press was text-only and focused on literary and theatrical arts, as well as commentary on current events. When the Pfaff's bohemians no longer had Vanity Fair and the Saturday Press available to them as publication venues, many of them began contributing to The New York Leader, a weekly that ran from 1856 to 1871.

The Vault at Pfaff's provides scanned page images of the Saturday Press, Vanity Fair, and the Leader in an Islandora viewer. Poems, illustrations, and articles from the Saturday Press and Vanity Fair have been indexed, with metadata and abstracts searchable on the site. Selections from the Leader will be indexed at a later date. In addition, many pieces by and about the Pfaff's bohemians that appeared in periodicals such as Harper's, Putnam's, The Knickerbocker, and Frank Leslie's Paper have been indexed for searching and, where available, links have been provided to external websites that house scanned page images or transcriptions.

Use the form below to browse plays or visit the advanced search page for more options.

SCS. "Natural History. The Man about Town." Vanity Fair. (1860-7-21).
Ward, Artemus. "Wimmin's Rites." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-7-21).
Anonymous. "Inconsistent Already." Vanity Fair. (1860-7-21).
M. "Sabbatarian Grammar." Vanity Fair. (1860-7-21).
Quelqu'un [Winter, William]. "Dramatic Feuilleton." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-7-28).
Anonymous. "A Sermon to Organ Grinders." Vanity Fair. (1860-7-28).
"Midsummer [from the Atlantic Monthly for August]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-7-28).
Anonymous. "Mind Your Eyes!." Vanity Fair. (1860-7-28).
"The Chicago Zouaves [from The New York Times]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-7-28).
Her's For Ever. "A Crow for the Country." Vanity Fair. (1860-7-28).
Anonymous. "Soldiers." Vanity Fair. (1860-7-28).
HLS. "The Great Tribulation." Vanity Fair. (1860-7-28).
Balzac, Honore de. "Comedians Without Knowing It [translated for the New York Saturday Press]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-7-28).
"Harvard College Again." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-7-28).
"Litoria [A Harvard Song]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-7-28).
Anonymous. "Punning Made Easy." Vanity Fair. (1860-7-28).
Stephens. "The Modern Brutus." Vanity Fair. (1860-7-28).
"The Sinai Bible." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-7-28).
Anonymous. "Ye Mocke Auctionere." Vanity Fair. (1860-7-28).
"The Class of 1860 [from the Boston Transcript, July 19]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-7-28).
Anonymous. "The Comic Murder." Vanity Fair. (1860-7-28).
"Hood's Tract [from Memoirs of Thomas Hood, by his Daughter]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-7-28).
Anonymous. "Summer Solitude in New York." Vanity Fair. (1860-7-28).
Anonymous. "A Little More Cider Required." Vanity Fair. (1860-7-28).
"A Run Through Europe." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-7-28).
"Edward Everett [from the Seneca County Sentinel, July 19, 1860]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-7-28).
Anonymous. "Testificatory Literature." Vanity Fair. (1860-7-28).
Rogers, N. P.. "Aristocracy." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-7-28).
Anonymous. "Those Little Bills." Vanity Fair. (1860-7-28).
"Roses and Things [from the Randolph County Democrat]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-7-28).
Spuytentuyful, Broadway. "The Telegraph Tour of Broadway Spuytentuyful and His Cousin, Peytona Randolph de Accomac." Vanity Fair. (1860-7-28).
Anonymous. "An Unexpected Visitor." Vanity Fair. (1860-7-28).
O'Brien, Fitz-James. "The Zouaves." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-7-28).
Anonymous. "Something New in the World." Vanity Fair. (1860-7-28).
Anonymous. "[Untitled]." Vanity Fair. (1860-7-28).
HLS. "The Inconvenience of a New Chambermaid." Vanity Fair. (1860-7-28).
"Walt Whitman and His Critics [From the London Leader]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-7-28).
Henry, James M. D.. "Extracts From Poems Chiefly Philosophical." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-7-28).
"Thomas Hood's Memoirs." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-7-28).
"The Wars of the Roses [from the Gloucester Telegraph, July 25]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-7-28).
A Hanger-On in the Park. "The Sentiments of a Hanger On." Vanity Fair. (1860-7-28).
Anonymous. "[Untitled]." Vanity Fair. (1860-7-28).
English, Thomas Dunn. "Battle of Bennington." Harper’s New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper & Bros. (1860-8-1).
Ludlow, Fitz Hugh. "The Cruise of the Two Deacons. A Tale in Eight Chapters [Chapters 4-5]." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1860-8-1).
Anonymous. "Fancy Dying." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-4).
Anonymous. "O Wicked, Wicked World!." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-4).
Anonymous. "Punning Made Easy." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-4).
Anonymous. "Summer Solitude." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-4).
Anonymous. "Inconvenience of a New Chambermaid." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-4).
Jenkins, Jenkins, Knt.. "Our Wimbledon Correspondence." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-4).
Smithers, Primitive. "How the Belles Ring It In." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-4).
Our Bibliographical Editor; Mullen, EF. "Private Libraries of New York." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-4).
Anonymous. "The Best Way to Serve Him." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-4).
Anonymous. "Alarming Reduction." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-4).
HLS. "Street Courtesies." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-4).
Anonymous. "[Editorial Notes]." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-4).
Anonymous. "Literature and Crowbars." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-4).
H. G.. "A Confidential Communication to the Great Eastern." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-4).
Stephens. "Foot-Ball in Europe." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-4).
Perfect Brick. "Marriage and Architecture." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-4).
The Vanity Fair. "[Personal]." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-4).
Anonymous. "The Haul of the Net." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-4).
Anonymous. "[Editorial Notes]." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-4).
Anonymous. "The Prince of Wales' Hat." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-4).
Anonymous. "Meteorrible." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-4).
Anonymous. "Fine Arts for the People." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-4).
Spuytentuyful, Broadway; Anonymous. "The Telegraph Tour of Broadway Spuytentuyful and His Cousin, Peytona Randolph de Accomac." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-4).
EFM. "Meriam's Address to the Great Meteor." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-4).
"The A. D. F. Association [from the New York 'Evening Post']." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-11).
Stephens. "All Right!." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-11).
Swinton. "The Original Connecticut-Man [from the New York Times]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-11).
Dana, Richard A.. "Highly Interesting From Japan [from the New York Evening Post]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-11).
CS. "Gentle Annie." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-11).
Mullen, EF. "Unlimited Suspension." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-11).
Fantasio; M. "A Word for the Great Eastern." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-11).
Prime; Anonymous. "Correspondence of Vanity Fair. Our European Letter No. I." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-11).
HLS. "How the Boys Take It." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-11).
Anonymous. "A Spelndid Chance for H. R. H. the Prince of Wales." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-11).
CDS. "[Untitled]." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-11).
Anonymous. "[Editorial Notes]." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-11).
Barber, Joseph. "Our Rich and Poor [from the New York Mercury]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-11).
Anonymous. "Song of the Rats." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-11).
"Literary Flunkies." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-11).
Spuytentuyful, Broadway; EFM. "The Telegraph Tour of Broadway Spuytentuyful and His Cousin, Peytona Randolph de Accomac." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-11).
"Good for 'The Hub'." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-11).
"Alpha and Omega [from the London Saturday Review, July 21]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-11).
Chilton, Mary A.. "Turnips-and-Water [for the New York Saturday Press]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-11).
Henry, James. "[Pagan forsake your Gods, the Christian cries,]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-11).
Henry, James. "[She never in her whole life wrote one stanza]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-11).
Anonymous. "[Editorial Notes]." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-11).
Anonymous. "A New Ballad for the Great Eastern." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-11).
"The Chevalier Fou." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-11).
[Howells, William Dean]. "A Hoosier's Opinion of Walt Whitman [From Ashtabula (Ohio) Sentinel July 18]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-11).
Anonymous. "Tiddy Iddy Tol Lol." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-11).
Sears, John V.. "Etheridge [written for the New York Saturday Press]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-11).
Anonymous. "The Glory and the Shame of Shine." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-11).
"Hard to Please." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-11).
"Houses on the European Plan." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-11).
Quelqu'un [Winter, William]. "Dramatic Feuilleton." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-11).
Winter, William. "The Coquette." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-11).
Congdon, Charles T.. "The Song of the Rats [from Vanity Fair, Aug. 11]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-11).
O'Brien, Judy. "Judy O'Brien's Protest." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-11).
HLS. "Our Artist." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-11).
Anonymous. "Progress of Civilization up to the Hour of Going to Press." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-11).
"Edward Everett and His Critics [from the Cambridge (Mass.) Chronicle, Aug. 4]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-11).
Vanity Fair. "The Vanity Fair Correspondence." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-11).
Anonymous. "[Editorial Notes]." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-11).
"Virtuous Indignation." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-11).
Mullen. "The Zany of the House of Peers." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-11).
"Mrs. Nickleby and Mr. Everett." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-11).
"Brilliant Critique from the 'Sunday Courier'." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-11).
Jewett, S. W.. "Getting On [for the New York Saturday Press]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-14).
"Castle Richmond." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-14).
"Marriage in the United States [from the London Aethenaeum]." New -York Saturday Press. (1860-8-14).
Beach, Juliette H.. "A Little Wine [for the New York Saturday Press]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-14).
"Leaves of Grass." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-14).
"Literature in Japan." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-14).
"A Moral Atrocity." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-14).
Gardette, Charles D.. "The Two Shadows [for the New York Saturday Press]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-14).
D. D.. "Sub Noctem [for the New York Saturday Press]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-14).
"Zouaves in the Army of the Revolution." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-14).
"One Thing and Another." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-14).
Landor, Walter Savage. "Leontine on Ternissa's Death." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-14).
"Poetry and Politics." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-14).
An Aristocrat. "Aristocracy [for the New York Saturday Press]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-14).
Quelqu'un [Winter, William]. "Dramatic Feuilleton." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-14).
Henry, James. "[I would not, if I could, be wise,]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-14).
"Stephen and His Anxious Mother [from the Hartford Evening Press, August 7]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-18).
The Voice of; Mullen, EF. "Decadance of "Blood"." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-18).
Bolton, Sarah T.. "The Betrayed [from Once a Week, August 4]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-18).
"Tupper's Sonnets [from the London Saturday Review, Aug. 4]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-18).
"First Grand Fete of the Muscular Christians [from the New York Herald, August 14]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-18).
"Curious Revolutionary Verses [from the Historical Magazine]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-18).
Anonymous. "A New Song of a Belle." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-18).
Anonymous. "[Editorial Notes]." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-18).
Anonymous. "Portlande's Follie." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-18).
"San Francisco. After Walt Whitman." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-18).
Stephens. "John Bull's Old Nightmare." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-18).
Dobell, Sydney. "The Youth of England to Garibaldi's Legion [from Macmillan's Magazine for August]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-18).
"Mrs. Gurney." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-18).
"Elegant Extracts from the Mount Vernon Papers." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-18).
Henry, James. "Sly Liddy." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-18).
Farmer, Jedidiah. "The Plaint of a Countryman." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-18).
Prime. "Correspondence of Vanity Fair. Our European Letter No. 2." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-18).
Anonymous. "A Professional Opinion." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-18).
Anonymous. "More British Fair Play." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-18).
Anonymous. "The Case of Francisco Casanova, American Citizen." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-18).
Spuytentuyful, Broadway; Mullen, EF. "The Telegraph Tour of Broadway Spuytentuyful and His Cousin, Peytona Randolph de Accomac." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-18).
Browning, Elizabeth Barrett. "King Victor Emanuel Entering Florence, April, 1860 [from the Independent, Aug. 16]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-18).
"Ernest Renan [for the New York Saturday Press]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-18).
"Lola Montez." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-18).
"A Clerical Snob [from the N.Y. Times]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-18).
Sala, George Augustus. "The Brough Memorial." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-18).
Anonymous. "Life at Saratoga." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-18).
Anonymous. "A Sketch in the Elysian Fields." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-18).
Anonymous. "The Song of the Beggar." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-18).
Anonymous. "The P. O. Pother." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-18).
Spring. "Questionable Eloquence." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-25).
Anonymous. "[Editorial Notes]." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-25).
"Campmeeting on the Old Battleground [from the New York 'Tribune,' Aug. 23]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-25).
Anonymous. "Prince Vs. Pugilists." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-25).
Henry, James M. D.. "The Love-Letter." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-25).
"The Metropolitan Sabbath- What is it?." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-25).
Anonymous. "The Arlington Tournament." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-25).
"Street in the Wilderness." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-25).
Anonymous. "Glorious Game." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-25).
"Jesse Cameron." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-25).
M. "Another Introduction by Lord Broughaim." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-25).
Gurowski [de Gurowski, Adam Count]. "Minor Experiences in America I [for the New York Saturday Press]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-25).
Anonymous. "[Editorial Notes]." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-25).
Rankin, Jessica. "I've Lost My Heart [from Once a Week]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-25).
Anonymous. "Whereabouts and Whatabouts of Our Artists." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-25).
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "Culture [from the 'Atlantic' for September]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-25).
Anonymous. "A Choice Bit for Exeter Hall." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-25).
Gardette, Charles D.. "Ephemera [for the New York Saturday Press]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-25).
Balzac, Honore de. "The Woman Comme-Il-Faut. [Translated for the New York Saturday Press by Charles D. Gardette]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-25).
CDS. "Startling Disclosures." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-25).
"Clerical Flunkeyism." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-25).
Anonymous. "To Whom It May Concern." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-25).
"The Peaceful Grave." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-25).
Spuytentuyful, Broadway; EFM. "The Telegraph Tour of Broadway Spuytentuyful and His Cousin, Peytona Randolph de Accomac." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-25).
Anonymous. "Dog Days." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-25).
Quelqu'un [Winter, William]. "Dramatic Feuilleton." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-25).
Ellet, E. F.. "Little Ella Burns [Romance of an infant's life] [from the San Francisco Golden Era]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-25).
Anonymous. "A Story That Carries Its Own Lesson." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-25).
Spray. "Art in Newport [from the New York Times]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-25).
Anonymous. "Sound on the Goose." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-25).
Stephens. "Settling Vexation by Annexation." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-25).
Cosmopolite. "Farmers Attention." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-25).
Anonymous. "[Editorial Notes]." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-25).
"Life in the Desert." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-25).
Jackson, Erasmus, D. D.. "The Real Horrors of the Great Eastern." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-25).
"The Literary Pension List [from the London 'Leader']." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-25).
"Country Editors and their Jackals." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-25).
Anonymous. "The Fine Young English Gentleman." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-25).
"Charming." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-25).
Aldrich, T. B. [Thomas Bailey]. "Abbassa or Fatima [from the Atlantic and from the Knickerbocker]." New-York Saturday Press. (1860-8-25).
Anonymous. "A New Feature in the Home Journal." Vanity Fair. (1860-8-25).
Spuytentuyful, Broadway; Mullen, EF. "The Telegraph Tour of Broadway Spuytentuyful and His Cousin, Peytona Randolph de Accomac." Vanity Fair. (1860-9-1).
Stephens. ""Three to One You Don't Get It"." Vanity Fair. (1860-9-1).