The Vault at Pfaff's

An Archive of Art and Literature by the Bohemians of Antebellum New York

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.

  • Anonymous. "[Editorial Notes]." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-21).

  • Anonymous. "[Editorial Notes]." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-21).

  • Anonymous. "Humors of the War." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-21).

  • Anonymous. "[Editorial Notes]." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-21).

  • Anonymous. "[Editorial Notes]." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-21).

  • Tucker, Perley C.. "Letters from a Country Editor, No. III." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-21).

  • WF. "Tragedy in the Fourth Ward." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-21).

  • Anonymous. "Vanity Fair to the Grand Turk." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-21).

  • Anonymous. "The Dream of a War Office Employe." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-21).

  • Anonymous. "Startling from the National Capital." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-21).

  • Anonymous. "The Plaint of the Planter." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-21).

  • Anonymous. "Parisian Fashions." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-21).

  • Anonymous. "Advertisement." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-21).

  • Anonymous. "Vermicelli." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-21).

  • M. "Gratitude: A Ferryboat Incident." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-21).

  • Anonymous. "Title Page-Vol. 5, No. 129." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-21).

  • Anonymous. "The Fall of Mighty Memphis." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-21).

  • Anonymous. "[Editorial Notes]." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-21).

  • Anonymous. "Diplomatic Delicacies." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-21).

  • Anonymous. "The Fitness of Things." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-21).

  • Anonymous. "A Moral Trotting Match." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-21).

  • McArone. "Our War Correspondence. Letter from McArone." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-21).

  • Anonymous. "Fame." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-21).

  • CDS. "What Is It?." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-21).

  • Anonymous. "[Editorial Notes]." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-28).

  • Anonymous. "Horrid Torrid!." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-28).

  • Anonymous. "[Editorial Notes]." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-28).

  • Anonymous. "A Voice." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-28).

  • Del, Howard. "Not to be Caught with the Chaff." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-28).

  • Anonymous. "Woman's Rights." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-28).

  • Anonymous. "Miscellaneous Front Matter." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-28).

  • Anonymous. "Pertinent Inquiries by a Southern Belle." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-28).

  • Anonymous. "[Advertisement Extraordinary.]." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-28).

  • M. "Index." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-28).

  • Anonymous. "Gay Young Flowers." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-28).

  • Anonymous. "Our Book Review." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-28).

  • Stephens. "Jonathan's Advice to Louis Napoleon." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-28).

  • Anonymous. "Plated Vessels." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-28).

  • Anonymous. "Academy of Music." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-28).

  • An Admirer of the Late Dr. Watts. "The Humble Bee." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-28).

  • Anonymous. "Natural History. The Peccary, or Mexican Pig." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-28).

  • Anonymous. "[Editorial Notes]." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-28).

  • WF. "Gin and Bitters." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-28).

  • Anonymous. "Journey of a Rebel Officer." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-28).

  • Anonymous. "Title Page-Vol. 5, No. 130." Vanity Fair. (1862-6-28).

  • O'Brien, Fitz-James. "Down in the Glen at Idlewild." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1862-7-1).

  • Taylor, Bayard. "Friend Eli's Daughter." The Atlantic Monthly. Boston: Atlantic Monthly Co. (1862-7-1).

  • O'Brien, Fitz-James. "Tommatoo." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper's New Monthly Magazine. (1862-8-1).

  • Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "Thoreau." The Atlantic Monthly. Boston: Atlantic Monthly Co. (1862-8-1).

  • Aldrich, T. B.. "Seadrift." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1862-9-1).

  • Shepherd, N. G.. "The Carte De Visite." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1862-9-1).

  • "[Review of] Edwin Brotherloft." North American Review. (1862-10-1).

  • Aldrich, T. B.. "An Arab Welcome." The Atlantic Monthly. Boston: Atlantic Monthly Co. (1862-10-1).

  • Taylor, Bayard. "Euphorion." The Atlantic Monthly. Boston: Atlantic Monthly Co. (1862-10-1).

  • Clapp, Henry Jr.. "Untitled." The Leader. (1862-10-11).

  • Clapp, Henry Jr.. "Untitled." The Leader. (1862-10-14).

  • Clapp, Henry Jr.. "The Leader." The Leader. (1862-10-14).

  • Shepherd, N. G.. "Love in Autumn." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1862-11-1).

  • Shepherd, N. G.. "Roll-Call." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1862-12-1).

  • "[Review of] The Canoe and the Saddle, Adventures among the Northwestern Rivers and Forests; and Isthmiana”." The North American Review. (1863-1-1).

  • Shepherd, N. G.. "Past and Present." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1863-1-1).

  • Shepherd, N. G.. "Fifth Avenue." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1863-1-1).

  • "Adam Gurowski's Diary." The North American Review. (1863-1-1).

  • Taylor, Bayard. "The Test." The Atlantic Monthly. Boston: Atlantic Monthly Co. (1863-2-1).

  • Shepherd, N. G.. "Elsie Vane." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1863-3-1).

  • Winter, William. "Albion." Albion. (1863-3-17).

  • Shepherd, N. G.. "Widow Thorn's First Marriage." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1863-4-1).

  • Shepherd, N. G.. "Rest." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1863-5-1).

  • Shepherd, N. G.. "A Summer Night." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1863-5-1).

  • Arnold, George. "Why Thomas was Discharged." The Atlantic Monthly. Boston: Atlantic Monthly Co. (1863-6-1).

  • Aldrich, T. B.. "Sir Guy of Brittany." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1863-8-1).

  • Ludlow, Fitz-Hugh. "The Battle and Triumph of Dr. Susan In Two Parts--Part I." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1863-8-1).

  • "“Sorrows of a Count.”." The New York Times. The New York Times. (1863-8-16).

  • Ludlow, Fitz-Hugh. "The Battle and Triumph of Dr. Susan In Two Parts--Part II." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1863-9-1).

  • [Alger, Horatio Jr.]. "Eugene Scribe." The North American Review. Cedar Falls, Iowa: University of Northern Iowa. (1863-10-1).

  • Arnold, George. "October." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. (1863-10-1).

  • Winter, William. "Albion." Albion. (1863-10-10).

  • Aldrich, T. B.. "The King's Wine." The Atlantic Monthly. Boston: Atlantic Monthly Co. (1863-11-1).

  • Andrews, Stephen Pearl. "The Great American Crisis: Part One." Continental Monthly. New York; Boston: J. R. Gilmore. (1863-12-1).

  • Stoddard, R. H.. "Twilight on Sumter:--August 24, 1863." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1863-12-1).

  • Shepherd, N. G.. "The Heart's Longings." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1864-1-1).

  • "Drama: Dramatic Critics in New York." The Round Table. (1864-1-2).

  • Winter, William. "Albion." Albion. (1864-1-12).

  • Ludlow, Fitz Hugh. "John Heathburn's Title. A Tale in Two Parts--Part 1." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1864-2-1).

  • "Drama: Bohemianism." The Round Table. (1864-2-6).

  • Taylor, Bayard. "William Makepeace Thackeray." The Atlantic Monthly. Boston: Atlantic Monthly Co. (1864-3-1).

  • Ludlow, Fitz Hugh. "John Heathburn's Title. A Tale in Two Parts--Part II." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1864-3-1).

  • Shepherd, N. G.. "By the Sea-Shore." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1864-3-1).

  • Andrews, Stephen Pearl. "The Great American Crisis: Part Two." Continental Monthly. New York; Boston: J. R. Gilmore. (1864-3-1).

  • Ludlow, Fitz-Hugh. "Among the Mormons." The Atlantic Monthly. Boston: Atlantic Monthly Co. (1864-4-1).

  • "Diary, from November 18, 1862, to October 18, 1863. Adam Gurowski." Continental Monthly. (1864-4-1).

  • Shepherd, N. G.. "How Spring Comes to the Blind." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1864-4-1).

  • Taylor, Bayard. "A Cruise on Lake Ladoga." The Atlantic Monthly. Boston: Atlantic Monthly Co. (1864-5-1).

  • Andrews, Stephen Pearl. "A Universal Language." Continental Monthly. New York; Boston: J. R. Gilmore. (1864-5-1).

  • O'Brien, Fitz-James. "How I Overcame My Gravity." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1864-5-1).

  • Andrews, Stephen Pearl. "Language a Type of the Universe." Continental Monthly. New York; Boston: J. R. Gilmore. (1864-6-1).

  • Shepherd, N. G.. "A Dead Love." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1864-6-1).

  • Bristed, Charles Astor. "The Probable Influence of the New Military Element on our Social National Character." The United States Service Magazine. New York. (1864-6-1).

  • Taylor, Bayard. "The Neva." The Atlantic Monthly. Boston: Atlantic Monthly Co. (1864-6-1).

  • Ludlow, Fitz-Hugh. "Seven Weeks in the Great Yo-Semite." The Atlantic Monthly. Boston: Atlantic Monthly Co. (1864-6-1).

  • Ludlow, Fitz-Hugh. "On Horseback into Oregon." The Atlantic Monthly. Boston: Atlantic Monthly Co. (1864-7-1).

  • Aldrich, Thomas Bailey. "Friar Jerome's Beautiful Book." The Atlantic Monthly. Boston: Atlantic Monthly Co. (1864-8-1).

  • Shepherd, N. G.. "Broken Images." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1864-8-1).

  • Shepherd, N. G.. "The Sisters." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1864-8-1).

  • Winter, William. "Albion." Albion. (1864-9-13).

  • Shepherd, N. G.. "A Letter." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1864-10-1).

  • Shepherd, N. G.. "October." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1864-10-1).

  • Curtis, George William. "Nathaniel Hawthorne." The North American Review. Cedar Falls, Iowa: University of Northern Iowa. (1864-10-1).

  • Stoddard, R. H.. "The Little Monk." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1864-10-1).

  • Bristed, Charles Astor. "Popular Extravagence: Its Remedies and Their Limitations." The United States Service Magazine. New York. (1864-11-1).

  • Shepherd, N. G.. "Lost." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1864-11-1).

  • Ludlow, Fitz-Hugh. "Through-Tickets to San Francisco: A Prophecy." The Atlantic Monthly. Boston: Atlantic Monthly Co. (1864-11-1).

  • Bellew, Frank. "Angels of the Household." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. (1864-11-1).

  • Bellew, Frank. "Long Abraham a Little Longer." Harper's Weekly. (1864-11-26).

  • Ludlow, Fitz-Hugh. "On the Columbia River." The Atlantic Monthly. Boston: Atlantic Monthly Co. (1864-12-1).

  • Aldrich, T. B.. "December." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1864-12-1).

  • Bellew, Frank. "Loves of a Lifetime." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. (1864-12-1).

  • Shepherd, N. G.. "Wrecks." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1864-12-1).

  • Shepherd, N. G.. "The Sunbeam." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1865-1-1).

  • Taylor, Bayard. "Between Europe and Asia." The Atlantic Monthly Co. Boston: Atlantic Monthly Co. (1865-1-1).

  • Ludlow, Fitz-Hugh. "The American Metropolis." The Atlantic Monthly. Boston: Atlantic Monthly Co. (1865-1-1).

  • Savage, John. "Eva: A Goblin Romance, In Five Parts." Eva: A Goblin Romance, In Five Parts. New York: James B. Kirker. (1865-1-1).

  • Aldrich, Thomas Bailey. "Garnaut Hall." The Atlantic Monthly. Boston: Atlantic Monthly Co. (1865-2-1).

  • Shepherd, N. G.. "My Star." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1865-3-1).

  • Ludlow, Fitz-Hugh. "If Massa put Guns into Our Han's." The Atlantic Monthly. Boston: Atlantic Monthly Co. (1865-4-1).

  • Aldrich, T. B.. "Robin Badfellow." The Atlantic Monthly. Boston: Atlantic Monthly Co. (1865-4-1).

  • Shepherd, N. G.. "Love at Sea." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1865-4-1).

  • Winter, William. "Albion." Albion. (1865-4-11).

  • Winter, William. "Albion." Albion. (1865-4-22).

  • Aldrich, T. B.. "Castles." The Atlantic Monthly. Boston: Atlantic Monthly Co. (1865-5-1).

  • Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "Abraham Lincoln." The Living Age. New York: The Living Age Co. (1865-5-13).

  • Stoddard, R. H.. "W. S. - In Memoriam." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1865-6-1).

  • Taylor, Bayard. "Harpocrates." The Atlantic Monthly. Boston: Atlantic Monthly Co. (1865-6-1).

  • Aldrich, T. B.. "Accomplices." The Atlantic Monthly. Boston: Atlantic Monthly Co. (1865-7-1).

  • Taylor, Bayard. "Winter Life in St. Petersburg." The Atlantic Monthly. Boston: Atlantic Monthly Co. (1865-7-1).

  • "The Judiciary of New York City." The North American Review. Iowa: University of Northern Iowa. (1865-7-1).

  • Shanly, Charles Dawson. "After the War." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1865-8-1).

  • Arnold, George. "Beer." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-12).

  • "A Point of Etiquette." The New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-12).

  • Kerr, Orpheus C.. "Byron Choler." The New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-12).

  • Figaro [Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "Woman Spare That Tea. Considerably After G. P. Morris." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-12).

  • "It Rains." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-12).

  • "The Temperance Movement." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-12).

  • "Our Company." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-12).

  • "Social Salamanders." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-12).

  • "To Correspondents." The New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-12).

  • Figaro [Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "Dramatic Feuilleton." The New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-12).

  • "Work." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-12).

  • "Beerdrinkers Song: Under a Picture of Gambrinus." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-12).

  • "My Forenoon with the Baby." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-12).

  • Ninita. "The Rise of the Waterfall." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-12).

  • "[Editorial Comments]." The New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-12).

  • "[Editorial Comments]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-12).

  • "Paradise Lost in Paris." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-12).

  • Logan, Olive. "Letter From Olive Logan." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-12).

  • Figaro [Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "A Night with a Mosquito." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-12).

  • "Aural Education." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-15).

  • "Curious Literary Squabble [from the Pall-Mall Gazette]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-15).

  • Clare, Ada. "The Kingdom of Reserve." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-15).

  • "Ralph Waldo Emerson [from American Monthly]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-15).

  • Clapp, Henry Jr.. "The Situation." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-15).

  • Figaro [Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "Dramatic Feuilleton." The New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-15).

  • "The Prince of Wales at a Fire." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-15).

  • "Royal Siamese Twins." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-15).

  • "Who Seeks to Please." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-15).

  • "To Whom It May Concern." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-15).

  • Rogers, N. P.. "The Poor House." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-15).

  • "To Selina." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-15).

  • "Impudence." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-15).

  • Figaro [Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "To the Mosquito." The New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-15).

  • "Sewing Machine: Feline Attachment." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-15).

  • "Uncertainty." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-15).

  • Ward, Artemus. "Artemus Ward on Arrah Na Pogue." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-15).

  • Goodrich, Frank B. "Nell Gwynn." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-15).

  • Mrs. Grundy. "How to Write War Lyrics." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-15).

  • "[Editorial Comments]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-15).

  • "The Fashions." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-15).

  • Buchanan, Robert. "A London Idyll." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-19).

  • "[Editorial Comments]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-19).

  • Brougham, John. "Nelly. An Old Time Conceit." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-19).

  • M. E.. "Love's Gift." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-19).

  • Ward, Artemus. "Artemus Ward on the Celebration at Baldinsville, in Honor of the Atlantic Cable." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-19).

  • "Unprotected Males." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-19).

  • "Stop Thief!." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-19).

  • "[Editorial Comments]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-19).

  • Boucicault, Dion. "John Oakheart and Son." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-19).

  • Sketchley, Arthur. "Mrs. Brown on Shakespeare." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-19).

  • F. L. W.. "Reminiscence of Balzac." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-19).

  • Figaro [Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "Dramatic Feuilleton." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-19).

  • Logan, Olive. "Letter From Olive Logan." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-19).

  • "Chivalry Redevivus." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-26).

  • "Husbands and Wives [From the London Saturday Review]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-26).

  • Kerr, Orpheus C.. "A Little Railery." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-26).

  • Arnold, George. "September [from Harpers' Magazine]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-26).

  • Figaro [Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "The River." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-26).

  • "What's in a Name?." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-26).

  • Logan, Olive. "Letter From Olive Logan." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-26).

  • Lamb, Charles. "A Bachelor's Complaint of the Behavior of Married People." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-26).

  • "The London Times." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-26).

  • Figaro [Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "Dramatic Feuilleton." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-26).