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.

Ward, Artemus. "Artemus Ward on the Shakers." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-26).
F. T. P.. "The Law-Clerk's Dream." New York Saturday Press. (1865-8-26).
"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).
Arnold, George. "September." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. (1865-9-1).
Aldrich, T. B.. "At Bay Ridge, Long Island." The Atlantic Monthly. Boston: Atlantic Monthly Co. (1865-9-1).
Shepherd, N. G.. "The Helmsman." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1865-9-1).
M. E.. "Baby Louise." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-12).
"The Yacht: An Instructive Drama." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-12).
Figaro [Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "Dramatic Feuilleton." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-12).
"Thoughts on the Power of Music." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-12).
"On a Pair of Old Shoes [from the Atlantic Monthly]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-12).
"[Kind heaven, in mercy to the fool,]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-12).
Amand, St.. "Guilty, or Not Guilty?." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-12).
"The Paragon of Ugliness." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-12).
Kerr, Orpheus C.. "Mr. Smith. A Moral Tale." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-12).
Arnold, George. "Sweet Impatience." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-12).
"Shingles from Shakespeare. Selected by Solon." The New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-12).
Winter, William. "Idiocy on the Rampage." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-12).
"[Two things there are which you may safely say]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-12).
Logan, Olive. "Letter From Olive Logan." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-12).
Shanly, Charles Dawson. "The Falcon Bird." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-12).
"[Editorial Comments]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-12).
"The India-Rubber Man." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-12).
"Second Thoughts." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-12).
Phoenix, John. "Lectures on Astronomy." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-16).
C. C. W.. "A Bohemian." The New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-16).
Bagatelle. "How to Pay Off the National Debt." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-16).
Holmes, Oliver Wendell. "Romance." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-16).
Figaro [Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "Dramatic Feuilleton." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-16).
"Josh Billings." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-16).
"An Adventure." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-16).
A Denizen of the South End, Boston. "Ode to a Mosquito [From the Boston Transcript]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-16).
"Important." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-16).
Figaro [Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "Bonds and Mortgages." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-16).
"Commercial Article." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-16).
Melton, Henry. "Hints on Hats [from the London Saturday Press]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-16).
Clapp, Henry Jr.. "[General, Special, and Foreign Agents]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-16).
N. E.. "American Ladyship, Etc." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-16).
Ward, Artemus. "Artemus Ward: His Autobiography." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-16).
"Literary Honesty [from the London Saturday Review]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-16).
"[Editorial Comments]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-16).
Phoenix, John. "Lectures on Astronomy." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-19).
Huntington, W. H.. "Letter from Ems." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-19).
"[Editorial Comments]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-19).
Figaro [Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "Dramatic Feuilleton." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-19).
"Blondes Versus Brunettes [from the Temple Bar]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-19).
Gardette, Charles D.. "A Case of Method in Madness." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-19).
"Psalm of Ile." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-19).
N. E.. "What Is an American Lady?." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-19).
"Phyllis." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-19).
Munby, Arthur J. "A Husband's Episodes." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-19).
"[One of our city editors took a breakfast]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-19).
"Shingles from Shakespeare. Selected by Solon." The New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-19).
Knight, Charles. "Jacob Tonson and His Friends." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-19).
"Art: Art Notes." The Round Table. (1865-9-19).
Figaro [Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "Dramatic Feuilleton." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-23).
"Second Fiddles [from Chambers' Journal]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-23).
Robinson. "The Model Artist-Cuyp Brown." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-23).
Phoenix, John. "A New System of English Grammar." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-23).
"Doomed to Disappointment [from Chambers' Edinburgh Journal]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-23).
"The News Agents." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-23).
Gardette, C. D.. "Rain-Drops." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-23).
"A Young Lady's Soliloquy." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-23).
Wyman, Don Lloyd. "Only a Year." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-23).
Clapp, Henry Jr.. "[General, Special, and Foreign Agents]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-23).
Gaggles, Tony. "Letter from Tony Gaggles." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-23).
Longfellow, H. W.. "Noel [from the Atlantic Monthly]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-23).
Philo-Figaro. "A New Nation in Prospect." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-23).
Figaro [Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "All for Lawn!." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-23).
"Broken Hearts." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-23).
Beecher, Rev. Henry Ward. "Remarks on Hell [from the Independent]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-23).
"The Chrysalis." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-23).
"The Republican Court in the Time of Washington." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-23).
Arnold, George. "O'Brien's Personal Characteristics." New York Citizen. (1865-9-30).
Horatius. "The Two Voices [After Tennyson--A Long Ways]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-30).
Horatius. "Repressed Genius." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-30).
Permodestus. "Modesty Treated as One of the Lost Arts." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-30).
Davies, Theodore. "Histrio-Mastix." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-30).
William, C. P.. "Crossbones' Father [from Once a Week]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-30).
Ruskin, John. "An Enquiry Into Some of the Conditions at Present Affecting 'The Study of Architecture' in Our Schools." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-30).
"A Model Testimonial." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-30).
Bagatelle. "English Views of the National Debt Coin System." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-30).
"Old Friends." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-30).
"[Editorial Comments]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-30).
"He Done His Level Best." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-30).
"How to Quell the Fenians [from the London Saturday Review]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-30).
Arnold, George. "An Idyl of October." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-30).
Squibob, G.. "The San Francisco Antiquarian Society, and California Academy of Arts and Sciences." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-30).
Figaro [Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "Dramatic Feuilleton." New York Saturday Press. (1865-9-30).
Shepherd, N. G.. "Raising the Frigates." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1865-10-1).
Shepherd, N. G.. "A Battle Relic." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1865-10-1).
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "Adress." The Radical. Boston. (1865-10-1).
Taylor, Bayard. "The Author of 'Saul'." The Atlantic Monthly. Boston: Atlantic Monthly Co. (1865-10-1).
Shepherd, N. G.. "Give Them Work!." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1865-10-1).
Urner, Nathan D.. "Feline Concerts." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-14).
Dickens, Charles. "Writing for Periodicals [from Dickens' All the Year Round]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-14).
"[Editorial Comments]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-14).
"An Improvement on a System." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-14).
Robinson. "On Some English Novels." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-14).
"Cookery [from the New York Tribune]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-14).
Figaro [Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "Dramatic Feuilleton." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-14).
"Grandfathers and Grandmothers." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-14).
Clapp, Henry Jr.. "[General, Special, and Foreign Agents]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-14).
Tapley, Mark. "Camp Meeting Talk." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-14).
"Chess Amongst the Celts." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-14).
Nautilus. "The Deceitful Florentine [From the Californian]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-14).
"Country Life." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-14).
"The Cost of Living [from the London Saturday Press]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-17).
D. D.. "Adapted from Marot." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-17).
"Bohemianism in New York." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-17).
Clapp, Henry Jr.. "[General, Special, and Foreign Agents]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-17).
"Two American Comedians [from the London Saturday Review]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-17).
Fonblanque, Albany Jr.. "Tom Rocket, The Highwayman." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-17).
"[Editorial Comments]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-17).
Cooper, George. "Owed to Autumn." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-17).
"The Fenians [from the London Saturday Review]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-17).
Arnold, George. "Journalist and Poet." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-17).
Gardette, Charles D.. "How Winter Cometh to Palace and Hovel." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-17).
Figaro [Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "Dramatic Feuilleton." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-17).
Langley, S.. "Where? There, and Thereafter!." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-17).
W. D. H.. "Consolation." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-17).
Prescott, Harriet E.. "Sooner or Later [from the Atlantic Monthly]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-17).
Logan, Olive. "Our Critics Criticized." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-21).
Dickens, Charles. "Mrs. Mohammed Bey at Home [from Dickens' All the Year Round]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-21).
Figaro [Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "Dramatic Feuilleton." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-21).
"The Hand-Writing on the Wall: A Weakly Novelette." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-21).
"Good News." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-21).
Bagatelle. "My Grievance." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-21).
C. C. W.. "Travels in Jersey." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-21).
"[Editorial Comments]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-21).
Dickens, Charles. "Mediums under Other Names [from Dickens' All the Year Round]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-21).
Lowell, James Russell. "Thoreau and the Transcendentalists." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-28).
Domino, Dickey. "Peace to his Ashes." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-28).
Tapley, Mark. "Complimentary Instances." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-28).
Figaro [Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "Feuilleton D'Adieu." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-28).
"Cooking as a Fine Art [from the N. Y. Tribune]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-28).
Robinson. "On Some American Novels." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-28).
[Harte, Francis Bret]. "Muck-a-Muck: A Modern Indian Novel. By the Californian's Condensed Novelist." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-28).
Dickens, Charles. "Mediums under Other Names [from Dickens' All the Year Round]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-28).
Cyfax. "Dick." New York Saturday Press. (1865-10-28).
McArone [Arnold, George]. "McArone [From the Weekly Review, Oct. 14]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-11).
"Spiritualism [from the London Saturday Review]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-11).
Saxe, John G.. "The Bore of the Sanctum." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-11).
G. A. W.. "Yet Another Genuine Spirit [from Once a Week]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-11).
Prescott, Harriet E.. "For Fifty Years." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-11).
Aldrich, T.B.. "The Lady of Castlenoire. A. D. 1700 [from Ticknor and Field's new edition of Aldrich's Poems]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-11).
Ch. F.. "The True Story of the Dog in the Manger." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-11).
"Eggs and Feathers [from Chambers' Edinburg Journal]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-11).
Congdon, Charles T.. "Big and Little-Great and Small." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-11).
C. B. S. [Seymour, Charles Bailey]. "Dramatic and Musical Feuilleton." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-11).
"Arrah-na-pogue [From the London 'Fun']." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-11).
Duff-Gordon, Lady. "Among the Egyptians [from Chambers' Journal]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-14).
"An Englishman's House Not Always His Castle [from Chambers' Journal]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-14).
C. B. S. [Seymour, Charles Bailey]. "Dramatic Feuilleton." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-14).
"Elegy on a Cat." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-14).
A Miserable Wretch. "To the Terrestrial Globe." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-14).
Ruskin, John. "The Queenly Power of Women." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-14).
"Return of the British Capitalists." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-14).
Whitman, Walt. "O Captain! My Captain! [from Walt Whitman's Drum-Taps]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-14).
Dickens, Charles. "Size [from Dickens' All the Year Round]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-14).
"[Editorial Comments]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-14).
J. F. K.. "Neighbor Ben Adams. An Original Imitation [from the Boston Commonwealth]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-14).
"[Editorial Comments]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-14).
"Figure-Heads [from the London Saturday Review]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-14).
"[Notices]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-18).
Arnold, George. "Alone by the Hearth." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-18).
H. C. Jr. [Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "George Arnold." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-18).
Stedman, Edmund C.. "George Arnold [from the Round Table]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-18).
"Piety Out of Place [from the London Saturday Review]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-18).
"Boston Barbers [from the New York World]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-18).
Twain, Mark. "Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-18).
"A Facetious Epitaph." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-18).
"Our Mutual Friend [from the London Athenaeum]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-18).
D. D.. "Outward Bound." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-18).
"The Early Quakers [from the London Saturday Review]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-18).
Cook, Dutton. "The Gentleman in the Plum-Colored Hat." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-18).
Anon. "More Copy. A Parody of Poe's Raven." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-18).
Billings, Josh. "Sayings of Josh Billings." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-18).
J. F. G.. "On Our Patronymics." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-18).
Thackeray, [William Makepeace]. "A Tragic Story. Translated from the German of Chamisso." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-18).
Dodd, B.. "Nitrous Oxide." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-25).
Winter, William. "George Arnold [from the Weekly Review]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-25).
John. "Dramatic Feuilleton." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-25).
A Philosopher in High Life. "A Philosopher in High Life: Exegetical and Egotistical." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-25).
"The Provocations of a Protege." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-25).
"L. M. Gottschalk [from Watson's Art Journal]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-25).
"The Earth as a Second-Hand Affair." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-25).
Billings, Josh. "Josh Billings on Waterfalls." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-25).
"The Mysterious Face." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-25).
Arnold, George. "Foul Weather." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-25).
"A Village in Massachusetts [from Harper's Monthly]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-11-25).
Shepherd, N. G.. "At Christmas Time." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1865-12-1).
Billings, Josh. "Josh Billings on Laughing [for the Saturday Press]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-12-12).
"On a Coxcomb [from the French] [for the Saturday Press]." New York Saturday Press. (1865-12-12).
Gardette, Charles D.. "Too Late." New York Saturday Press. (1865-12-12).