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.

[Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "[Bon Mots]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-15).
Personne [Wilkins, Edward G. P.]. "Dramatic Feuilleton." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-15).
Rogers, N. P.. "Labor." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-18).
"Mr. Spurgeon's Tabernacle." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-18).
"The New Life of Humbolt." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-18).
[Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "[Bon Mots]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-18).
"Literary Notes." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-18).
"Ernestine Drouet." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-18).
"Geraldine." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-18).
D'Aunay, Alfred. "What Is Love?." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-18).
"Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-18).
"Life Now-A-Days." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-18).
[Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "[Bon Mots]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-18).
Quelqu'un [Winter, William]. "Dramatic Feuilleton." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-18).
"Art Items." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-18).
"[Notices]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-18).
"Theatrical, Musical etc." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-18).
A. W. H.. "Once Before [from the N. Y. Tribune]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-18).
Saxe, John G.. "The Bore of the Sanctum." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-18).
"Two Partings." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-18).
"[The New York Times is making preparations, laying]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-18).
Jasper. "Private Opinions Publicly Expressed III." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-18).
A Poor Young Man. "L'Amour. Que qu' c' est q' ca? or Love, What Is It? Translated by Frank Wood." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-18).
"The Excuse." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-18).
"New Publications." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-18).
"A Sweet Man." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-18).
"The Saturday Press Book-List." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-18).
Clare, Ada. "Thoughts and Things No. I." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-22).
Nobody in Particular. "A Few Trifles, and a Truth or So." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-22).
[Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "[Bon Mots]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-22).
"New Publications." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-22).
"The Saturday Press Book-List." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-22).
Cook, Dutton. "The Gentleman in the Plum-Colored Hat." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-22).
Bartlett, Washington A.. "The Bartlett-Oviedo Nuptials: A Correction." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-22).
Jasper. "Private Opinions Publicly Expressed V." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-22).
"A Hint to the Wise, etc." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-22).
"Explanation." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-22).
Gardette, Charles D.. "A Fireside Fancy [from the Philadelphia Evening Journal]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-22).
"Art Items." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-22).
Banks, A. F.. "Jove's Greatest Blessing." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-22).
Clapp, Henry Jr.. "Card." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-22).
"Monumental." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-22).
[Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "[Bon Mots]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-22).
Personne [Wilkins, Edward G. P.]. "Dramatic Feuilleton." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-22).
"Literary Notes." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-22).
Stedman, Edmund Clarence. "The Diamond Wedding." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-22).
Howells, W. D.. "Liebeswonne." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-22).
Bartlett, Washington A.. "The Bartlett Letters." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-22).
"Modesty Militant." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-22).
Watters, A.. "Mary Morrow." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-29).
"[The following is from the London Critic of Sept. 3d]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-29).
Clapp, Henry Jr.. "Book Notices." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-29).
Jasper. "Private Opinions Publicly Expressed VI." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-29).
"Art Attractions." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-29).
"The Tailors [from the London Examiner]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-29).
Cayley, G. J.. "Shoreward." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-29).
"The Saturday Press Book-List." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-29).
Gill, Alice. "An Autumn Picture." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-29).
"[Notices]." New-York Saturday Press. (1859-10-29).
"La Fille Bien Gardee [an intercepted letter]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-29).
Clapp, Henry Jr.. "The Individuality of Genius." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-29).
Personne [Wilkins, Edward G. P.]. "Dramatic Feuilleton." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-29).
"One Thing and Another." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-29).
Andersen, Hans Christian. "A Story [translated from the German of Hans Christian Andersen]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-29).
"Elegant Extract [from the Journal of Commerce]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-29).
[Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "[Bon Mots]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-29).
Farmenter, Frederick A.. "Last Night." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-29).
Balzac, Honore de. "The Unknown Chef d' Oeuvre [translated from Balzac for the N Y. Saturday Press]." New-York Saturday Press. (1859-10-29).
W. H. F.. "Waiting for the Whistle." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-29).
Clare, Ada. "Thoughts and Things No. II." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-29).
A Saturday Press-byterian. "A Voice from Owego." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-29).
"Wanted- A Minister." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-29).
"A Marriage and a Muss [from the New York Times]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-29).
"[Editorial Comments]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-10-29).
English, Thomas Dunn. "Fall Of Maubilia: A Ballad Of Alabama." Harper’s New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper & Bros. (1859-11-1).
[Ludlow, Fitz Hugh]. "The Phial of Dread." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1859-11-1).
Taylor, Bayard. "Proposal." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1859-11-1).
"The Saturday Press Book-List." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-12).
"The Tribune's Mode of Doing Things." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-12).
"Art Items." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-12).
Knowlton, Augustus B.. "Madeleine." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-12).
"New Literary Entertainment [from Punch]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-12).
"Primitive Innocence." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-12).
De Musset, Alfred. "The Wayward Heart. Translated from Alfred De Musset [from the Welcome Guest]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-12).
"Old Cognac." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-12).
[Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "[Bon Mots]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-12).
Personne [Wilkins, Edward G. P.]. "Dramatic Feuilleton." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-12).
"Literary Notes." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-12).
"Shakespeare and his Editors [From the Philadelphia Press]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-12).
F. M. W.. "In Memoriam Brooks, Alice Bradford." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-12).
Winter, William. "The Merry Monarch. Being a Bachelor's Reverie." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-12).
Vaughan, Herbert. "Coldstream [from Once a Week]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-12).
"Edgar A. Poe." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-12).
[Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "[Bon Mots]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-12).
Clare, Ada. "Thoughts and Things No. IV." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-12).
"New Publications." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-12).
Edmonds, J. W.. "Judge Edmonds on Spiritualism No. X." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-12).
Howells, W. D.. "Dead." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-12).
Stedman, Edmund Clarence. "Heliotrope." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-12).
Arnold, George. "An Idyll of October." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-15).
Gay, Getty. "Waking from Illusions." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-15).
Knowlton, Augustus B.. "Autumn Song." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-15).
Clare, Ada. "Thoughts and Things No. III." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-15).
"Theatrical, Musical etc." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-15).
"Night and Morning." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-15).
[Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "[Bon Mots]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-15).
Knowlton, Augusta B.. "Forest Flowers." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-15).
"A New Version of an Old Song." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-15).
Balzac, Honore de. "The Unknown Chef d' Oeuvre [translated from Balzac for the N.Y. Saturday Press]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-15).
"Opinions of the Press." New-York Saturday Press. (1859-11-15).
"New Publications." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-15).
Winter, William. "Experience [from the Boston Transcript]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-15).
"English Books [from the London Publishers' Circular]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-15).
"The Saturday Press Book-List." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-15).
"Notwithstanding-Nevertheless." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-15).
M. De V.. "To--." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-15).
"Bulwer." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-15).
Clapp, Henry Jr.. "The Hanging Question." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-15).
Personne [Wilkins, Edward G. P.]. "Dramatic Feuilleton." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-15).
Willis, Nathaniel Parker. "American Watches." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-15).
[Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "[Bon Mots]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-15).
"Venus and the Dusseldorf Gallery." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-15).
"The Saturday Press Book-List." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-19).
"Lines to a Pollywog." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-19).
Campbell, Lizzie. "Two Hours with a Madman." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-19).
Howells, W. D.. "The Straw Hat: A Picture at the Doctor's." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-19).
Poe, Edgar Allan [Gardette, Charles D.]. "The Fire-Fiend. A Nightmare." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-19).
Citoyenne. "New York Society [for the New York Saturday Press]." New-York Saturday Press. (1859-11-19).
Personne [Wilkins, Edward G. P.]. "Dramatic Feuilleton." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-19).
Giles, Henry. "Books of the Day." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-19).
"Come in and Shut the Door." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-19).
"Books in Press." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-19).
"[Notices]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-19).
"An Early Christian [from the Welcome Guest]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-19).
"The Last of the Old Beaux Gone [from the N.Y. Herald]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-19).
Antaeus. "Letter from the Woods." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-19).
Edgeworth. "Beulah-Fiat Justitia [for the N. Y. Saturday Press]." New-York Saturday Press. (1859-11-19).
"New Publications." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-19).
Tilton, Theodore. "In the Dark." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-19).
[Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "[Bon Mots]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-19).
Aldrich, Thomas Bailey. "A Ballad." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-19).
"Nudities in Art." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-19).
"The Black Mail Business." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-19).
"A Speech Intended to Have Been Spoken at the Schiller Banquet." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-19).
"Literary Notes." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-19).
Farmenter, Frederick A.. "Mater Dolorosa." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-19).
Punch (?). "More Dramatic Novelty." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-19).
"Jimmy's Wooing." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-26).
"The Saturday Press Book-List." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-26).
H. C. Jr. [Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "The Old Maid." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-26).
"Special Notices." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-26).
Clare, Ada. "Thoughts and Things No. V." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-26).
"Revolutionary Manuscripts." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-26).
English, Thomas Dunn. "The Gallows-Goers." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-26).
St. John, Bayle. "How to Think." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-26).
[Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "[Bon Mots]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-26).
Balzac, Honore de. "Pierre Grassou. Translated from Balzac." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-26).
"The Gallows." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-26).
"Comic." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-26).
"The Eagle and the Turkey." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-26).
"Literary Notes." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-26).
William, C. P.. "Crossbones' Father [from Once a Week]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-26).
"[Notices]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-26).
"[A complete set of the London Times for the past]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-26).
"Literary Intelligence." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-26).
Beach, Juliette H.. "'Beulah' Again." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-26).
Lord Lovell. "Thingamies." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-26).
Personne [Wilkins, Edward G. P.]. "Dramatic Feuilleton." New York Saturday Press. (1859-11-26).
O'Brien, Fitz-James. "The Enchanted Titan." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1859-12-1).
Ludlow, Fitz Hugh. "Regular Habits." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1859-12-1).
Stoddard, R. H.. "Wisdom and Goodness." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. New York: Harper and Bros. (1859-12-1).
O'Brien, Fitz-James. "Editor's Easy Chair." Harper's New Monthly Magazine. (1859-12-1).
English, Thomas Dunn. "Beaudrot: A Ballad of the French Domination." Southern Literary Messenger. Richmond, Virginia: T.W. White. (1859-12-1).
"Pfaff's [from the N.Y. correspondent of the Boston <cite>Saturday Express</cite>]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-12-3).
[Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "[Bon Mots]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-12-10).
"[Notices]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-12-10).
Clapp, Henry Jr.. "Literary Intelligence." New York Saturday Press. (1859-12-10).
"'Anna Maria' Out of Town." New York Saturday Press. (1859-12-10).
Personne [Wilkins, Edward G. P.]. "Dramatic Feuilleton." New York Saturday Press. (1859-12-10).
"Fashionable Anthem [from Punch]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-12-10).
[Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "[Bon Mots]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-12-10).
W. J. S.. "A Hunting Story." New York Saturday Press. (1859-12-10).
Clapp, Henry Jr.. "Congressional." New York Saturday Press. (1859-12-10).
Clare, Ada. "Thoughts and Things VII." New York Saturday Press. (1859-12-10).
Rossetti, Christina G.. "Maude Clare [from Once a Week]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-12-10).
"[Advertisement for a Lola Montez Lecture]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-12-10).
"The Saturday Press Book-List." New York Saturday Press. (1859-12-10).
Howells, W. D.. "Mortuaviva." New York Saturday Press. (1859-12-10).
Orthron. "The Beach." New York Saturday Press. (1859-12-10).
Clapp, Henry Jr.. "Waifs from Washington." New York Saturday Press. (1859-12-10).
"Palmer's Statue." New York Saturday Press. (1859-12-10).
"The Death of Washington Irving." New York Saturday Press. (1859-12-10).
"[We take the following paragraph from the Tribune]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-12-13).
"Literary Intelligence." New York Saturday Press. (1859-12-13).
Clare, Ada. "Thoughts and Things." New York Saturday Press. (1859-12-13).
[Clapp, Henry Jr.]. "[Bon Mots]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-12-13).
"[Notices]." New York Saturday Press. (1859-12-13).
Goodhart, C. W.. "Fairy May." New York Saturday Press. (1859-12-13).
Winter, William. "Kind Words: An Epithalamium." New York Saturday Press. (1859-12-13).
Gill, Alice. "No One Stops to Ask Me Why? [for the Saturday Press]." New-York Saturday Press. (1859-12-13).