The Lady’s Book
Belles-Letters and the Arts
July 1833 L.A. Godey & Co.
Franklin Place, Philadelphia
Sarah Lewis
Dr. Patrick Erben
Early American Literature
ENGLISH 4125
Editorial Note
This text was taken from American Periodical Series (APS) online through the
University of WestGeorgia. Spellings have been retained according to the original text
and all definitions of terms are from Webster’s New World Dictionary.
Introduction
Sometimes we as a society take for granted what we have. It is a formulation of the
past; ancestors, historical movements, cultural changes and individuals willing to take a risk at
all costs, even when it has never done before. Throughout my research on The Lady’s Book
Belles-Lettres and the Arts, I have unearthed so many connections within our modern world.
How many people take for granted, the ability to flip through the pages of Rolling Stone or
Newsweek, not realizing the historical significance of its mere existence? This project has
allowed me to lift the veil of mystery between cultural differences of the 1830's compared with
our modern world. In doing so, I have come to a deeper understanding and appreciation for men
like L.A. Godey, who have forged a new path in society. This path did not end in the 1800's, it
has followed human history into our current society, and with all probability will continue
infinitely into the future. For noone can praise our current society of press and publication
without the mere mention of this entrepreneurial genius.
L.A. Godey was born Louis Antoine Godey on June 6th of 1804. His parents were recent
immigrants from France and they chose to reside in New York City. This metropolitan arena,
would perhaps not only be the birthplace of his life, but would also be the motivation for his
success. In 1819, at the age of fifteen years old, Godey was operating a bustling news and book
stand. This perhaps sparked his curiosity towards writings. It wasn’t until 1830, at the age of
twenty-six, that he tried his hand at publishing. After steadily working for a publishing press in
Philadelphia for several years prior, he learned the art of composition. With the monetary
assistance of entrepreneur Charles Alexander, Godey began the publication of the Lady’s Book.
He would later entitle this magazineGodey’s Lady’s Book. As time progressed, it would become
a staple in every home in America, in which a lady was literate.
Godey was proud to be catering to women in his publications. In fact, in a toast celebrating
his multi-millionaire success, he declared : “To the Ladies. It is my business and pleasure to
please them, for to them - - God bless the fairest portion of His creation - - for to them I am
indebted my success” (LiteratureResourceCenter).
Godey’s magazines became more and more successful as time went on. Starting in 1830 and
ending in 1877 (right after the Civil War), he became an innovator and set the standard for
publishing norms. The monthly publication sold on stands, for around 50 cents, however, Godey
encouraged his readers to join a “club” in which members were offered a special savings on a
year long subscription. At $3.00 for the year, his was radically lower than other competitors at
around $5.50. Within the pages of the magazine itself, was a blend of advocation for female
education, modern thought on exercise, household tips, patterns for sewing clothes and an
eclectic mix of commentary towards social norms and faux paus. In the early days of Belles-
Lettres (literally translating as ‘beautiful letters’ in French), Godey was famous for simply
transcribing French journals in English for his readers. Thus, is most likely the 1833 volume that
we are referring to.
Throughout the years of success involving Godey’s Lady’s Magazine, many contemporary
writers of the time were featured. Authors such as, Ralph Waldo Emerson, T.S. Arthur, John
Greenleaf Whittier, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Elizabeth Oakes Smith and personal friend Edgar
Allen Poe. Poe and Godey had some difference in publishing styles, but when asked by the press
how he felt about L.A., Poe responded: “No man has warmer friends or fewer
enemies”(LiteratureResourceCenter). This seemed to be a common feeling of Godey’s
character, even by his staff most of whom stayed on board throughout the life of the magazine.
Contentment and respect towards others seemed to exude from him.
During the time in which Godey’s publishing began in 1830, a rapid change in America was
occurring. Sparked by the election of Andrew Jackson in 1828, political parties began to be
divided along ideologic and issue-driven lines. Slavery was now more than ever a dividing
agenda, and tension was felt between northern and southern politics. In 1830, the U.S. Congress
passed the Indian Removal Act, permanently driving eastern Indians west of the Mississippi.
This decision was made to make room for the growing white settler movement. Along with this
major social change, came the publication and then founding of the Book of Mormon by Joseph
Smith. As the country seemed to forge into “progression”, it seemingly tried to ignore the
growing burden of differences that in time would lead to Civil War. As for Godey’s publication
at this time, he made it a point to stay out of political and religious issues, thus deterring his
readers from the pertinent issues at hand.
Not all the news of this time was sparked from gigantic issues such as slavery and Indian
relocation. Many cultural issues seemed to be bubbling to the surface as well. On May 30th of
1833, just several months before the Belles-Lettres was published, The Dollar Magazine ( a
literary, political, advertising, and miscellaneous newspaper), printed a story entitled “The
President’s Proclamation against the Culture of Tobacco”. Within the article was a description
of President Jackson’s disgust over the ever growing trend;
“1. The city of Boston has lately fined a man for smoking a [segar]
in the public street.
2. It is known that there a number of persons in the North so
wrongheaded as to dislike being spit upon–
or made sick by the flames of tobacco.
3. The Proclamation contains doctrines which arrogate all power
to the general government, and, of course, the power to prohibit
the cultivation of tobacco.”(Dollar Magazine).
Obviously, the culture was in a war of what was considered appropriate and what was
considered vulgar. Looking within our society today, this doesn’t seem to be a far stretch from
today’s “anti-smoking” state legislation that seems to be passing in record numbers. Not much
has changed in 173 years.
Along with the “smoking issues”, came a growing trend in Female Consumerism. Not only
were female Americans purchasing magazines, they were also becoming record setting
purchasers of goods. Within the essay, “Female Consumerism and Household Authority in
EarlyNational New England”, Mary Beth Sievens describes the ever growing trend of unhappy
husbands bearing the burdens of their wives overspending.
“Hundreds of essays and advertisements in New England newspapers
between 1790 and 1830 decried the negative effects of women’s
frivolous consumer behavior on their households’ economic well-being
and on the future of the republic. . . this outpouring of anxiety over
female consumerism reveals that many New Englanders believed
that increased consumer opportunities threatened men’s economic
control of their households and that this loss of male control
threatened the continued existence of the republic”(Sievens).
The most probable cause of this “consumerism”? Advertisements and articles in magazines.
What had become a vastly popular past time, was now, for some, proving to be a personal
problem. Although, it is unfair to say that most of Godey’s readers became “spending monsters”,
the truth of the matter is that the magazines were “working”. They were grabbing their audiences
attention and thus changing the culture with it. They were putting women’s education and
recognition at the forefront of there articles, which was in vast opposition with how society saw
them. In the book, The Lady Persuaders the author Helen Woodward describes the example
that the Lady’s Book seemed to set:
The Lady’s Book was the first avowed advocate of the holy cause
of woman’s intellectual progress; it has been the pioneer in the
wonderful change of public sentiment prospecting female
education and the employment of female talent in the teaching
of the young”(Woodward).
This shows that the Lady’s Book seemed to set a precedence. One that was not always thought
of kindly. A popular male slated magazine at the time called, The Christian Examiner,
published an article by editor Charles A. Dana who was disgusted by the sentimentality and
“grieved . . . at the amount of idle, ephemeral, useless fiction which they poured out”(Mott).
Although some of the male audience was discontented with the new female-based magazines,
it did not seem to effect the sales of the magazine. In fact, more than ever, advertisements were
persuading men to join in and buy their ladies the magazine. One such advertisement read:
The lover will no longer, when bidding adieu to the ‘lady of his
love,’ request her to gaze on that inconstant thing, the moon,
so often obscured by the clouds, and then remember her vows.
He will present her his subscription for the Ladies Magazine;
and the sweet smile with which the gift is received will recur . . .
. . . while her fancy, and taste, and mind, are improving by its
scenes, characters and sentiments”(Mott).
Within the time of the 1830's through the 1890's publication in America became a roaring
giant. It seemed there was no where to go but up. Magazine subjects varied from Saturday
Evening Post, Knickerbocker Magazine, Western Messenger, and Eclectic Magazine. The
legacy that men like L.A. Godey left behind is one of vast structure and the implementation of
connecting America through the lines of publication. During this time, there were no telephones,
computers etc.. The mail service took several weeks at best. The magazine era, seemed to spark
a commonality among American’s that hadn’t taken place before. Articles based on specific
subject matter tied together groups of people that may have never connected before. It seems
cliche to say that without the cultural changes of this time, we as a society would not be what we
are. However, perhaps this is the best way to give credit where credit is due. Through the
knowledge of those that came before us, we can better understand and piece together difficult
issues we struggle with today. Although, there are no magazines featuring articles on “the
daintiness of women”, we can connect to many of the difficulties that were faced. It is not too far
beyond our scope of imagination to see that sometime in the future, a scholar will be accessing
our publications, trying to draw conclusions that tie us together. We are not a nation only of
current citizens, we are a conglomeration of past and present rising to converge into a nation of
achievers.
L.A. Godey publisher of the Lady’s Book.
Transcription of L.A. Godey & Co.’s
The Lady’s Book
Belles-Lettres and the Arts
July 1833
CONTENTS OF THE FIRST ARTICLE
“Woman’s Affection.”
This unknown author formulates a poem in the structure of an ode, describing the
complicated structure of a woman’s heart. Through the use of metaphor the writer
effectively establishes a thrilling gleam of hope to those searching for love.
(Author Unknown)
“Woman’s Affection.”
Is not a woman’s fond heart a fathomless[1] mine,
Affection’s securest, her holiest shrine?
There it blooms in its beauty, luxuriant[2] and free,
As a flowret[3] of fragrance, though lowly it be.
The Blast may be bleak, and bitter the storm
Of adversity’s wind sweeping over its form;
It can ne’er be destroy’d, but its beauties will fade,
If aside as neglected it ever be laid.
If the hopes that have nursed it should wither and die,
The stream that refreshed it prove shallow and dry,
Warm sighs will oft fan, and tears will bedew[4]
The cherished exotic, in hopes to renew
The fragrance and beauty, the heart thrilling glow
That o’erspread every sense when it opened to blow:
Then the thorns were unseen, unlooked for the blight[5],
For the dazzling of hope hid the future from sight.
Though the chill of unkindness should rob it of bloom,
Or the frailty of life lay it low in the tomb;
Then the past that is human will moulder and die,
But the brightest and best will ascend in the sky;
For e’en woman’s affection would be robbed of its worth,
Were its joys and fears alone centred on earth.
It must rest upon God– then will all be secure,
And the love of His creatures be constant and pure.
CONTENTS OF THE SECOND ARTICLE
“Use of Perfumes.”
This article describes the tasteless act of applying overly strong perfumes. According
to the writer it exemplifies the ultimate act of rudeness. (Author Unknown)
“ Use of Perfumes.”
Look upon it ever as a sign of masculine intellect and a strong understanding to
neglect the voluptuous[6] gratification of this sense (of smell.) This is a folly[7] which should be left
altogether to the masculine imitators of the weaker sex. They are shameless slaves to it, whose
chambers are filled with wasteful odours; who expand on vials of expensive perfume that wealth
which is committed to them for the advantage of their fellow-creatures, and whose study appears
to be that they may leave no breath unpoisoned or unpolluted of the fresh and wholesome air that
surrounds them. A man that is wrapped up in perfumes is surely a pitiable creature. This fashion
which was once disgustingly prevalent, is now confined, in great measure, to persons of vulgar
and mean habits, who are not only heedless of their religious obligations, but ignorant of the
customs of good society. Still, however, the folly is not wholly banished from even the better
informed classes of mankind; and it is a hideous cruelty, that a gentleman of moderate fortune
will keep in his desk, for the purpose of perfuming note-paper, a vial of perfume, the price of
which would pay the house-rent of a poor peasant, in our provinces for a whole year. There is,
besides, a manifest of rudeness in the use of artificial odours, which no well educated person
ought to offer to society. Predilections[8] in this sense are as various as in that of taste; and it seems
as unreasonable, that a man should compel every person he meets to inhale that single odour
which he thinks agreeable, ( but which to many may be quite the reverse,) as if a host should
measure the tastes of his company by his own, and oblige them all to partake of a certain dish
because it happened to be his favourite.-Tales illustrative of the Five Senses.
CONTENTS OF THE THIRD ARTICLE
Recipes. For discharging colours.
A detailed, step-by-step guide to the art of dying clothing, and discharging overly
dyed pieces so that an accurate color can emerge.. This was a necessity for most
commoners who simply did not have the money to purchase pre-done fabrics.
(Author Unknown)
“Recipes. For discharging colours.”
The dyers generally put all coloured silks which are to be discharged, into a copper[9] in which
half a pound or a pound of white soap has been dissolved. They are then to be boiled off. The copper
beginning to be too full of colour, the silks to be taken out and rinsed in warm water. In the interim[10] a
fresh solution of soap is to be added to the copper, and then processed before till all the colour is
discharged. But for those colours that are wanted to be effectually discharged, such as greys, cinnamon,
&c. when soap does not do, tartar[11] must be used. But for slate colours, greenish drabs[12], olive drabs,
&c. oil of vitrol[13] in warm water must be used; if other colours, roche alum[14] must be boiled in your
copper, then cooled down and your silks entered and boiled off, recollecting to rinse them before they are
again dyed. A small quantity of muriatic acid[15], diluted in warm water, must be used to discharge some
fast colours; the goods must be afterwards well rinsed in warm and cold water to prevent any injury to
the silk.
Works Cited.
A Pepin Press Design Book. A Pictoral History of Costume. New York: Costume and
Fashion Press, 1998.
Baltzell, E. Digby. Philadelphia Gentlemen: The Making of a National Upper Class.
New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, 1979.
Bradfield, Nancy. Costume in Detail 1730-1930. New York: Costume and Fashion Press,1999.
The Lady’s Book: Belles-Lettres and the Arts. Philadelphia:
LA Godey & Co., June 1833.
Genders, Roy. Perfume Through the Ages. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1972.
Halttunen, Karen. Confidence Men and Painted Women; a Study of Middle Class
Culture in America 1830-1870. New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1982.
Literature Research Center.Godey. <
Mott, Frank Luther. A History of American Magazines 1741-1850. Cambridge:
Harvard University Press, 1966.
“Religion and Politics.”The Dollar Magazine; a Literary, Political, Advertising and
Miscellaneous Newspaper, 30th May 1833 : Vol.1, Nos. II & III. Philadelphia:
E. Littell & T. Holden Publishing.
Severa, Joan L. Dressed for the Photographer: Ordinary Americans & Fashion 1830 .
Kent: KentStateUniversity Press, 1995.
Sievens, Mary Beth. “Female Consumerism and Household Authority in Early National