The Atlantic Monthly, Devoted to Literature, Art and Politics

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Title

The Atlantic Monthly, Devoted to Literature, Art and Politics

Coverage

Boston

Publisher

Phillips, Sampson and Company

Date

January 1861

Subject

Volume 7, number 1, whole number 39

Description

Atlantic Monthly arose in Boston in November 1857. The “art” was not visual (the magazine eschewed illustration), but rather reflective of the Congregationalist New England literary and political sensibility. Its first four years were guided by abolitionist, writer, and poet James Russell Lowell. This January 1861 issue features Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s iconic poem “Paul Revere’s Ride,” which elevated a little-remembered colonial-era silversmith and engraver to the lofty heights he enjoys today.