New York Planet
New York Planet, one cent, Kellogg, Sherman & Co, 1 ¾ Ann St adjoining Amer Museum
May 7, 1840 AAS
wants Van Buren for Pres; age of Humbug when Harrison is a log cabin candidate and a Democratic Whig
Chatham’s and Mitchell’s the only theater ads; Lady’s Book ads
March 15, 1841, has fiction, and poem.
New York Planet May 14, 1840 NYHS
Pub Kellogg, Sherman & Co, 1 ¾ Ann st, adjoining the American Museum. 1 cent. Weekly has all the matter of the daily.
Ad for Wm E Burton’s and Edgar A. Poe’s Gentleman’s Mag, 88 Bowery, published with the Am Monthly Review; wolcott’s Daguerreotypes; a benefit for Richings sponsored by Noah and lots of Whigs. Longfellow poem, blurb about Married and Single fr Blackwood, married men are recognizable like caged lions versus in the wild, reminds us of stanza from Holmes’ address to a certain portrait in a gallery of portraits, knowthou has awife etc by that subdued domestic smile upon thy features mild.
Wants Van Buren for Pres, Richard M Johnson VP. Critical of Harrison pretending poverty. Advocates purging some conspicuous NYC party members for bad faith/not supporting the regular candidate in last election. V. hostile to abolit.
Ads inside include NAD now open in Clinton Hall, Chatham and Bowery, Peale’s and Clarke’s two galleries of ancient and modern original Italian ptgs
May 15 1840
Praises Elssler—opened last night. Follows the Elliott court martial, symapthetic to Elliott. Notes NP Willis will be assisting at Bro Jon., hopes it will be profitable.
16 Ethan Allen one of their communicators. Mathew L Davis is the Spy in Washington, v hostile to immig. who vote Dem
18 p. 1 Colossus of the Apennine, rival of Michael Angelo, Giovanni of Bologna, inspired by antique lore, tries for Jupiter Plavius of Greek mythology, execution of daring conception full of grandeur, character of head effective, lofty brow braves elements, hair like icidles, beard a mass of stalactites, watery god, astonishing composition, can go inside, mix of architecture and sculpture, said that one of his pupils became imbecile in consequence of his labors on it.
Planet was recognized by the Independent Democratic Republican Genl Committee. Describes a Grand Whig Concert, including Joseph Ho a xie, clerk of the city etc turned Whig minstrel. Complains that Park increased prices for Elssler.
Ad for Catherwoods’ panoramas
19, 20 excerpts Knick on GW’s tomb. 21 new drama by Major Noah at Chatham has been improving. 22 extract Rev Bellows on moral reform fr Hunt’s Merchant’s Mag 23 Bunker Hill laborers are Dems. Approves Vattemare’s proposals. Has Mdme Restell ad. 25, 26 Shelley poem on drones vs working classes; blurb on Loafers as annoying, gossipy. P. 2 attends a log cabin mtg in 8th ward expecting to see toilers, but instead saw the young folks and exquisites of Broadway, what the Mercury calls the uppermost soap lock, starch and pasteboard. Beau Brummel called mtg to order..Ethan Allen.
27, 28, 29 Admires Horace Greeley as powerful and fair, disapprove of him leaving Nyorker to do Log Cabin paper aimed at deceiving the ignorant. 30
NY Planet June 1840
1 likes Winchester’s Evergreen mag. 2 excerpts Lady’s Bk, Sigourney. 3,4, 5 notes crusade agst Herald by Star, Signal and other rival prints, no well wisher to society would refuse aid toward breaking up vile system of scurrilous and slanderous warfare agst private life, but pot v kettle black. Star was once branded by its ally the American with contemptuous epithets, as they did the C&E; the American slandered Jackson’s wife, Butler, etc. In another blurb notes Webb using terms low vulgarity, obscenity, scurrilous attacks to crit Herald, but what about Webb’s course toward John Van Buren. Praises Snowden’s Lady’s Companion.
6, 8 has an Albert Street poem. 9 describes press attack on Herald as a parvenu class of reformers, combo of jealousy and avarice, allegedly wish to preserve public morals, C&E with its estab influ and pecuniary resources declaring it will boycott advertisers, another threatens to expose all lady readers, another says the spotted leper should not be met in company. No case for this ostracism, editors doing it are as bad—vicious attacks on Bryant, Bancroft, Paulding, anonymously or in editorial plurality attack those few who have given us a lit rep abroad. They are doing this because Herald exposed the name of adulterers/people who visit brothels, public morality just an excuse.
10 Herald has more talent, Star more good natured profligacy, American more silk stocking pretension, Courier more unscrupulous mendacity, all good whig prints, all fit for a grand jury for disregard of morals, truth and decencies of life
11,12,13,15, 16 p. 1 Titian, by Geo Croley, promothens of the pencil. Has Orville Dewey on nobility of labor. Bennett pays better and works harder than the sixpenny humbugs, carries away custom. Editor of the Signal bullies the newspaper boys out of the Astor hse. King suing Argus for libel. 22 ok with Paul Pry. Doesn’t ever say much promoting Van Buren. 25 Ann Stephens story.
July NY Planet 1840
2 likes JW Edmonds. 8 notes Phila trying to put up a Statue of Washington by a student of Thorswalden 9 Mary Howitt, A City street” loves fields and woods, but no less the crowded city-street, haunts of man awake deepest sympathy, see rich man passby homeless wretch, life’s severest contrasts meet, for ever in the city street, even portliest hides household grief, all its people high and low are kindred to my heart. P. 2 has long attack on Ogle’s golden spoon speech and other Whig indecencies 10 reports fr Eve Signal on a duel of sorts betw Nichols of Sunday Mercury/West of Atlas vs Mitchell of the theater 18 notes Noah had crit of corrupt connection betw state authorities and financial clique in Wall st of which house of Prime, Ward, King & Co is head and front (King ed of American), that paper is silent about the way state stock was sold at a discount to that firm compared to the market price. 20 notes Elliott’s suspension but that the Pres restored his pay 21 Van Buren medallion noticed, and 23, from Parker, finely executed steel engraving likeness of Van Buren fr portrait by Inman, executed under his especial supervision, best likeness in our opinion, expressive features well thrown out, while courteous smile and agreeable turn of countenance excellently preserved. $1. 24 letter fr A Looker On re notice in Eve Post from Old Citizen re Rotunda in new Custom Hse with statue of GW, agree it’s a good location
August NY Planet 1840
1 copies fr Comm Advert description of steam ship President, Tudor Gothic staterooms, dining saloon quiet and chaste, gothic sideboards with a port ofa Pres inclu Washington, in main corridor are ptgs imitating ancient tapestry showing history of Columbus, orig compositions. All in good taste. Lists subjects fr Columbus’ life in the pictures. P. 2 tries to refute Ogle, argues that Van Buren’s spending benefited artisans. 3 notices Jos Dorfeuville’s work on Am antiquities, Halleck and Bryant, Stephens and Catherwood arrival, disapproves of Elssler mania. 4 freq attacks factory system, don’t want it here.
Stopped with Aug. 5 likes Park Benjamin, Fanny Osgood, thinks female mind is susceptible to superstition. Skipped to
September NY Planet 1840
2 Evening Signal is a penny paper endorsed by C&E, critical of Astor Hse for letting Bennett eat there, small despots form combinations agst indiv and use their presses in concert, matter of importance, might even attack those who don't advertise. Urges support for John I Mumford’s Standard.
5 lengthy review of contents of the Knick, feels story of Arnold and Andre is overly familiar, likes Limnings in the Thoroughfares for racy and gd satirical hits; Letter to Critics on the art of ptg, were those fungi sensible enough to comprehend its witty playfulness, is calculated to do them service. Of all impostors these pretended connoisseurs in “the divine art,” are the most impertinent and insufferable. Fellows who cannot distinguish gamboge fr yellow ochre and scarcely know a pallet fr a pencil, will undertake learned disquisitions on pictorial exhibitions. It is but a short time since a lengthy and skillful notice of ptg in Paris was transferred, the names only of the subjects being varied, from Galignani’s Messenger, into the editorial columns of a morning paper of this city, and palmed off as an orig crit on the NY Acad of Design. Dislikes the poetry in the Knick.
9 New Whig paper facetiously called the Democratic Press, product of clique of ex-mayor Clark and Wm H Hudson, penny daily meant to deceive Germans. The actual Demo German paper is sold by Newman at 7 Frankfort st and Ludwig, Greenwich
16 Call for Merchants mtg for Van Buren, Daniel E Delavan, Fernando Wood, WF and FG Huvemeyer, Isaac Townsend, Prosper M Wetmore, CS Bogardus.
17 excerpts fr The Dial on the Relig of Beauty (also publishes a poem fr a friend in Brooklyn, really thinks excellent, Death of a Friend. 22 ok with Yankee Hill 25 describes a monument to Napoleon at the Invalides, gigantic colossal equestrian statue, imperial, globe, sceptre. 26 puffs Daguerre’s dioramas, likes NY Mirror
October NY Planet 1840
1 notices Am Fair Inst accepting contributions. Likes Rice minstrelsy at the Chatham. Praises National opera house. 15. Gives Alcott’s remarks on factory girls and their suffering. 22 first illustration really, of “Harrison’s white slavery vote” of a well dressed black man purchasing a white family fr Harrison. 24 Whig voting fraud—Glentworth hired by Simeon Draper, Blatchford, , James Bowen, RC Wetmore, Moses Grinnell (the candidate for office running agst Cambrelung) and Robt Swartwout a brother of the absquat
November 1840
Defends Fernando Wood agst attacks in NY American. 11 defends Mrs Sutton’s singing against the unjust and illiberal crit in yesterday’s Signal (Park Benjamin ed) utterly without foundation; when Signal confines itself to a mere expression of taste we have not the least right to interfere, object to incorrectness indep of taste; 13 Signal is pub in Wall st, unlike them, don’t claim to lay down the law in all matters of lit, taste, morality and news. Pretends neutrality but is Whig. 24 poem for Planet Sambo’s Serenade in dialect. 27 notes that Alfred E Baker, the caricaturist, fined $250 and prison for 30 days, for libel on French consul and others. Planet doesn’t disclose editor, doesn’t wish it to be voice of one man, employs a reporter as well as gman (who traces lineage back to revolution) to write leader and other matters. Casket and Gman’s Mag have united in Graham’s. 30 published by 6 practical printers. Signal crit of Gen Morris anthology, typical of that journal’s crit, attack indiscriminately, people don’t like hatchet style.
December 1840
25 National Opera House troupe members criticizing ea other
New York Planet, 1841
January 1841
Continues to support the opera and ballet at the National, notes they don’t advertise and are unbiased as don’t know any of them
8 gives circulation of papers: pennies Sun 30,000; Tattler 4500; Planet 4200; Signal 3000. Twopennies: Herald 7500; New Era 3500. Sunday papers: Atlas 5000; Mercury 4500; News 1200. All small cash papers. The large dailies are: Express (morning and evening) 7000; Courier 5000; J of Commerce 6000; Eve Post 4000; Standard 3000; Star and Times 3000; Commercial 2700; American 1200.
14 get afancy new masthead, with eagle over a shield with a workman’s arm holding a mallet, farmer;s tols on one side and shipping scene on the other, Wattles design and Butler sculpit, published by Kellogg, Sherman and Co, editors and proprietors. Notices miniatures of infants after death by Theo of Lund, 54 Nassau st, terms moderate, modest, gmanly man, truthful likenesses.
16 Bryant poem