The Opal (annual)

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The Opal frontispiece from 1847 The Opal 1847.JPG
The Opal frontispiece from 1847

The Opal: A Pure Gift for the Holy Days, was an annual gift book, founded by Rufus Wilmot Griswold [1] [2] and published in New York by John C. Riker, from 1844 to 1849. Content included short stories, illustrations and poems.

Gift book

Gift books, literary annuals or a keepsake were 19th-century books, often lavishly decorated, which collected essays, short fiction, and poetry. They were primarily published in the autumn, in time for the holiday season and were intended to be given away rather than read by the purchaser. They were often printed with the date of the coming new year, but copyrighted with the actual year of publication.

Rufus Wilmot Griswold 19th-century American editor, literary critic, anthologist, and writer.

Rufus Wilmot Griswold was an American anthologist, editor, poet, and critic. Born in Vermont, Griswold left home when he was 15 years old. He worked as a journalist, editor, and critic in Philadelphia, New York City, and elsewhere. He built up a strong literary reputation, in part due to his 1842 collection The Poets and Poetry of America. This anthology, the most comprehensive of its time, included what he deemed the best examples of American poetry. He produced revised versions and similar anthologies for the remainder of his life, although many of the poets he promoted have since faded into obscurity. Many writers hoped to have their work included in one of these editions, although they commented harshly on Griswold's abrasive character. Griswold was married three times: his first wife died young, his second marriage ended in a public and controversial divorce, and his third wife left him after the previous divorce was almost repealed.

Griswold began soliciting contributions for the annual in 1843, initially intending to call it The Christian Offering. It was first edited by Nathaniel Parker Willis, John Keese and finally by Sarah Josepha Hale. [3] [4] It was in the 1844 issue that Edgar Allan Poe first published "Morning on the Wissahiccon". [5] Other contributors included Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Elizabeth F. Ellet and John Greenleaf Whittier.

Nathaniel Parker Willis American magazine writer, editor, and publisher

Nathaniel Parker Willis, also known as N. P. Willis, was an American author, poet and editor who worked with several notable American writers including Edgar Allan Poe and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He became the highest-paid magazine writer of his day. For a time, he was the employer of former slave and future writer Harriet Jacobs. His brother was the composer Richard Storrs Willis and his sister Sara wrote under the name Fanny Fern.

John Keese was a United States auctioneer, publisher and editor of books.

Sarah Josepha Hale American writer and editor

Sarah Josepha Buell Hale was an American writer and an influential editor. She was the author of the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb". Hale famously campaigned for the creation of the American holiday known as Thanksgiving, and for the completion of the Bunker Hill Monument.

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Morning on the Wissahiccon short story by Edgar Allan Poe

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References

  1. ↑ Bayless, 83
  2. ↑ Morris, 125
  3. ↑ "The Miscellanea of Edgar Allan Poe". Doings of Gotham. Retrieved April 11, 2008.
  4. ↑ "Stanford University Libraries & Academic Information Resources". The Chadwyck-Healey American Poetry Database.
  5. ↑ Sova, Dawn B. Edgar Allan Poe, A to Z. New York: Checkmark Books, 2001: 79.

Sources

George Pope Morris American publisher

George Pope Morris was an American editor, poet, and songwriter.

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