Storieta
English
Save & sign up

About this book

Edward Z. Davis’s work is a scholarly bibliography that gathers every German‑language poem that appeared in American magazines between 1741 and 1810, together with the accompanying prose articles that introduced readers to German culture. The study grew out of Davis’s 1905 doctoral dissertation at the University of Pennsylvania, and it opens with a detailed statement of purpose: to reprint the rare magazine texts that are otherwise inaccessible, while noting where well‑known translations by figures such as Thomas Campbell or Sir Walter Scott already exist in libraries. The volume is organized chronologically in Parts II–V, presenting each translation as it first appeared, and preserving original spelling and typographical quirks (aside from obvious errors). Davis also supplies exhaustive lists of magazines consulted, indexes, and brief notes in brackets, all grounded in the meticulous research he acknowledges to librarians and professors who assisted him.

The book reads like a nineteenth‑century academic monograph, with a formal, footnote‑heavy style that reflects the philological rigor of its time. It will appeal to literary historians, scholars of transatlantic cultural exchange, and bibliophiles interested in the early reception of German poetry in the United States. Readers who enjoy tracing the diffusion of ideas through periodicals, or who need primary source material on early American‑German literary contacts, will find Davis’s careful reproductions and comprehensive indexing an invaluable resource.

The opening · free to read

By EDWARD ZIEGLER DAVIS

PAPER USED IN THIS EDITION IS A FINE ACID FREE PERMANENT/DURABLE PAPER COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS "300-YEAR" PAPER

TO MY PARENTS IN APPRECIATION OF THEIR INTEREST AND ENCOURAGEMENT IN THE PRESENT WORK

PREFACE.

The present study is an extension of a thesis, presented to the Faculty of the Department of Philosophy of the University of Pennsylvania in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. The object has been to treat the material in the early American magazines which gave readers information about Germany and other Teutonic countries. While the primary aim has been to discuss the translations of poetry and the original poems bearing on the subject, all relevant prose articles have also been listed. Since many of the magazines used are extremely rare and almost unique, the texts from them are here reprinted in order to make such information accessible. As some of the translations and poems, however, have been traced to Thomas Campbell, Sir Walter Scott, William Wordsworth, Thomas Gray and others, whose works are to be found in almost any library, reprinting was unnecessary in these cases. M. G. Lewis' Tales of Terror and Wonder has had, besides many early imprints, a recent edition by Henry Morley in 1887 and the poems from it that appeared in the American magazines are here mentioned by title only, the one exception being The Erl-King, which is included because of several variants. Long poems like The Wanderer of Switzerland (which itself would make a small book) are not reprinted.

Parts II to V are arranged chronologically, so as to show the gradual growth of the German influence. Translations and poems are therefore reprinted under the date of their first appearance; later publications of them in the magazines are here recorded simply by title, with a note giving the earliest date. The texts are reprinted exactly as they appeared in the early American periodicals, thus presenting the information about Germany in the same form in which readers of a century ago received it. Mistakes are often interesting as illustrative of an ignorance about German names and words. Only the most evident typographical errors have been corrected, such as "spweep" for "sweep," "bilssful" for "blissful," and "fustain" for "sustain." Differences due to eighteenth century orthography are retained.

The subject has been investigated to the end of the year 1840, but this volume treats only the period ending with 1810. Often for the sake of complete lists, however, poems of a later date are mentioned. Throughout Parts II to V, notes by the present author, except mention of sources from which the reprints are made, are inclosed in brackets.

The courtesy and assistance rendered in obtaining the magazines make me indebted to the attendants in the various libraries visited, particularly to Mr. Allan B. Slauson, of the Library of Congress. I wish to thank Professor Daniel B. Shumway, of the University of Pennsylvania, for helpful criticism, and Professor John L. Haney, of the Philadelphia Central High School, for valuable information about the German literary influence in England during the period under discussion and for improvements suggested in the preparation of the Introduction.

I am especially indebted to Professor Marion D. Learned, of the University of Pennsylvania, at whose suggestion and under whose inspiration the present investigation has been carried on.

EDWARD Z. DAVIS. PHILADELPHIA, January, 1905.

CONTENTS.

The book keeps going

Keep reading, and see it illustrated

Reading is free forever. Sign up and watch scenes appear while you read.

Illustrated scene from The Adventures of Sherlock HolmesIllustrated scene from FrankensteinIllustrated scene from The Great Gatsby

Scenes Storieta drew for other classics.

New illustrated classics

A new classic, drawn, in your inbox.

Once or twice a month: the latest books to get full character casts, scene art, and free comic editions. No account needed.