THE LITERARY INTERESTS OF CHICAGO 391
ing sufficient revenue. The history of this periodical has interest, however, chiefly on account of its origin in advertising.
The Chicago Magazine: The West as it Is, the literary- historical magazine of highest tone, expressed the pioneer senti- ment on advertising. In the second number, April, 1857, it said :
We respond to the wish of a contemporary, that we might be able to dis- pense with this avenue of public patronage. But at present the law of neces- sity must overrule the law of taste.
As in the other early periodicals, the only advertisements in this magazine were those of local firms, including a " Business Direc- tory," and those of the railroads. The well-deserved price of this magazine was 25 cents a copy. And the circulation was " all that the publishers asked."
The publishers looked for another source of revenue in their illustrations. The magazine was profusely and beautifully illus- trated. The cuts, portraits, and pictures of buildings and towns were made from daguerreotypes. In presenting their " true pic- ture of the West," the proprietors considered it their first duty "to daguerreotype" the towns and the leading citizens. This was done at great expense. But in their second number the pub- lishers complained that no pecuniary aid had been received from that class of citizens whom they had undertaken to daguerreotype the long-resident, wealthy and prominent men. They also expressed disappointment because the towns written up were slow to respond. It was almost a sacrifice of the dignity of this fine magazine thus to expect revenue from articles bordering close upon that species known among publishers as "write-ups." Write-up schemes, some of them really hold-up schemes, have caused the disrepute, decline, and death of not a few publishing ventures in Chicago, as elsewhere. The proprietors of the Chi- cago Magazine: The West as it Is, however, did not solicit pay- ments for its excellent biographical and historical sketches in advance. They merely voiced disappointment that the publication of such articles had not met with recognition in the form of the cash the magazine so much needed.
This magazine was founded by and published for the Mechanics' Institute. It was engrafted on a culture agency. The
