A Western Answer to The Atlantic Monthly
The first four issues of the short-lived magazine publication Gazlay's Pacific Monthly.
Published between January and April 1865, these issues deal with important news and discussions of issues happening in the western US, primarily focusing on California.
This magazine was intended to be a leading literary magazine for West Coast readers, but the magazine would stop being published in July of 1865. In total, seven issues were published, six from Volume I and one from Volume II.
John Howell offered a set in 1958 for $175.00, with the following note:
Very rare, of the greatest interest for the California and Nevada material, but contains the following articles, among others, of Northwest interest:
- Explorations through the Walla Walla Country, by Capt. J. Mullen, USA.
- Gold and Silver on the Puget Sound.
- Mining Districts of Idaho and Eastern Oregon.
- A River in the Pacific Ocean.
Gazlay would relocate to New York to publish his monthly magazine, cutting costs of production in half over previous works which he had published in San Francisco. This would also give him access to a wider range of writers, allowing him to tap into such groups as the New York Geographical Society for publishable material. However, his work evidently failed to reach a wide audience and was discontinued less than six months after it was first published.
David Montross Gazlay
Gazlay left New York in 1858 to sail to San Francisco to publish a mercantile journal for European and American audiences. First published in 1860, his aptly named California Mercantile Journal appeared in California and Oregon. He managed to overcome initial struggles with supply and published a more successful series of Gazlay's San Francisco Business Directories which appeared for the next couple of years. This was succeeded by his short-lived Pacific Monthly, which he published upon a return to New York. He would remain an East Coast publisher until his death in 1893.
Rarity
Gazlay's Pacific Monthly is rare on the market. We note only 2 auction records in the past 60 years.