Short-Term Research Fellowship: Evert A. Duyckinck's Social Network

By Summar Sparks
January 30, 2015
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building

During the middle of the nineteenth century, changes in transportation and communication systems extended New York City’s geographic reach giving its cultural productions a truly national audience. Encouraging and promoting the development of this national literature were the native New Yorkers Evert A. and George L. Duyckinck (pronounced DIE-KINK.) Today, the contributions of the Duyckinck brothers to American literature are often overlooked; if the brothers are recognized at all, it is for editing the Cyclopedia of American Literature, a multi-volume work that includes biographies of major writers as well as excerpts of their work. However, during the nineteenth century these two editors were at the center of an expansive literary network. The Duyckinck family papers at the New York Public Library contain clues to how the brothers navigated the increasingly complicated and political literary scenes of the New York publishing industry and national print culture.

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Evert A. Duyckinck, publisher. Image ID: 1227414

An Editor and a Publisher

Evert Duyckinck initially struggled to establish himself in the publishing world. While Wiley and Appleton freely entered into a contract for him to edit The Literary World, they broke the contract when Duyckinck hired his impetuous friend Cornelius Mathews to be a regular contributor to the weekly journal. Admittedly, Wiley and Appleton had some reasons to be displeased with Mathews. Wiley, with his partner George Putnam, had published one of Mathews’s books, Big Abel and the Little Manhattan, in the Library of American Books series, a series edited by Evert Duyckinck. Unfortunately, however, Mathews was unhappy with way this book was promoted. On Nov. 7, 1845, George Putnam wrote a letter to Evert reassuring him that the work was being treated with the same respect as any other book published by the house. In a letter dated Dec. 19, 1845, Putnam reminds Duyckinck of the publisher’s vested interest in the success of Mathews’s title, writing, “Mr. Mathews has always treated me with great courtesy & I have no motive whatever for any prejudice & want of good feeling towards him. Whether I admire his writings or not matters little—I should certainly be as glad as yourself to have them made as popular as the best of Dickens.” Despite Putnam’s investment in Mathews' success, the writer’s continuous complaints about the treatment of his poorly written and poorly received books earned him a rather negative reputation among the New York literati. It is understandable why Wiley and Appleton would want to distance themselves from him, but Evert Duyckinck did not believe that the publishers had any legal ground for breaking the contract they had signed with him. After exchanging various letters with Duyckinck, Wiley and Appleton hired C.J. Hoffman to edit The Literary World.

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George L. Duyckinck, lawyer, editor, biographer. Image ID: 1227442

While Evert Duyckinck was struggling to retain control of The Literary World in 1847, he exchanged some particularly revealing letters with his brother, who was traveling in Europe. In a letter dated May 4, 1847, George congratulates Evert for producing such a quality journal, and expresses excitement that Cornelius Mathews will be writing for the paper. George also asks Evert about future publishing ventures, explaining a desire to enter this field. Upon hearing the unfortunate news that his brother was dismissed from his post, George writes:

"I need not tell you my dear brother that you have my full sympathy in this matter, but that is not enough....after so many failures, not one of them owing to yourself has greatly strengthened my conviction that if you are to reap the full reward of your talents and labors we must work together in some publishing scheme. I know the risks and do not want you to risk your property. I am somewhat differently situated and a loss would not be as serious a thing to me as to you….I should not be surprised to see the Lit. World in the market at the end of the year."

This letter underscores George’s insight into the publishing industry. He understood that his brother’s talents would flourish if he had the type of full editorial control owning a paper would secure. The Duyckinck brothers bought The Literary World in 1848, becoming both its publishers and editors.

A Rare Meeting Indeed

The Literary World was a unique publication in that it was the only weekly devoted exclusively to literature and the book trade. Owning this niche periodical gave the Duyckinck brothers substantial power in the publishing industry as their reviews were read by publishers and booksellers throughout the nation. Evert and George Duyckinck were so entrenched in New York print culture that they were able to use their considerable social capital to foster the development of others’ careers.
In fact, Evert Duyckinck was at the first meeting of Herman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne on August 5, 1850 in western Massachusetts. In a series of letters, Evert Duyckinck describes his trip to his wife, Margaret. On August 3, 1850, he explains his plan to visit Nathaniel Hawthorne and climb Monument Mountain with Herman Melville, and on August 6, 1860, he provides a first-hand account of the hike and concludes that “...it was a rare meeting was it not.” This meeting is more fully described in the September 3, 2004 New York Times article “In Melville’s Footsteps.” While Joe Roman mentions Duyckinck twice, it is useful to see Duyckinck himself describe his experiences as it is important to consider how editors understood their own role. Duyckinck directly discussed his work as editor in a letter dated August 4, 1850, the day before the climb. He wrote:

"I have the proof sheets of Appleton's criticism of Wordsworth's...poem "The Prelude' with me to read & use at leisure in the paper. Mathews told me that Griswold was about to publish a whole book of it in his next week's magazine, so I concluded that my next week's paper should have its share & made up a parcel by mail with the necessary directions at once. So you see that the Literary World can be edited at a distance of 160 miles—so there need to be no obstacle to our settling here if you choose. And if you were here today I think the...sweetness of this mountain air would tempt you." here to see original letter>

In this passage, Duyckinck argues that editing is more about social connections than physical location. With information from specific colleagues and friends, Duyckinck is able to make decisions about what needs to be included in The Literary World from a considerable distance. In some ways, Duyckinck suggests that as an editor he himself is circulating with his texts.

The Duyckinck's literary salon was located at 20 Clinton Place, today's West 8th Street. The Duyckinck brothers gained prominence as editors in New York City, yet being at the center of the New York publishing world meant that they were also at the center of national print culture. New York City was the publishing capital of antebellum United States and the role that New Yorkers, such as the Duyckinck brothers, played in creating American literature is worth remembering. Fortunately, the New York Public Library's Manuscripts and Archives Division holds the Duyckinck family papers which allow us to develop a better appreciation of this family’s contribution to American letters.