Charles Henry Webb (January 24, 1834 – May 24, 1905) was an American poet, author and journalist. He was particularly known for his parodies and humorous writings.

Biography

Webb was born at Rouse's Point,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

in 1834. Webb worked as both a whaler and a war correspondent. He spent three years at sea, and was then taken on by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''Webb, Charles Henry (John Paul) (1834-)
from The vault at Pfaffs where he covered the front lines of the Civil War. In April 1862, he moved to

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

and became literary editor of the ''

San Francisco Bulletin The ''San Francisco Evening Bulletin'' was a newspaper in San Francisco, founded as the ''Daily Evening Bulletin'' in 1855 by James King of William. King used the newspaper to crusade against political corruption, and built it into having the highe ...

'' before becoming the highest paid contributor to ''

The Golden Era ''The Golden Era'' was a 19th-century San Francisco newspaper. The publication featured the writing of f.e.g. Mark Twain, Bret Harte, Charles Warren Stoddard (writing at first as "Pip Pepperpod"), Fitz Hugh Ludlow, Adah Isaacs Menken, Ada Clar ...

'' under pen names like "Inigo" and "John Paul". In his regular column for the ''Era'' in December 1863, he announced that he and

Bret Harte Bret Harte (; born Francis Brett Hart; August 25, 1836 – May 5, 1902) was an American short story writer and poet best remembered for short fiction featuring miners, gamblers, and other romantic figures of the California Gold Rush. In a caree ...

"laid our heads together over a

Mint Julep Mint julep is a mixed alcoholic drink, or cocktail, consisting primarily of bourbon, sugar, water, crushed or shaved ice, and fresh mint. As a bourbon-based cocktail, it is associated with the American South and the cuisine of the Southern Un ...

... nddetermined to start a paper" of their own. The first issue of this project, '' The Californian'', was released in May 1864. Webb's irreverent tone and burlesques of California life and Californians, however, were not successful and in 1866 he left ''The Californian'' and returned to the East Coast. When his friend

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

had difficulty finding a publisher for his first collection of sketches, Webb offered to take on the project himself. Webb served as both editor and publisher for ''

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" is an 1865 short story by Mark Twain. It was his first great success as a writer and brought him national attention. The story has also been published as "Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog" (its orig ...

, and Other Sketches'' When it was released under the American News Company imprint in 1867, Twain reported to a newspaper, " ebbhas gotten it up in excellent style, and has done everything to suit his own taste, which is excellent. I have made no suggestions." In 1867, Webb wrote ''St. Twel'mo, or the Cuneiform Cyclopedist of Chattanooga'', a parody of the novel ''St. Elmo'' by Augusta Evans Wilson which had sold over a million copies within four months of its publication the year before. In the 1890s, Webb spent his summers in

Nantucket Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...

at 77 Main Street, known as the Francis Macy House.Gambee, Robert. ''Nantucket Impressions''. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2001: 231. Webb died in New York on May 24, 1905.

Publications

*''Our Friend from Victoria'' (Drama, 1865) *''Arrah-na-Poke'' (Drama, 1865) *''Liffith Lank, or Lunacy'' (1867), a parody of

Charles Reade Charles Reade (8 June 1814 – 11 April 1884) was a British novelist and dramatist, best known for '' The Cloister and the Hearth''. Life Charles Reade was born at Ipsden, Oxfordshire, to John Reade and Anne Marie Scott-Waring, and had at leas ...

’s ''

Griffith Gaunt ''Griffith Gaunt, or Jealousy'' is an 1866 sensation novel by Charles Reade. A best-selling book in its day, it was thought by Reade to be his best novel, but critics and posterity have generally preferred '' The Cloister and the Hearth'' (1861 ...

'' *''St. Twelmo, or the Cuneiform Cyclopedist of Chattanooga'' (1868), a parody of Augusta Evans Wilson's ''St. Elmo'' *''John Paul's Book: Moral and Instructive: Consisting of Travels, Tales, Poetry, and Like Fabrications'' (1874) *''The Wickedest Woman in New York'' (1875) *''Parodies, Prose, and Verse'' (1876) *''Sea-Weed and what we seed: my Vacation at Long Branch and Saratoga'' (1876) *''Vagrom Verse'' (1889) *''With Lead and Line along Varying Shores: A Book of Poems'' (1901)

References

External links

Charles Henry Webb
at ''The Vault at Pfaff's'',

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Epis ...

Guide to the Papers of Charles Henry Webb
at ''Virginia Heritage''
Charles Henry Webb's writings for ''Harper's Magazine''

Popular Song "Croquet" by J. R. Thomas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Webb, Charles Henry 1834 births 1905 deaths 19th-century American poets American male poets Poets from New York (state) People from Rouses Point, New York 19th-century American male writers