''Orion'' was an American literary magazine founded by
William Carey Richards in March 1842.
History
Richards started ''Orion'' while living in
Penfield, Georgia
Penfield, Georgia, United States was established shortly after 1829 in Greene County, Georgia, Greene County, and named in honor of Josiah Penfield (c. 1785 – 1828), a Savannah, Georgia, Savannah merchant and silversmith, who bequeathed $2,500.00 ...
, with the intention of fostering the growth of literature produced in the South. He distinguished the magazine from merely one dedicated to
Southern literature
Southern United States literature consists of American literature written about the Southern United States or by writers from the region. Literature written about the American South first began during the colonial era, and developed significan ...
, explaining:
It was named for the
Orion constellation
Orion is a prominent constellation located on the celestial equator and visible throughout the world. It is one of the most conspicuous and recognizable constellations in the night sky. It is named after Orion, a hunter in Greek mythology. It ...
at the suggestion of
William Tappan Thompson
William Tappan Thompson (August 31, 1812 – March 24, 1882). He co-founded the ''Savannah Morning News'' in the 1850s, known then as the ''Daily Morning News''. One of his most notable works was ''Major Jones's Courtship,'' an epistolary n ...
, later an editor. The first issue of the magazine, published in March 1842, resembled the typography and appearance of the ''
Knickerbocker
A Knickerbocker is a person from Manhattan (New York City, before 1898). A modern synonym is “New Yorker”.
Knickerbocker or Knickerbockers may also refer to:
People
* Knickerbocker (surname), including a list of people with the surname, and ...
'', published around the same time, though Richards denied any intentional emulation.
The magazine, not affiliated with any particular denomination or religious group, aimed to uplift literary standards in the South. Within its sixty-four pages it featured a diversity of literary works, with contributions from prominent writers hailing from both the South and North, such as
William Gilmore Simms. Richards' family, including his wife
Cornelia Richards, his brother
Thomas Addison Richards
Thomas Addison Richards (December 3, 1820 – June 28, 1900), was an American landscape artist.
Biography
Richards was born in London, UK, and migrated with his family to the United States in 1831. The family first settled in New York, then Sout ...
, and his sister, also contributed to the magazine.
Richards took on various roles in addition to being editor, contributing literary criticism, essays, humour and poetry.
Seeking to expand the magazine's reach and influence, he relocated the magazine to
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...
in early 1844. However, despite these efforts, the magazine ceased publication after just six months there, ending in August 1844.
Legacy
Although criticized by some contemporaries, ''Orion'' overall received praise for its
typographic
Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable and appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, point sizes, line lengths, line-spacing ( leading), and ...
quality, content, and Richard's contributions. Its significance lied in Richards's efforts to foster literature in the South and being the first of his contributions in that vein, such as his later magazine ventures the ''
Southern Literary Gazette'' and the ''
Schoolfellow''.
References
Bibliography
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Further reading
*
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External links
*
26 issues of the ''Orion'' at the Internet Archive
{{Authority control
Defunct magazines published in the United States
Magazines established in 1842
Magazines disestablished in 1844
Magazines published in Georgia (U.S. state)
Magazines published in South Carolina