__NOTOC__ ''The Flag of Our Union'' (est.1846) was a weekly story paper published in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, in the mid-19th century. In addition to news it featured works of fiction and poetry including contributions from notable writers such as Louisa May Alcott and

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...

. Publisher Frederick Gleason began ''The Flag'' in 1846, a "miscellaneous family journal, containing news, wit, humor, and romance -- independent of party or sect." Original stories, verse, and illustration appeared in the paper, as well as brief news items on local, national and international current events.

Maturin Murray Ballou Maturin Murray Ballou (April 14, 1820March 27, 1895) was a writer and publisher in 19th-century Boston, Massachusetts. He co-founded '' Gleason's Pictorial'', was the first editor of the ''Boston Daily Globe,'' and wrote numerous travel books and ...

served as editor. In 1849, Gleason's office was located "on the corner of Court and Tremont Streets" in Boston. ''The Flag'' became quite popular. By some accounts it had "the largest circulation of any papers in the United States," ca.1851. Around 1852, circulation reached 75,000, and shortly grew to 100,000. Story contributors in the paper's early years included Ballou, Henry Ames Blood, Sylvanus Cobb, Jr., Joseph Holt Ingraham, and Edgar Allan Poe, Authors' work frequently appeared pseudonymously, such as that of Mary Bassett Clarke, who wrote using the pen name, "Ida Fairfield". Pictorial engravings were original: "the reader will please remember that all illustrations that appear in ''Flag'' are originally designed and engraved for this paper, nor will any second hand cuts ever be found in its columns." Editor Ballou later became the paper's publisher after buying it from Gleason in 1854. Over the years, publishers included Gleason (1846–1854), Ballou (1854–1863), James R. Elliott (1863–1870), William Henry Thomes (1863–1871), and Newton Talbot (1863–1871) -- the latter as firms Elliott, Thomes & Talbot, and Thomes & Talbot. Contributors in later years included some particularly noteworthy authors.

Sarah Orne Jewett Theodora Sarah Orne Jewett (September 3, 1849 – June 24, 1909) was an American novelist, short story writer and poet, best known for her local color works set along or near the southern coast of Maine. Jewett is recognized as an important ...

published her first story, "Jenny Garrow's Lovers", in 1868. Louisa May Alcott published work under a pen-name; she also wrote a manuscript for ''The Flag'' entitled ''

A Long Fatal Love Chase ''A Long Fatal Love Chase'' is a 1866 novel by Louisa May Alcott published posthumously in 1995. Two years before the publication of '' Little Women'', Alcott uncharacteristically experimented with the style of the thriller and submitted the resu ...

'', but not published until 1995. Alcott describes a fictionalized ''Flag'' (i.e. ''The Blarneystone Banner'' and ''The Weekly Volcano'' ) in '' Little Women'' (1868).

References

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External links

* Library of Congress
Flag of our Union (Boston, Mass.)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flag Of Our Union, The Newspapers published in Boston Publications established in 1846 Defunct newspapers published in Massachusetts 19th century in the United States 1846 establishments in Massachusetts

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