''Town Topics: The Journal of Society'' was a magazine published in New York City by

William d'Alton Mann William d'Alton Mann (September 27, 1839 – May 17, 1920) was an American Civil War soldier, businessman, and newspaper and magazine publisher. Early life He was born in Sandusky, Ohio on September 27, 1839. Career During the Civil War, M ...

and others from 1879 to 1937 (v. 1-105, no. 56). Title varies: ''Andrew's American Queen; Art, Music, Literature and Society'' (Jan. 1879-Sept. 16, 1882); and ''American Queen'' (Sept. 23, 1882-Feb. 21, 1885) The magazine had begun life some years earlier as ''The American Queen'', edited by

Louis Keller Louis Keller (February 27, 1857 – February 16, 1922) was an American publisher, social arbiter of high society, and golf club owner. He was the founder of Baltusrol Golf Club in New Jersey and the first publisher of the ''Social Register''. Biog ...

, the founder of the

Social Register The ''Social Register'' is a semi-annual publication in the United States that indexes the members of American high society. First published in the 1880s by newspaper columnist Louis Keller, it was later acquired by Malcolm Forbes. Since 2014, ...

, and "dedicated to art, music, literature, and society." Under Mann, however, it ripened into a

scandal sheet Tabloid journalism is a popular style of largely sensationalist journalism (usually dramatized and sometimes unverifiable or even blatantly false), which takes its name from the tabloid newspaper format: a small-sized newspaper also known as ...

, faithfully reporting high-society peccadilloes and often identifying perpetrators by name. It was possible for the wealthy public figures to delay or bury a story by buying some advertising in the newspaper. The main method it used was to print an innocuous article with the name of the individual on which it had a piece of hot gossip. On the other side of the page would be a blind piece going into the scandal without the name of the person involved. By running the article giving identification and the scandal separately it was possible for Mann to avoid liability for extortion, libel and slander. The publication was responsible for the divorce of

Emily Post Emily Post ( Price; October 27, 1872 – September 25, 1960) was an American author, novelist, and socialite, famous for writing about etiquette. Early life Post was born Emily Bruce Price in Baltimore, Maryland, possibly in October 1872. Th ...

from her husband, Edwin in 1906, when the magazine's most popular feature, titled “Saunterings," exposed Mr. Post's affair with another woman.Kolbert, Elizabeth
"Place Settings"
''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', October 20, 2008

References

External links

"A Short History of Rudeness
* Love, Robert
"Shakedown!"
''

Columbia Journalism Review The ''Columbia Journalism Review'' (''CJR'') is a biannual magazine for professional journalists that has been published by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism since 1961. Its contents include news and media industry trends, ana ...

'', April 2006
"Buoyant Buccaneer"

"New York's School for Scandal Sheets"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Town Topics (magazine) Defunct magazines published in the United States Local interest magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1879 Magazines disestablished in 1937 Magazines published in New York City