Well, here's another fine mess I've gotten myself into. My accidental encounter with Harry Franco has ensnared me in a larger literary circle of 19th-century New York. The Vault at Pfaff's is an amazing online resource, one worth treasuring. Already I plan to bring e-text editions of some neglected works by Elizabeth Stoddard and William North to the public. Faced with such abundance, I have been inspired to start a new web site: ffred's nearly forgotten treasures.

As good a place as any to start is The Knickerbocker Gallery. Although I was originally attracted by "A Literary Martyrdom," the contribution from Charles Frederick Briggs, mere moments passed before I arrived at the conclusion that I should treat the entire volume as I would that particular chapter. Aside from Briggs, other "Pfaffians" contributing to the volume are (in order of appearance): Bayard Taylor, Charles Astor Bristed, Charles Godfrey Leland, George William Curtis, Nathaniel Parker Willis, Richard Henry Stoddard (husband of Elizabeth Stoddard), and Fitz-Greene Halleck. Other contributors—whose pieces have intrigued me sufficiently to research them as possible candidates for inclusion in my gallery—include Edward P. Mitchell [as Ralph Roanoke], Frederick S. Cozzens, Thomas Bangs Thorpe, and John Treat Irving, Jr. [nephew of Washington Irving].

This edition contains the complete text of this online scan, minus references to page numbers and to the engravings, which I have omitted. Because a few pages are missing, I have additionally relied upon another online scan as a backup.

So here it is: the master HTML version, the home-brew Kindle version, and the actual Amazon publication.

August 27, 2019

ffred's nearly-forgotten treasures