The Dial: Magazine for Literature, Philosophy and Religion
The Dial was established in 1840 as a Transcendentalist magazine, edited by Margaret Fuller and Ralph Waldo Emerson. It published four volumes in this incarnation, ceasing in 1844. The Dial was revived in 1880, and carried a mix of politics, literature, and criticism under various editors, including Marianne Moore in the late 1920s. Its first issue was published in July 1840 with the chief editor being Margaret Fuller, who was hired for the position October 20th 1839.
The content of The Dial varied in each issue, but had a few sections or subjects that would be repeated in every issue or every other issue. For example, in Volume 4 and parts of Volume 3, each issue contains a section titled “Ethnical Scriptures.” This section seemed to be dedicated to religious intellect, and would usually include a section of scripture from a “foreign” religious or cultural view (for example: writings of Confucius and “Chinese Classical Works: The Four Books”). The teachings from these excerpts would be interpreted (often times in relation to Christian teachings), and it seems like this section was very didactic in nature and aimed to give an expansive religious knowledge. The Dial included mostly philosophical, critical or educational essays, but some issues also included short stories, such as “The Youth of the Poet and the Painter” in Volume 4 which was a short story told through a series of letters between friends.
Emerson and Fuller wrote Europe and European Books and A Short Essay on Critics, respectively. These essays were found in a library bound original of the four volumes of The Dial.
However, the periodical was highly criticised by figures such as George Ripley. It was never financially stable as its subscribers totalled only around 200. Thus its first version came to an end in 1944. Due to its short life, we focused on the years 1940-1944.
The Introduction Page in each of the four volumes from the years 1840 through 1844 contains this statement: “The purpose of this work is to furnish a medium for the freest expression of thought on the questions which interest earnest minds in every community” [For the rest of the introduction]
Similarly, the footnote of the introduction includes information on the publisher as well as the specifics of the serialisation of the periodical: The Dial is published by WEEKS, JORDAN, AND Co. 121 Washington Street, once in three months, on the first day of January, April, July and October. Each number will contain 138 octavo pages, making one volume in a year of 544 pages.
Cover Page, Volume I (image 1); Introduction Volume II (image 2)