THE FAMILY MAGAZINE; OR MONTHLY ABSTRACT OF GENERAL KNOWLEDGE. ILLUSTRATED WITH SEVERAL HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS. 1839. CINCINNATI: PUBLISHED BY ELI TAYLOR. 1839. Gift 1-23-29. ADVERTISEMENT. On closing the fourth volume of the Family Magazine, the subscriber returns his sincere thanks to his numerous friends—or rather to the friends of science-who have liberally sustained him in his efforts to diffuse "useful knowledge." The fruits of four years' labor are now before the community, and a fond hope is indulged that they will prove of healthful influence on the public mind. The subscriber has aimed chiefly to cultivate the intellect and purify the heart, and whatever has not tended to the accomplishment of these two objects, has been the offspring of error, not of design; and, as "to err is human," he hopes to be forgiven. Notice is hereby given, that the Family Magazine is transferred to Messrs. J. A. JAMES & Co., who will hereafter conduct the work, and to whom all correspondence concerning it may be addressed. The subscriber earnestly commends his successors to all the friends of the Family Magazine, with the assurance that many valuable improvements will be made in the forthcoming volume. CINCINNATI, December, 1839. ELI TAYLOR. In the fifth volume of the Family Magazine, we shall pursue the general plan of its predecessors; but we are confident in the belief that our arrangements are such, that it will be superior to them all. We do not pretend to send forth a work replete with originality of ideas or style, or as a vehicle for conveying to the people the rich and beautiful specimens, in detail, of modern belles-lettres; but our prime object is, to disseminate useful information, fitted alike to the capacity of the child and the adult. It is intended rather as a magazine of valuable stores, gathered and garnered up from sources which, from their magnitude, rarity and costliness, are as sealed fountains of living water, to the great mass of the reading community. In it, the choicest contents of books are presented in a condensed yet perspicuous form, illustrative of HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY, the FINE ARTS, NATURAL HISTORY, AGRICULTURE and RURAL ECONOMY, USEFUL ARTS, the NATURAL SCIENCES, BIOGRAPHY, TRAVELS, BOTANY, &c., &c., agreeably spiced with POETRY and MISCELLANEOUS READING; all of which, during the course of a volume, are illustrated by engravings, several hundred in number, many of which are from original drawings, made expressly for the work. We aim to give the Magazine a character decidedly American, and to make it to this country, what the PENNY MAGAZINE is to Great Britain. Hence, we shall introduce, as far as practicable, in each department, descriptions of American history, manners, scenery, and natural productions. In furtherance of this object, we invite our friends abroad to aid us, by communications and sketches of anything remarkable, rare, or unique, that may come under their observations; and we trust they will find ample remuneration for their labor, in the consciousness of having added a quota to the sum total of intelligence which is so widely disseminated through the medium of the FAMILY MAGAZINE. CINCINNATI, December, 1839. J. A. JAMES & Co. iii |