Talk:The Black Cat (US magazine)

Possible FAC
This is just to let any interested editors know that if I can find enough sources I am hoping to improve this article to the point where it can be nominated as a featured article. Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 21:25, 4 November 2022 (UTC)

Circulation source information from Rowell's and Ayers
From the description in Rowell's it's clear that the year dates are the year of reporting and refer to the previous year.

Ayers. Circulations with affidavits in bold; with details with a star; with double dagger indicates unsupported publisher's numbers; Roman figures is Ayers' estimate. -- Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 22:18, 6 November 2022 (UTC)
 * 1896 - not listed; Ayers doesn't list publications in the year they start
 * 1897 pt 1 186,000 p. 338, 144 High St Boston publisher's numbers
 * 1897 pt 2 186,000 p. 338, 144 High St Boston publisher's numbers
 * 1898 pt 1 186,000 p. 340, 144 High St Boston Ayers est.
 * 1898 pt 2 186,000 p. 1069, 144 High St Boston Ayers est.
 * 1899 186,000 p. 342, 144 High St Boston Ayers est.
 * 1900 150,000 p. 351, 144 High St Boston Ayers est.
 * 1901 120,000 p. 357, 144 High St Boston affidavit
 * 1902 122,899 p. 358, 144 High St Boston affidavit
 * 1903 138,145 p. 362, 144 High St Boston affidavit
 * 1904 144,000 p. 357, 144 High St Boston affidavit
 * 1905 136,899 p. 360, 144 High St Boston affidavit with details
 * 1906 145,681 p. 366, 144 High St Boston affidavit with details
 * 1907 136,835 p. 370, 144 High St Boston affidavit with details
 * 1908 136,835 p. 358, 144 High St Boston Ayers est.
 * 1909 none given p. 358, 41-47 Pearl St Boston
 * 1910 none given p. 362, 41-47 Pearl St Boston
 * 1911 none given p. 382, 41-47 Pearl St Boston
 * 1912 none given p. 379, 41-47 Pearl St Boston
 * 1913 none given p. 383, 41-47 Pearl St Boston
 * 1914 none given p. 383, Salem
 * 1915 none given p. 412, Salem
 * 1916 none given p. 411, Salem
 * 1917 50,000 p. 409, Salem publisher's numbers
 * 1918 45,000 p. 419, Salem publisher's numbers
 * 1919 35,000 p.414, Salem publisher's numbers
 * 1920 50,000 p. 416 Salem publisher's numbers
 * 1921 50,000 p. 660 229 W. 28th St, New York Ayers est.
 * 1922 15,000 p. 660 Highland Falls publisher's numbers
 * 1923 15,000 p. 660 Highland Falls Ayers est.

Rowell's. Letter ratings A > 75K, B > 40K, C > 20K, D > 17.5K, E > 12.5K, F > 7.5K, G > 4K, H > 2.25K, I > 1K, JKL < 1K -- Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 01:19, 7 November 2022 (UTC)
 * 1897 More than 150,000 *printed* per every issue in 1896, publisher's numbers
 * 1898 p. 399, More than 150,000 *printed* per every issue in 1896, publisher's numbers
 * 1901 p. 471, 1896: publisher asserts > 150K; 1897 Y; 1898 yB; 1899; yB; 1900 publisher asserts for four years has been > 120,000.
 * 1902 p. 400, repeats 1901, plus in Nov 1901 publisher asserts all in last year > 116K
 * 1903 p. 418, repeats 1902, plus "actual average for 1902, 139,938"
 * 1905 pp. 423-424, repeats 1904, plus "actual average...for 1904, 138,773"
 * 1906 p. 444, actual for 1905 141,528
 * 1907 p. 473 "has not furnished any definite and satisfactory report, but was credited with more than 75,000 in 1906
 * 1909 p. 454 " it has not furnished any definite and satisfactory report, but was credited with more than 75,000 in 1907, which is the highest rating accorded in the absence of a definite and satisfactory report."

New images
No room in the article for them yet but I'll add a few images here as I upload them.

Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 00:00, 9 November 2022 (UTC)

Archive of issues
An archive of issues is available here. The advertising material at the back of each issue is not always attached to the issue it appeared in, which makes it tricky to attribute any material such as ads in the back of the magazine. From reading through, here are some notes by year. Note the cover doesn't generate a page number so a magazine with a cover and 56 pages takes up pp. 1-58 in the archive. -- Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 11:36, 9 November 2022 (UTC)
 * 1895:
 * Oct, Nov end at p. 50
 * Dec ends at p. 46
 * 1896:
 * Jan, Feb, Mar, May, Jun, Sep end at p. 52
 * Apr, Jul end at p. 50
 * Aug ends at p. 48
 * Oct, Nov ends at p. 54
 * Dec ends at p. 56.
 * The advertising material starts at the end of the December issue. There are notes in the scan indicating that the page number discrepancies are in the original text, as follows:
 * 51-66 includes an announcement of the November 1895 issue, so this is from the October 1895 issue. pp. 59-74 in Dec 1896
 * 51-66 from Nov 1895 (75-90)
 * 47-66 Dec 1895 (91-110)
 * 53-66 Jan 1896 (111-124)
 * 53-66 Feb 1896 (125-138)
 * 53-66 Mar 1896 (139-152)
 * 51-66 Apr 1896 (153-168)
 * 53-66 May 1896 (167-182)
 * 53-66 Jun 1896 (183-194)
 * 51-66 (missing pp. 53 and 54) Jul 1896 (195-208)
 * 49-66 Aug 1896 (209-226)
 * 53-66 Sep 1896 (227-240)
 * 55-66 Oct 1896 (241-252)
 * 55-66 Nov 1896 (253-264)
 * 57-66 Dec 1896 (265-274)

In 1898 they started using lower case Roman numerals as well as Arabic numbers in the advertising section. -- Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 16:06, 12 November 2022 (UTC)

Source material in the back issues
Leaving some notes here for use in the article. The page numbering in the Internet Archive for Dec 1896 is screwed up, and you have to fiddle about to get to the November 1895 issue. Here's a table showing the relationship between the page numbers in the screen interface and the page numbers displayed on the page images. Thereafter the numbering can be followed from the list in the previous session. This means for the November 1895 issue you have to reach some pages by scrolling, not by jumping to an page number.

The following are notes for the Dec 96 archive, giving the interface page number, then the page number printed on the original page, then the month of issue. The volumes for 1902 are not mixed up; each volume appears to be complete in its own scan.
 * 65/57 Oct 95: ad from Barta Press, printers of The Black Cat.
 * 68/60 Oct 95: announcement of Nov 95 issue and contents
 * 61/61 Nov 95: quotes from reviews of the October issue
 * 62/62 Nov 95: call for stories; 1500-5000 words; payment not by length but by "editor's opinion of their worth"; paid on acceptance.
 * 89/inside back cover Nov 95: announcement of the Dec 95 issue and contents
 * 98/54 Dec 95: announcement of Jan 96.  Says "As the edition will be limited to two hundred thousand, every one desiring a copy should place his order in advance of publication".  This means that the anonymous author of the piece in the New York Press, reprinted in The Editor in March 1898, probably got it wrong when they said "The December issue, note, guarantees a sale of 200,000 to its advertisers, or gives them their advertising free if it falls short of that figure."
 * 103/59 Dec 95: All 100,000 of the first issue sold out.
 * 164/62 Apr 96: Announcement of May; production limited to 225,000
 * 188/59 Jun 96: Announcment of a sequel to "The Mysterious Card"; says it caused 150,000 copies of the February issue to be sold in three days.
 * 244/58 Oct 96: "Over $7,000 cash was paid for short stories published in The Black Cat during the first year of its existence--from October, 1895:, to October, 1896. Announces a series of special prizes including one of $1,000 for a short story.
 * 256/58 Nov 96: Announces the $1,000 competition with other prizes down to $100 for 5th. Total $2,100.  Subscription required.
 * 270/62 Dec 96: ditto.
 * In Dec 1897:
 * 172/62 Jul 97: Results of competition: $2,600 paid out with six $100 5th place winners
 * 192/inside back cover Aug 97: 2,500 words maximum now requested.
 * 238/56 Oct 97: new competition: $4,000 in prizes
 * In Dec 1898:
 * 58/62 Jan 98: Account of the reprinting of "In a Tiger Trap" by the Evening Sun and the correspondence that followed.
 * 74/60 Feb 98: reprints laudatory quotes from The Journalist Dec 25, 1897 and New York Press Dec 4, 1897. The latter is from the piece republished in The Editor.
 * 86/x Mar 98: $4,000 prize competition from 1897 last chance to enter, limit 6,000 words, subscription for a year required.
 * 158/v-vii Jul 98: list of prize winning stories and cheques
 * In Dec 1899:
 * 252/xii Sep 99: $4,200 cash in prizes for new competition; subscription still required to enter. Also on 274/xii; 312/xxvi; 346/xxxii.
 * In Dec 1900:
 * 126/ii prob Mar or Apr 1900: limit of 2,000 words
 * 146/ii Jul 1900 total of $5,100 paid instead of $4,200.
 * 166/ii limit 2,000 words
 * 169/viii winners
 * 284/x probably Nov 1900: story of Charles Edward Barns' bet that The Black Cat would accept a story on its merits and not on the name of the author.
 * 306/- max 2,000 words
 * In Dec 1901:
 * 43-47/43-47 Dec 01: prize competition $10,285 including non-cash prizes - tour of the world, car, typewriter, other trips.
 * 112/xvi also lists an automobile.
 * 245-251/xiii-xix

In 1902:
 * June 52-54/viii/x: results of contest, $12,560 paid out
 * July 4/ii: 2,000 word limit

1903 (Oct to Dec ads pages are missing). 1904 Sep has tons of ads at the back; it's the last of a volume so these are presumably Oct 03 through Sep 04 ads pages.
 * Feb 68/back cover: claims 220,000 copies of the "Mysterious Card" issue sold counting reprints of the issue.

1905 Sep has the ads for Oct 04 through Sep 05:
 * 256, 268-269/vi, xviii-xix: next contest, $10,600
 * 280/ii, probably June 04, reprints an article from the Boston Globe, June 8, 1904, about Jack London breaking through with a sale to The Black Cat.
 * 290-291/xii-xiii, contest again. All cash prizes.


 * 282/x prob June 05: limit 5,000 words

1906 Sep has the ads for Oct 05 through Sep 06:


 * 54/vi (Oct 05): advert for collection of Black Cat drawings by Nelly Littlehale Umbstaetter
 * 316/viii prob Aug 06: drawings again, with Kindergarten drawing for framing.

1907 Sep has the ads for Oct 06 through Sep 07:

1908 Sep has ads for Oct 07 through Sep 08:
 * 146/xiv prob Feb or Mar 07: more pictures of the drawings for sale 870 sets left.
 * 198/xv prob Mar 07: more pictures 324 sets left
 * 210/i Apr 07 notice of move to 41-47 Pearl Street, corner of Franklin.


 * 168/ii prob Mar or Apr 08: contest for $6,950, no subscription required
 * 174/ix prob Apr: announcement of cover price increase -- cost of production up over 50%
 * 258/viii Sep 08: winners of contest, paid $3250 split differently from plan

1909 Sep has ads for Oct 08 through Sep 09:


 * 62/iii Nov 08: winners cheques
 * 92/ii Dec 08: 800-3,000 words
 * 126/viii 500-1,000 words

1910 Sep has extra pages of ads but only up to 193 so it may not be a full year.


 * 152/iii prob Jun or Jul 1910: ad from someone wanting back issues to complete their set of The Black Cat

1911 Sep has 179 pages and appears to be a full year.

1912 Sep has 179 pages and appears to be a full year.


 * 118/i 1,000 to 5,000 words

1913 Sep has 161 pages:


 * 82/viii Prob Dec 1913: ad for book publication of "Mysterious Card" and its sequel

Also the Oct 1912 issue is the first one with Salem Mass as the publishing address. -- Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 14:08, 13 November 2022 (UTC)
 * Nov 1916 announces Black Cat Club pp.2 & 4 -- no fee, awards prizes of $25 for stories and 5x$5 for member submsissions of lists of stories and reasons.
 * Dec 1916 size change, see p. 4
 * Jan 1917 first BCC contest closes; announces the contests will be monthly. It appears in each issue thereafter.
 * November 1917 issue has Marguerite Clayton on the cover; per p.2 and p.. 1161 of the Nov 25 1916 The Moving Picture World a series of films were made from stories in The Black Cat.
 * May 1918 announces the 18th contest for stories in that issue.
 * Oct 1918 p. 44 announces the discontinuance of the competition. October 1918 was the last issue for which prizes were awarded.
 * Jan 1919 p. 44 the club restarts with no requirement to criticize all stories; instead offering one cent per word for criticisms of any one or more stories.
 * Jul 1919 p. 4 advertises "The Black Cat Course in Short Story Writing".
 * Dec 1919 page count jumps to 160 GC, notice of $5,000 short story contest, new publisher is "The Black Cat Magazine Incorporated, 229 W 23rd St, New York"
 * Feb 1920 p. 2, 137-140 $5K contest.
 * Mar 1920 prizes increase to $7.5K, two contests; pp. 125-127; closes competition June 30 2020
 * Aug 1920 Another competition announced, closing Aug 31, for $2,500

The archive only has one issue, Feb 25, 1922, of the last version. Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 14:08, 13 November 2022 (UTC)

Statements of ownership
List of statements of ownership starting in 1913. Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 17:54, 13 November 2022 (UTC) -- Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 21:12, 13 November 2022 (UTC)
 * Sep 1913 issue? - Oct 1, 1912: T.E. Dyer editor, S.E. Cassino owner
 * Sep 1913 issue? - Apr 1, 1913: T.E. Dyer editor, S.E. Cassino owner
 * Nov 1913 issue - Oct 1, 1913: T.E. Dyer editor, S.E. Cassino owner
 * Jan 1915 issue - Oct 1, 1914: F.W. Osborne
 * Jun 1915 issue - Apr 1, 1915: F.W. Osborne
 * Nov 1915 issue - Oct 1, 1915: Herman E. Cassino (also as owner)
 * June 1916 issue - Apr 1, 1916: Herman E. Cassino editor and owner
 * Dec 1916 issue - Oct 1, 1916: chopped off but looks like H.E. Cassino for editor and owner
 * June 1917 issue - Apr 1, 1917: H. E. Cassino editor & owner
 * Jan 1918 issue - Oct 1, 1917: H. E. Cassino editor & owner
 * May 1918 issue - Apr 1, 1918: H. E. Cassino editor & owner
 * Nov 1918 issue - Oct 1, 1918: H.E. Bessom, editor; H.E. Cassino, owner
 * May 1919 issue - Apr 1, 1919: H.E. Bessom, editor; Herman E. Cassino owner
 * Nov 1919 issue - Oct 1, 1919: H.E. Bessom editor; Herman E. Cassino owner
 * Feb 25, 1922 issue - Oct 1, 1921: William R. Kane publisher, editor.

Clippings
Early reviews: -- Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 15:38, 18 November 2022 (UTC)
 * NY Tribune 8 Oct 95
 * Burlington Free Press 20 Feb 96 covers the circulation numbers for the "Mysterious Card Unveiled" issue
 * Burlington Free Press 23 Dec 95 summarizes positive reviews of first issues, quoting the New York Mail and Express and the Louisville Commercial.
 * Burlington Free Press 7 Oct 95 review of first issue, quotes Boston Post.
 * (Brooklyn) Standard Union 12 Oct 95 review of first issue.
 * (Sioux Falls) Argus-Leader 29 Oct 95 review of first issue.

Link to article about Nelly Littlehale Umbstaetter
Bio of NL Umstaetter. Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 17:39, 18 November 2022 (UTC)