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= Pomona (Magazine) =

Pomona, short for “Pomona für Teutschlands Töchter” (English: “Pomona for Germany's daughters”), was a monthly German women's magazine, which was published during the Age of Enlightenment. The first edition was published in 1783 in Speyer; it was discontinued in 1784.

In the prologue of the first edition, the author Sophie von La Roche said: “The 'Magazine for gentlewomen' and the 'Annual of memorabilia for the fair sex' show my readers what German men want us to believe is useful and favorable, while 'Pomona' shows them what I as a woman have to say about that.”

The other women's magazines at the time talked about fashion, beauty and how a woman is supposed to behave, whereas Pomona discussed philosophical texts about parenting and education. The readers obtained information about the topics of health, medicine, nutrition, art and portraits of successful women as well as a column concerning letters to the editor and advise.

La Roche gave advise on the topics of housekeeping and the bedroom, which is what a lot of women were interested in at the time. The Empress of Russia Catherine the Great, representative of the Enlightened absolutism, bought 500 subscriptions of the magazine, which she wanted to distribute around the royal court. Already in the prologue of the first edition, La Roche states how she wants to give a woman-led alternative to the women's magazines led by men. With “Pomona”, La Roche was mainly trying to improve women's education. For that purpose, she also published special editions about specific countries, which gave cultural-historical insight. She also gave additional reading recommendations.

The magazine was part of the first group of women's magazines which mobilized the female audience of higher middle class and lower nobility women to publish articles, even if they were mostly still anonymous.

Editions
Pomona, 1783–1784, Reprint, A.Francke 1987, 2381 pages. ISBN 978-3-7720-1918-0. Prologue by Jürgen Vorderstemann

Pomona, 1783–1784, Microfiche edition ISBN 3-598-51599-5

Digital Editions
Pomona für Teutschlands Töchter von Sophie von La Roche (Speyer: Ender, 1783–1784): Digital Editions of the Bavarian State Library

Literature
Helga Neumann: Zwischen Emanzipation und Anpassung. Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg 1999, ISBN 3-8260-1728-5, pages 49–82 (restricted preview in Google book search)