Background Frank Leslie was the
pen name of Henry Carter (1821–1880), the son of a well-to-do English glovemaker. Carter had taken up the art of wood engraving over his father's objection and emigrated to
New York City, arriving in 1848 and immediately adopting "Frank Leslie" as his pseudonym. One of Leslie's early clients was promoter
P. T. Barnum, who commissioned Leslie to produce a posh illustrated concert program for singer
Jenny Lind in 1849. Additional work was done for Barnum for another Lind tour in 1850 and 1851. No daily newspaper in America consistently carried illustrations until the launch of
The Daily Graphic in 1873, by which time ''Leslie's Newspaper'' was a massive and prosperous concern, employing more than 300 people, including 70 illustrators, as part of a publishing empire which by now spanned seven publications. Content strove to be timely, focusing on the newsworthy events of the previous week, often within days of its occurrence, a novelty for the era. having switched to a monthly publication in February, 1921, shortly after its parent company was placed into receivership. It often took a strongly
patriotic stance and frequently featured cover pictures of soldiers and heroic battle stories. It also gave extensive coverage to less martial events such as the
Klondike gold rush of 1897, covered by
San Francisco journalist John Bonner. Among the writers publishing their stories in the weekly were
Louisa May Alcott,
H. Irving Hancock,
Helen R. Martin,
Eleanor Franklin Egan, and
Ellis Parker Butler. Several notable illustrators worked for the publication, including
Albert Berghaus and
Norman Rockwell, who created covers for the magazine in its latter years,
Emmett Watson, and
Fernando Miranda y Casellas.
James Montgomery Flagg's iconic depiction of
Uncle Sam first appeared publicly on the cover of the July 6, 1916, issue, with the caption "What Are You Doing for Preparedness?", before becoming a famed recruiting poster on American entry into World War I. Pioneering aviator
Harriet Quimby was a frequent contributor for 10 year, serving as the magazine's aviation editor after she became the first American woman to become a licensed pilot, in 1911, after several years of writing for the magazine on a number of different subjects (including serving as the magazine's drama critic, and as a travel writer for which she was often credited as a photographer). Some of her final writings for the magazine were on the topic of aviation and aviation safety, with her final article appearing in the issue published a week after her death in a flying accident on July 1, 1912. By 1897, the publication's circulation had grown to an estimated 65,000 copies. ==See also==