The _Ladies' Literary Port Folio_ was begun December 10, 1828. It was published in quarto form by Thomas C. Clarke, No. 67 Arcade.
An association of physicians published every fortnight after September 9, 1829, the _Journal of Health_. Henry H. Porter, at No. 108 Chestnut Street, was the publisher of this sixteen page magazine, whose motto was "Health--the poor man's riches, the rich man's bliss."
The _Banner of the Constitution_ was a weekly journal of New York City, from December, 1829, to May, 1831. In the latter month it was transferred to Philadelphia, because, as the editor explained, "As Pennsylvania is without a single paper bold enough to speak out the language of truth in the strong terms befitting the actual crisis of affairs, we have resolved to transfer our establishment to Philadelphia and to resume our old position on the field of battle."
The _Protestant Episcopalian and Church Register_ was "devoted to the interests of religion in the Protestant Episcopal Church." It was begun in January, 1830, became the property of John S. Littell in 1838, and on January 5, 1839, appeared in a fresh guise as the _Banner of the Cross_.
_Godey's Lady's Book_ was the chief financial success among the Philadelphia magazines, and, after the _Port Folio_, enlisted the services of the greatest number of the best writers. The circulation, largely due to its popular colored fashion plates, increased to 150,000 a month. It was begun in July, 1830, by Louis A. Godey, who continued to direct his continuously prosperous journal until 1877. Some of the earliest compositions of Longfellow, Holmes, Poe, Bayard Taylor, Lydia H. Sigourney, Frances Osgood and Harriet Beecher Stowe appeared in this magazine.
For many years the _Lady's Book_ was edited by Sarah Josepha Hale. She was born in Newport, New Hampshire, 24th October, 1788, and died in Philadelphia 30th April, 1879. From 1828 to 1837 she edited, in Boston, the _Ladies' Magazine_. When that magazine was united in 1837 with _Godey's Lady's Book_, Mrs. Hale became editor of the latter periodical, and made her home in Philadelphia in 1841. She was the originator of the Seamen's Aid Society. She organized the fair whereby the fund for the completion of the Bunker Hill monument was raised. It was through her zealous insistence that Thanksgiving Day was made a national holiday. She published many books in prose and verse, and some fugitive poems, "Mary's Lamb," "It Snows," and "The Light of Home," that were everywhere known.