The American Mercury

The American Mercury
American Mercury with Al Hirschfeld's caricature of Ernest Hemingway, November 1950
FrequencyMonthly
FounderH. L. Mencken and George Jean Nathan
Founded1924
Final issue1981
CountryUnited States
Based inNew York City
ISSN0002-998X

The American Mercury was an American magazine published from 1924[1] to 1981. It was founded as the brainchild of H. L. Mencken and drama critic George Jean Nathan.[2] The magazine featured writing by some of the most important writers in the United States through the 1920s and 1930s.

After a change in ownership in the 1940s, the magazine attracted conservative writers, including William F. Buckley. A second change in ownership in the 1950s turned the magazine into a far-right and virulently anti-Semitic publication.[3]

It was published monthly in New York City.[4] The magazine went out of business in 1981, having spent the last 25 years of its existence in decline and controversy.

  1. ^ Staff (Dec. 31, 1923). "Bichloride of Mercury." Time.
  2. ^ Fitzpatrick, Vincent (1992). "The American Mercury". Menckeniana (123): 1–6. JSTOR 26483894.
  3. ^ Walsh, David Austin (September 1, 2020). "The Right-Wing Popular Front: The Far Right and American Conservatism in the 1950s". Journal of American History. 107 (2): 411–432. doi:10.1093/jahist/jaaa182. ISSN 0021-8723.
  4. ^ "Newsstand: 1925: The American Mercury". Newsstand. Retrieved February 23, 2016.