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Modern Priscilla (magazine)

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For the Cilla Black album from 1978, see Modern Priscilla.
The July 1927 cover of Modern Priscilla, featuring an illustration of a smiling young white woman wearing bathing attire
The July 1927 cover of Modern Priscilla

Modern Priscilla (also known as The Modern Priscilla) was an American women's magazine, published in Massachusetts from 1887 to 1930.

History

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Modern Priscilla began in Lynn, Massachusetts, as a 16-page magazine focused on fancy-work instructions. (Because the Priscilla mentioned in the New Testament was described as a tent maker, the name "Priscilla" was associated with women sewing and weaving, especially home goods.) Its first editor, Frank Spencer Guild, was an illustrator, and art director of Ladies' Home Journal.[1][2] Annual subscriptions cost 50 cents in 1888.[3] The magazine's office moved to Boston in 1894.[4]

The magazine was successful for decades. Its slogan in 1907, "A Department Store where 172,710 Women Shop", announced its wide circulation.[5] In 1922, the magazine boasted a circulation of about 600,000.[6] It absorbed several other magazines, including Everyday Housekeeping in 1912 and Home Needlework Magazine in 1917. Modern Priscilla was merged into Needlecraft in 1930.[4]

Contents

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The September 1909 cover of The Modern Priscilla
The September 1909 cover of The Modern Priscilla, featuring an illustration by Margaret Fitzhugh Browne

Modern Priscilla featured original short fiction alongside homemaking and fashion advice. It was known for publishing illustrated patterns for sewing, crochet, millinery, basketry, lace making, needlepoint and embroidery. The Priscilla Publishing Company also offered stand-alone books of patterns and recipes.[7][8][9][10]

Notable editors and writers who contributed to Modern Priscilla included Della T. Lutes,[11] Harriet Cole Emmons,[12] Christine Terhune Herrick,[13] Anna Balmer Myers,[14] Mary Card,[15] Mary Harrod Northend,[16] Maud Hart Lovelace, Marion Harris Neil, and Louise Stanley.[17] Cover artists included Sarah Stilwell Weber (May 1919),[18] Clara Miller Burd (August 1922),[19] Charles Archibald MacLellan (November 1925, October 1926)[20] William Haskell Coffin (June 1925, August 1926, March 1928),[21][22] and Bradshaw Crandell (June 1928, September 1928)[23]

Legacy

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The University of Wisconsin–Madison Libraries has twelve issues of Modern Priscilla from the 1920s.[24] Internet Archive has several earlier issues.[25] The New York State Library featured an exhibit of Modern Priscilla covers in December 2011.[26]

References

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  1. ^ Burleigh, Charles (1887). The Genealogy and History of the Guild, Guile and Gile Family. B. Thurston & Company. p. 186.
  2. ^ "Frank S. Guild, Artist and Illustrator Dies at Home in Merchantville, N.J." The Philadelphia Inquirer. 1929-07-04. p. 17. Retrieved 2025-03-29 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ N.W. Ayer & Son's American Newspaper Annual. N.W. Ayer and Son. 1888.
  4. ^ a b "Modern Priscilla". MagazineArt.org: A visual encyclopedia of American magazine art 1870-1940. Retrieved 2025-03-29.
  5. ^ "The Modern Priscilla (advertisement)". Judicious Advertising. 5 (2): 5. May 1907.
  6. ^ "Modern Priscilla (advertisement)". Chicago Tribune. 1922-11-16. p. 14. Retrieved 2025-03-29 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Leavitt, Sarah A. (2003-04-03). From Catharine Beecher to Martha Stewart: A Cultural History of Domestic Advice. Univ of North Carolina Press. p. 101. ISBN 978-0-8078-6038-0.
  8. ^ Mahaffy, Mae Yoho (1909). The Priscilla Drawn Work Book: A Collection of Beautiful Designs, with Lessons and Stitches. Priscilla Publishing Company.
  9. ^ Fitzgerald, Sallie Garrison (1911). The Priscilla Basketry Book: A Collection of Baskets and Other Articles with Lessons for Working and Directions for Dyeing and Staining. Priscilla Publishing Company.
  10. ^ "Priscilla Publishing Co". Smithsonian Libraries. 2015. Retrieved 2025-03-29.
  11. ^ Lutes, Della Thompson (April 1927). "The Editor's Page". The Modern Priscilla. 41 (2).
  12. ^ "Eastern Editor Spends Several Days in This City". The Oregon Daily Journal. 1922-08-13. p. 37. Retrieved 2025-03-29 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Herrick, Christine Terhune (December 1910). "The Mother-in-Law's Place in the Home". The Modern Priscilla: 8 – via Internet Archive.
  14. ^ Myers, Anna Balmer (April 1927). "The Dress Bundle". The Modern Priscilla. 41 (2): 5–6.
  15. ^ Card, Mary (August 1925). "Crochet This Beautiful Runner for your Buffet". The Modern Priscilla. 39 (6): 8–9.
  16. ^ Northend, Mary Harrod (May 1916). "Dainty Recipes for Social Affairs". The Modern Priscilla: 33 – via Internet Archive.
  17. ^ Stanley, Louise (August 1925). "Woman's Biggest Job; What the Bureau of Home Economics is Doing for Her". The Modern Priscilla. 39 (6): 20.
  18. ^ Weber, Sarah Stillwell (May 1919), "Cover image", Modern Priscilla, retrieved 2025-03-29 – via Internet Archive
  19. ^ Burd, Clara Miller (August 1922), "Cover image", Modern Priscilla, retrieved 2025-03-29 – via Internet Archive
  20. ^ MacLellan, Charles A. (November 1925), "Cover image", Modern Priscilla, retrieved 2025-03-29 – via Internet Archive
  21. ^ Coffin, Haskell (August 1926), "Cover image", Modern Priscilla, retrieved 2025-03-29 – via Internet Archive
  22. ^ Coffin, Haskell (March 1928), "Cover image", Modern Priscilla, retrieved 2025-03-29 – via Internet Archive
  23. ^ Crandell, Bradshaw (June 1928), "Cover image", Modern Priscilla, retrieved 2025-03-29 – via Internet Archive
  24. ^ "The Modern Priscilla". UW-Madison Libraries. Retrieved 2025-03-29.
  25. ^ "The Modern Priscilla archives". The Online Books Page. Retrieved 2025-03-29.
  26. ^ Purcell, Shawn (December 2011). "The Modern Priscilla". Research Library: NYS Library. Retrieved 2025-03-29.
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