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{{short description|American magazine columnist and editor}}
{{short description|American magazine columnist and editor}}
{{Infobox person
⚫
[[Image:1886 March - Ladies Home Journal - folded - 83d40m - LHJandPH - p2s.jpg|thumb|200px|Early copy of [[Ladies Home Journal]]]]
| name = Louisa Knapp Curtis
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1851|10|21|mf=y}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1910|2|25|1851|10|21|mf=y}}
| resting_place = [[Laurel Hill Cemetery]], [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
| occupation = Columnist, editor
| spouse = [[Cyrus H. K. Curtis]]
| children = [[Mary Louise Curtis]]
}}
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'''Louisa Knapp Curtis''' (October 21, 1851 – February 25, 1910),<ref>{{cite journal| last = Stoddard | first = Maynard Good | title = A Legacy of Music. The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia | journal = The Saturday Evening Post | date = 1 January 2000 }}</ref> (also known as '''Louisa Knapp'''), was an American [[columnist]] and the first editor of the ''[[Ladies' Home Journal]]'' from 1883 to 1889. It became one of the most popular magazines published in the United States{{sfn|Damon-Moore|1994|p=32}} and reached a circulation of one million within ten years. Curtis turned over the editorship to [[Edward Bok]] in 1889 but she continued to author a column and provide oversight.


⚫
She was married to [[Cyrus Curtis]], head of the [[Curtis Publishing Company]], and took over from her husband as the author of the [[women's page]] monthly supplement ''Women at Home'' for the ''Tribune and Farmer'' weekly newspaper.
⚫
'''Louisa Knapp Curtis''' (October 21, 1851 – February 25, 1910),<ref name=aftercurtis>Anonymous. ''After Curtis'' Time magazine, Monday, Jul. 17, 1933. [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,753814-1,00.html TIME.com]</ref><ref>{{cite journal| last = Stoddard | first = Maynard Good | title = A Legacy of Music. The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia | journal = The Saturday Evening Post | date = 1 January 2000 }}</ref> (also known as '''Louisa Knapp'''), was an American [[columnist]] and editor who worked as the first editor for ''[[Ladies Home Journal]]'' from 1883 to 1889. It became one of the most popular magazines published in the United States{{sfn|Damon-Moore|1994|p=32}} and reached a circulation of one million within ten years. Curtis turned over the editorship to [[Edward Bok]] in 1889 but she continued to author a column and provide oversight.

⚫
She was married to [[Cyrus Curtis]], head of the [[Curtis Publishing Company]], and started her writing career as the author of the popular [[Women's page]] monthly supplement ''Women at Home'' for the ''Tribune and Farmer'' weekly newspaper.


==Early life==
==Early life==
In 1875, Louisa Knapp married Cyrus Curtis when he was the publisher of ''The Peoples Ledger'' in Boston. Louisa was working as a private secretary for [[Samuel Gridley Howe]], a promiment Boston physician and husband of [[women's suffrage]] activist [[Julia Ward Howe]].{{sfn|Damon-Moore|1994|p=16}} They met while singing in a concert to celebrate the end of the Civil War.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Krabbendam |first1=Hans |title=The Model Man: A LIfe of Edward William Bok, 1863-1930 |date=2001 |publisher=Rodopi |location=Amsterdam-Atlanta |isbn=90-420-1495-4 |page=55 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WnSxfB_gq1YC&pg=PA56&dq=louisa+knapp+curtis&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwio6pn-8IDvAhVtFlkFHS6HCyUQ6AEwA3oECAYQAg#v=onepage&q=louisa%20knapp%20curtis&f=false |access-date=23 February 2021}}</ref> After a fire destroyed the Boston publishing plant, they moved to [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]] in 1876 where her husband founded the ''Tribune and Farmer''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Howells |first1=Derek M. |title=Cyrus H.K. Curtis |url=https://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/literary-cultural-heritage-map-pa/bios/Curtis__Cyrus |website=www.pabook.libraries.psu.edu |access-date=24 February 2021}}</ref>
In 1875, Louisa Knapp married Cyrus Curtis when he was the publisher of ''The People's Ledger'' in Boston. They met while singing in a concert to celebrate the end of the Civil War.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Krabbendam |first1=Hans |title=The Model Man: A Life of Edward William Bok, 1863-1930 |date=2001 |publisher=Rodopi |location=Amsterdam-Atlanta |isbn=90-420-1495-4 |page=55 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WnSxfB_gq1YC&q=louisa+knapp+curtis&pg=PA56 |access-date=23 February 2021}}</ref> Louisa was working as a private secretary for [[Samuel Gridley Howe]], a prominent Boston physician and husband of [[women's suffrage]] activist [[Julia Ward Howe]].{{sfn|Damon-Moore|1994|p=16}} After a fire destroyed the Boston publishing plant for Cyrus' newspaper, they moved to [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]], in 1876 and he founded the ''Tribune and Farmer''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Howells |first1=Derek M. |title=Cyrus H.K. Curtis |url=https://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/literary-cultural-heritage-map-pa/bios/Curtis__Cyrus |website=www.pabook.libraries.psu.edu |access-date=24 February 2021}}</ref>


==Career==
==Career==
⚫
[[Image:1886 March - Ladies Home Journal - folded - 83d40m - LHJandPH - p2s.jpg|thumb|200px|1886 edition of [[Ladies' Home Journal]]]]
Cyrus initial authored the ''Women and Home'' column in the ''Tribune and Farmer'' weekly newspaper. It was originally developed from articles clipped from other sources and surrounded by advertisements directed toward women. Louisa convinced her husband that she could do a better job and began to write original content geared toward women. The column proved extremely popular and soon grew to fill a full page. The Curtises decided to publish a monthly supplement that would be included in the ''Tribune and Farmer''. The first issue of the supplement, written by Louisa under her maiden name and published by her husband, was released in December 1883.{{sfn|Damon-Moore|1994|p=19}}
Cyrus was the original author of the ''Women and Home'' column in the ''Tribune and Farmer'' weekly newspaper. It was originally developed from articles clipped from other sources and surrounded by advertisements directed toward women. Louisa criticized the column to her husband since she felt it did not address the real concerns of women. She convinced her husband that she could do a better job and began to write original content directed toward women. The column proved extremely popular and soon grew to fill a full page. The Curtises decided to publish a monthly supplement that would be included in the ''Tribune and Farmer''. The first issue of the supplement was released in December 1883 and titled ''Ladies' Home Journal and Practical Housekeeper''. It was written by Louisa under her maiden name and published by her husband.{{sfn|Damon-Moore|1994|p=19}}


The supplement proved so popular that it was expanded to a magazine and Louisa became the first editor. The magazine title was shortened to ''Ladies' Home Journal'' in 1886.<ref name=Scanlon>{{cite book |last1=Scanlon |first1=Jennifer |title=Inarticulate Longings: The Ladies' Home Journal , Gender and the Promise of Consumer Culture|date=2020 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781000143355 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E4wEEAAAQBAJ&q=louisa+knapp+curtis&pg=PT10 |access-date=25 February 2021}}</ref> In July 1889, the Curtises' decided to expand the magazine to a thirty-two page magazine with a cover.{{sfn|Damon-Moore|1994|p=27}} Louisa resigned as editor and Edward Bok became the new editor.<ref name=Scanlon/>
She became the editor of the magazine ''Ladies Home Journal and Practical Housekeeper'' in 1883 and shortened the name to ''Ladies' Home Journal'' in 1886.


[[File:Louisa Knapp Curtis gravestone.jpg|thumb|Louisa Knapp Curtis gravestone in [[Laurel Hill Cemetery]]]]
She died on February 25, 1910 in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania and is interred at [[Laurel Hill Cemetery]] in Philadelphia.<ref>{{cite web |title=Louisa Knapp Curtis |url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14593229/louisa-curtis |website=www.findagrave.com |accessdate=8 July 2020}}</ref>
She died on February 25, 1910, in [[Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania]], and was interred at [[Laurel Hill Cemetery]] in Philadelphia.


==Family==
==Family==
Louisa and Cyrus Curtis had one child, [[Mary Louise Curtis]], who married Edward Bok in 1896 (and with whom she founded [[Bok Tower Gardens]]).<ref>{{cite book| last = Hamersly| first = Lewis R. | title = Who's who in Pennsylvania: A Biographical Dictionary of Contemporaries | publisher = L.R. Hamersly & Co.
Louisa and Cyrus Curtis had one child, [[Mary Louise Curtis]], who married Edward Bok in 1896. She founded [[Bok Tower Gardens]],<ref>{{cite book| last = Hamersly| first = Lewis R. | title = Who's who in Pennsylvania: A Biographical Dictionary of Contemporaries | publisher = L.R. Hamersly & Co.
| year = 1904| pages = 66| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=HFADAAAAYAAJ&dq=cyrus+curtis}}</ref> Mary Louise founded the [[Curtis Institute of Music]] in 1924<ref>{{cite web |title=History |url=https://www.curtis.edu/about/history/ |website=www.curtis.edu |access-date=24 February 2021}}</ref> as well as, after the death of her father in 1933, the [[Curtis Hall Arboretum]] at the family residence, and the [[Curtis Center]] in the building from which her mother's magazine was published.
| year = 1904| pages = 66| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=HFADAAAAYAAJ&q=cyrus+curtis}}</ref> the [[Curtis Institute of Music]],<ref>{{cite web |title=History |url=https://www.curtis.edu/about/history/ |website=www.curtis.edu |access-date=24 February 2021}}</ref> the [[Curtis Hall Arboretum]] and the [[Curtis Center]].


==Citations==
==Citations==
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| publisher = State University of New York Press; Albany
| publisher = State University of New York Press; Albany
| isbn = 0-7914-2057-4
| isbn = 0-7914-2057-4
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ewxK0hXgOGsC&q=louisa+knapp+curtis&pg=PA15
| ref = harv
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ewxK0hXgOGsC&pg=PA15&dq=louisa+knapp+curtis&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj-6tTY1IDvAhVC1VkKHX3QAMYQ6AEwAHoECAMQAg#v=onepage&q=louisa%20knapp%20curtis&f=false
}}
}}

==External links==
{{findagrave|14593229}}


{{Cyrus Curtis}}
{{Cyrus Curtis}}
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[[Category:1910 deaths]]
[[Category:1910 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century American women writers]]
[[Category:19th-century American women writers]]
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[[Category:American columnists]]
[[Category:American magazine editors]]
[[Category:American magazine editors]]
[[Category:American women company founders]]
[[Category:American women columnists]]
[[Category:Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia)]]
[[Category:Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia)]]
[[Category:Curtis family|Louisa Knapp]]
[[Category:Curtis family]]
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[[Category:Ladies' Home Journal]]
[[Category:People from Cheltenham, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:People from Cheltenham, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Women magazine editors]]
[[Category:Secretaries]]
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[[Category:American women magazine editors]]
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[[Category:Ladies' Home Journal editors]]
[[Category:19th-century American businesspeople]]

Latest revision as of 05:54, 3 April 2024

Louisa Knapp Curtis
Born(1851-10-21)October 21, 1851
DiedFebruary 25, 1910(1910-02-25) (aged 58)
Resting placeLaurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation(s)Columnist, editor
SpouseCyrus H. K. Curtis
ChildrenMary Louise Curtis

Louisa Knapp Curtis (October 21, 1851 – February 25, 1910),[1] (also known as Louisa Knapp), was an American columnist and the first editor of the Ladies' Home Journal from 1883 to 1889. It became one of the most popular magazines published in the United States[2] and reached a circulation of one million within ten years. Curtis turned over the editorship to Edward Bok in 1889 but she continued to author a column and provide oversight.

She was married to Cyrus Curtis, head of the Curtis Publishing Company, and took over from her husband as the author of the women's page monthly supplement Women at Home for the Tribune and Farmer weekly newspaper.

Early life

[edit]

In 1875, Louisa Knapp married Cyrus Curtis when he was the publisher of The People's Ledger in Boston. They met while singing in a concert to celebrate the end of the Civil War.[3] Louisa was working as a private secretary for Samuel Gridley Howe, a prominent Boston physician and husband of women's suffrage activist Julia Ward Howe.[4] After a fire destroyed the Boston publishing plant for Cyrus' newspaper, they moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1876 and he founded the Tribune and Farmer.[5]

Career

[edit]
1886 edition of Ladies' Home Journal

Cyrus was the original author of the Women and Home column in the Tribune and Farmer weekly newspaper. It was originally developed from articles clipped from other sources and surrounded by advertisements directed toward women. Louisa criticized the column to her husband since she felt it did not address the real concerns of women. She convinced her husband that she could do a better job and began to write original content directed toward women. The column proved extremely popular and soon grew to fill a full page. The Curtises decided to publish a monthly supplement that would be included in the Tribune and Farmer. The first issue of the supplement was released in December 1883 and titled Ladies' Home Journal and Practical Housekeeper. It was written by Louisa under her maiden name and published by her husband.[6]

The supplement proved so popular that it was expanded to a magazine and Louisa became the first editor. The magazine title was shortened to Ladies' Home Journal in 1886.[7] In July 1889, the Curtises' decided to expand the magazine to a thirty-two page magazine with a cover.[8] Louisa resigned as editor and Edward Bok became the new editor.[7]

Louisa Knapp Curtis gravestone in Laurel Hill Cemetery

She died on February 25, 1910, in Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania, and was interred at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.

Family

[edit]

Louisa and Cyrus Curtis had one child, Mary Louise Curtis, who married Edward Bok in 1896. She founded Bok Tower Gardens,[9] the Curtis Institute of Music,[10] the Curtis Hall Arboretum and the Curtis Center.

Citations

[edit]
  1. ^ Stoddard, Maynard Good (1 January 2000). "A Legacy of Music. The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia". The Saturday Evening Post.
  2. ^ Damon-Moore 1994, p. 32.
  3. ^ Krabbendam, Hans (2001). The Model Man: A Life of Edward William Bok, 1863-1930. Amsterdam-Atlanta: Rodopi. p. 55. ISBN 90-420-1495-4. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  4. ^ Damon-Moore 1994, p. 16.
  5. ^ Howells, Derek M. "Cyrus H.K. Curtis". www.pabook.libraries.psu.edu. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  6. ^ Damon-Moore 1994, p. 19.
  7. ^ a b Scanlon, Jennifer (2020). Inarticulate Longings: The Ladies' Home Journal , Gender and the Promise of Consumer Culture. Routledge. ISBN 9781000143355. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  8. ^ Damon-Moore 1994, p. 27.
  9. ^ Hamersly, Lewis R. (1904). Who's who in Pennsylvania: A Biographical Dictionary of Contemporaries. L.R. Hamersly & Co. p. 66.
  10. ^ "History". www.curtis.edu. Retrieved 24 February 2021.

Sources

[edit]
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