Smart Set, the

Smart Set, the (1890–1930),monthly magazine founded by William D'Alton Mann as a journal for New York society, by whose members it was primarily written. Under the editorship of Arthur Grissom and C.H. Towne, it grew beyond its original plan to become a witty literary journal of material not compatible with the standards of larger magazines, and included among its contributions the first short story by O. Henry. In 1900 it was purchased by John A. Thayer, who attracted to it such authors as Gertrude Atherton, Richard Le Gallienne, Cabell, Mencken, and Nathan. Under the editorship of Willard Huntington Wright (1913–14), its primary purpose was “to provide lively entertainment for minds that are not primitive.” Although the circulation was far greater than that of the average little magazine, its gaiety, vitality, and aesthetic credo were akin to the traits of this type of publication. Wright attracted new and stimulating American authors, and was also the first American editor to publish periodical contributions by such authors as George Moore, D.H. Lawrence, Joyce, D'Annunzio, and Ford Madox Ford. In 1914 Mencken and Nathan assumed joint editorship, and, although their policy was somewhat less stirring during the World War, after 1918 they continued Wright's vigorous policy, beginning such satirical departments as that of “Americana,” which baited what they called the “booboisie.” They also published the early writings of such authors as Eugene O'Neill, F. Scott Fitzgerald, J.W. Krutch, Waldo Frank, Lewis Mumford, Thomas Beer, and Julia Peterkin. When the magazine was purchased by Hearst (1924), new editors and a more conventional policy were introduced. Burton Rascoe and Groff Conklin edited The Smart Set Anthology (1934).