St. Nicholas: an Illustrated Magazine for Young Folks

September 01, 2026

The 19th and 20th centuries saw a great proliferation of printed material for child audiences. These included works of fiction, plays, poetry, and magazines that compiled written content for children in various formats. One such publication in the United States was called St. Nicholas: An Illustrated Magazine for Young Folks. Child subscribers had the option of receiving receive six issues of St. Nicholas bound together as a single volume. These volumes featured red covers with an intricate botanical design highlighted with gold leaf. 

St. Nicholas’s first editor was Mary Mapes Dodge, author of the popular children’s book Hans Brinker. Dodge came up with the publication's title, choosing St. Nicholas's name as he is typically portrayed as a kind and jovial figure. Dodge felt that he was a friend of children, and hoped the magazine would bring light and joy into their lives just as St. Nicholas did. Relying on her professional network, Dodge published works in the pages of St. Nicholas by some of the day’s leading authors including Rudyard Kipling, Louisa May Alcott, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Mark Twain, and Emily Dickinson, among others. 

To retain child readers as they grew up, Dodge created special departments at the magazine for different age groups. Subsequent editors continued the practice, creating even more departments that had designated sections in each issue. These included “For Very Little Folks,” which featured simple stories printed in large type; “Books and Reading,” in which young readers could find book recommendations; “Current Events and Topics,” which simplified international news topics for child audiences; “The Letter-Box,” which featured letters written by St. Nicholas’s readers; and “The Riddle-Box,” in which  readers could see answers to riddles from the previous issue and begin working through a new set of riddles. 

One of the most notable St. Nicholas departments was called “St. Nicholas League.” It held monthly contests for the best stories, essays, photographs, poems, riddles, and more submitted by the magazine's child readers. Winners received awards and cash prizes for their original works. Some St. Nicholas League winners achieved great prominence as adults, including E.B. White, William Faulkner, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

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Post tagged as: special collections, rare books, publications, united states