''The Germ, thoughts towards nature in art and literature'' (1850) was a

periodical A periodical literature (also called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule. The most familiar example is a newspaper, but a magazine or a journal are also example ...

established by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood to disseminate their ideas. The magazine was edited by

William Michael Rossetti William Michael Rossetti (25 September 1829 – 5 February 1919) was an English writer and critic. Early life Born in London, Rossetti was a son of immigrant Italian scholar Gabriele Rossetti and his wife Frances Rossetti ''née'' Polidor ...

. ''The Germ'' was renamed ''Art and Poetry, being Thoughts towards Nature, conducted principally by Artists'' for its last two issues. It was not a success, only surviving for four issues between January and April 1850. Illustrations were provided by members of the brotherhood. Every issue began with an original etching. William Holman Hunt provided an illustration to Woolner's poem ''My Beautiful Lady'' in the first issue. Collinson illustrated his own poem, ''The Child Jesus'', in the second issue. Madox Brown created a two-page illustration of the King Lear and his daughters for the third issue, accompanying his article on the mechanics of a history painting. Walter Deverell depicted ''Viola and Olivia'' from Shakespeare's ''Twelfth Night'' in the last issue. ''The Germ'' published

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

and other members of the Brotherhood including William Michael Rossetti's brother

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti (), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhoo ...

Thomas Woolner Thomas Woolner (17 December 1825 – 7 October 1892) was an English sculptor and poet who was one of the founder-members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was the only sculptor among the original members. After participating in the found ...

and James Collinson. It also printed contributions of verse and

essay An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...

s on

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

by associates of the Brotherhood including

Ford Madox Brown Ford Madox Brown (16 April 1821 – 6 October 1893) was a British painter of moral and historical subjects, notable for his distinctively graphic and often Hogarthian version of the Pre-Raphaelite style. Arguably, his most notable painti ...

and Coventry Patmore, as well as occasional

book review __NOTOC__ A book review is a form of literary criticism in which a book is merely described (summary review) or analyzed based on content, style, and merit. A book review may be a primary source, opinion piece, summary review or scholarly revie ...

Title

The title ''The Germ'' refers to the Pre-Raphaelite belief in the importance of nature (a ''germ'' is a

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

) and of the human imagination, as implied by the phrase "the germ of an idea". They hoped that the magazine would be a seed from which new creative ideas would grow. It was subtitled ''thoughts towards nature in art and literature'' to emphasise the editors' belief that poetry and art should be closely intertwined. In the hope of improving the magazine's poor sales, it was renamed with the less ambiguous title ''Art and Poetry, being Thoughts towards Nature, conducted principally by Artists'' for its final two issues.

Editions

''The Germ'' was printed by Messrs. Tupper and Sons, a firm of lithographic and general printers in the City of London, who took a financial stake in the publication to try to ensure its success. Only 70 of the first issue of 700 copies were sold. The print run was reduced for later editions, but sales did not pick up. The Tupper family had links to the Brotherhood. George Tupper bore the brunt of the financial losses. A special limited edition (only 450 copies) of all four volumes of ''The Germ'' was published in 1898 on Van Gelder handmade paper, by Thomas B. Mosher, Portland, Maine, USA. A facsimile edition of all four volumes plus "Preface" by W.M. Rossetti was published by Elliot Stock in 1901 and issued in a slipcase.

External links

The Rossetti Archive
two complete transcriptions, with facsimile images and scholarly commentary {{DEFAULTSORT:Germ, The 1850 establishments in the United Kingdom Visual arts magazines published in the United Kingdom Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood Defunct literary magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1850 Monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines disestablished in 1850 Magazines published in London 1850 disestablishments in the United Kingdom