Closely allied to the question of the authenticity of periodical literature is that of the identification of the authorship of letters published in the press. The controversy over the authorship of the "Letters of Junius," published in the Public Advertiser from January 21, 1769, to January 21, 1772, has been one of the most remarkable on record, the literature of identification has been almost inexhaustible, and it is still coming from the press.[1]
Scarcely less in importance is the identification of various numbers of The Federalist,—that the letters were the work of Hamilton, Jay, and Madison has been unquestioned, but to which of the three authors certain letters are to be attributed has been a question often settled, often re-opened.[2]
A collateral rather than a lineal kinsman of the forgery is the hoax, of which the public is sometimes the victim at the hands of the newspaper, while sometimes the newspaper itself is the prey
of designing or of jesting contributors. The " moon hoax” that appeared in the columns of the New York Sun in 1835 was the work of R. A. Locke.28 It professed to give an account of the inhabitants of the moon, based on discoveries reported as made by Sir John Herschel at the Cape of Good Hope. But it seems uncertain whether it was intended as a deliberate hoax or as a satire.29 The chief results were to secure to the Sun “the largest circulation of any daily in the world,” to “firmly establish the 'penny system' throughout the country ,” to divert for the time being the minds of its readers “from the contemplation of political
28 The story of the hoax has recently been published by F . M . O 'Brien , The Story of the Sun, pp. 64- 102. An interesting early work ( 1852) is that of W . N . Griggs, The Celebrated “ Moon Story." It gives the life of the author, together with the story of the affair and a reprint of the articles that appeared in the Sun.
39 W. N. Griggs, p. 30.
- ↑ The latest edition noted is dated 1906, and the latest work relative to Junius, 1917.
A manuscript bibliography of Junius, edited by Robert F. Pick , in the Vassar College Library, lists one hundred and fifty-nine different editions of Junius, one hundred and forty-three titles of works relative to the subject, and sixty-two names of persons for whom the authorship of the letters has been claimed.
- ↑ See P. L. Ford, Introduction to the Federalist; E. G. Bourne, Essays in Historical Criticism, pp. 113–145.
The literature relating to The Federalist is scarcely less extensive than that relating to the letters of Junius.
