Joseph Hardman Explained

Joseph Hardman (– 3 March 1870) was an English merchant and contributor to Blackwood's Magazine.^[1]

Life

Hardman was born in Manchester, and was baptised in St Ann's Church on 23 July 1783.^[2] He became a merchant based in London, married Frances Anna Rougemont, and together they had a son Frederick Hardman (1814–1874).^[3]

While living in Highgate, Hardman became the neighbour and friend of Samuel Taylor Coleridge.^[4] In March 1828, Coleridge wrote to him about a new magazine that they had been planning, which eventually became the short-lived London Review (1829) under editor Joseph Blanco White.^[5]

He completed a number of translations for Blackwood's Magazine; they were, in his own words, "drawn chiefly from German and Danish sources and consisted of romantic and piquant tales, freely altered from the originals and adapted to British taste and feeling."^[6] These included "The Robber's Tower", based on Heinrich Clauren's "German: Das Raubschloß|italics=no", which may have been a source of inspiration for Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" (1840), and "The Headsman", based on Lauritz Kruse's "German: Das Verhängnis|italics=no", which might have been read by James Fenimore Cooper before writing his novel (1833). Hardman wrote to the editor to submit his work under the pseudonym "Amicus of Paris", though his works were generally published in Blackwood's Magazine without attribution. He also used this name in correspondence with other magazines, such as in letters written to The New Sporting Magazine in 1833.^{[7] [8]}

Hardman died on 3 March 1870 while living at Tudor Place, Richmond Green, and was buried at St Mary's Church, Twickenham.^[9]

Works

As translator

• "The Sphinx; An Extravaganza, Etched in the Manner of Callot" in Blackwood's Magazine (October 1828)^[1]
• "The Duellists; A Tale of the Thirty Years War" in Blackwood's Magazine (November 1828)^[1]
• "The Robber’s Tower; A True Adventure" in Blackwood's Magazine (December 1828) based on a story by Heinrich Clauren^{[10] [11]}
• "Sketches of Italy and the Italians, with Remarks on Antiquities and Fine Art" in Blackwood's Magazine (January–August 1829)^[12]
• "The Modern Gyges; A Tale of Trials" in Blackwood's Magazine (February 1829)^[12]
• "Poetical and Devotional Superstitions of Italy" in Blackwood's Magazine (July 1829)^[12]
• "Colonna the Painter; A Tale of Italy and the Arts" in Blackwood's Magazine (September 1829)^[1]
• "Phenomena of the Great Earthquake in 1783 in Calabria and Sicily" in Blackwood's Magazine (December 1829)^[12]
• "The Headsman; A Tale of Doom" in Blackwood's Magazine (February 1830) based on a story by Lauritz Kruse^{[1] [13]}
• "The Pirates of Segna; A Tale of Venice and the Adriatic" translated with Frederick Hardman in Blackwood's Magazine (March–April 1844)^[12]

As editor

• "The Venta of Armentia; A Sketch of the Late Carlist War in Spain" translated by Frederick Hardman in Blackwood's Magazine (January 1841)^[12]
• "A Convent of Franciscans" translated by Frederick Hardman in Blackwood's Magazine (September 1841)^[12]
• "A Passage in the Life of a Maître-d'Armes" translated by Frederick Hardman in Blackwood's Magazine (November 1842 – June 1843)^[12]

Notes and References

1. Bandy . W. T. . Coleridge's Friend Joseph Hardman: A Bibliographical Note . The Journal of English and Germanic Philology . . 47 . 4 . 1948 . 0363-6941 . 27713023 . 395–397 .
2. Web site: Joseph Hardman in the Manchester, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1541–1812 . 2023-03-15 .
3. J. G. . Alger . G. Martin . Murphy . Hardman, Frederick . 23 September 2004 . 10.1093/ref:odnb/12274 .
4. Nye . Eric W. . Coleridge and the Publishers: Twelve New Manuscripts . . . 87 . 1 . 1989 . 0026-8232 . 438528 . 68–69 .
5. Erdman . David V. . David V. Erdman . Coleridge and the 'Review Business': An Account of His Adventures with the Edinburgh, the Quarterly, and Maga . The Wordsworth Circle . Marilyn Gaull . 6 . 1 . 1975 . 0043-8006 . 24039314 . 47 .
6. Book: Friesen, G. K. . 1995 . Sealsfield's British Pirates and Promoters . F.B. . Schüppen . Neue Sealsfield-Studien . J.B. Metzler . Stuttgart . 10.1007/978-3-476-04219-4_21 . 978-3-476-04219-4 . 393–440 .
7. To Readers and Correspondents . . July 1833 . 5 . 27 . 228 .
8. To Readers and Correspondents . . September 1833 . 5 . 29 . 364 .
9. Web site: Joseph Hardman in the London, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813–2003 . 2023-03-15 .
10. Book: Thomas S. . Hansen . Burton R. . Pollin . The German Face of Edgar Allan Poe . Camden House . 1995 . 9781571130693 . 69 .
11. Edward W. . Pitcher . From Hoffmann's "Das Majorat" To Poe's "Usher" Via "The Robber's Tower": Poe's Borrowings Reconsidered . The American Transcendental Quarterly . 39 . Summer 1978 .
12. Book: Jean Harris . Slingerland . The Wellesley Index to Victorian Periodicals, 1824–1900 . . 1989 . 0802026885 . 5 . 337–338 .
13. Book: Franklin, Wayne . Republican Principles . James Fenimore Cooper: The Later Years . New Haven . . 2017 . 9780300229103 . 10.12987/9780300229103-007 . 140 . 246099219 .