Given the emphasis on transnational transfer, the corpus of the research project is provided mainly by circulating things, objects of material culture and especially cultural journals and general interest magazines, which reported in detail on European urban social and cultural life. They contributed significantly to the creation and valorisation of a new elegant community as a mode of performance. In particular, an innovative type of “belletristic journals”, established around 1800, devoted itself to the concept of ‚well-being‘ and ‚good life‘ through embellishment of urban spaces. These cultural journals differentiated themselves explicitly from exclusive fashion magazines and addressed a wider readership by putting cultural consumption – ranging from material culture to sociable practices, music, poetry, and theatre – into the centre of their new media practices. They developed a sophisticated combination of illustrations and texts in order to enhance the self-presentation of the European elegant world.
Selected cultural journals (digitized with free access):
“Zeitung für die elegante Welt“ (Leipzig, 1801-1850; Erfurt, 1851-1855; Berlin, 1855-1859)
“Вестник Европы“ (Moscow, 1802-1830)
“Московский Меркурий” (Moscow, 1803)
“Petersburgische deutsche Zeitschrift zur Unterhaltung gebildeter Stände” (St Petersburg, 1804)
“La Belle Assemblée” (London, 1806-1832)
“Morgenblatt für gebildete Stände“ (Stuttgart, 1807-1837)
“Северная пчела” (St Petersburg, 1825-1864)
“Der Spiegel für Kunst, Eleganz und Mode“ (Pest, Ofen, 1825-1852)
“La Mode, revue des modes, galerie des moeurs, album des salons“ (Paris, 1829-1855)
“Allgemeine Theaterzeitung und Originalblatt für Kunst, Literatur, Musik, Mode und geselliges Leben” (Wien, 1829-1848)
“Fraser’s Magazine for Town and Country” (London, 1830-1882)
“Revue étrangère de la littérature, des sciences et des arts” (St Petersburg, 1832-1863)
“Современник” (St Peterburg, 1836-1846; 1847-1866)
“Europa: Chronik der gebildeten Welt” (Suttgart, 1835-1840; Karlsruhe, 1841-1846; Leipzig, 1846-1885)
“Ost und West: Blätter für Kunst, Literatur und geselliges Leben“ (Prague, 1837-1846)