The Dial, a journal of literary critics, was founded by Francis Fisher Browne in 1880. A native of Vermont, Browne edited the Lakeside Monthly from 1869 to 1874 and was literary editor of the Alliance, 1878–79. He envisioned his new literary journal in the genteel tradition of its predecessor Dial (Boston, 1840–1844), with book reviews, articles about current trends in the sciences and humanities, and long lists of current book titles. Although published in a city reputedly indifferent to literary pursuits, the Dial attained national prominence, absorbing the Chap-Book in 1898. Known for its unswerving standard in design and content, the Dial changed character after its sale by the Browne family in 1916 and subsequent removal to New York in 1918, where it ceased publication in 1929.

Diana Haskell