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The Elusive Burgess and his Le Petit Journal des Refusees
Publisher and Editor: James Marrion, psuedonym for Gelett Burgess.
Published: Ran for only one issue, Summer 1896. Published in San Fransisco, CA
Held Copies: Only two known copies in existence. Both copies are in the Princeton Univeristy Library.
Part One: “Burgess 101 and his Contributions to Dada and Surrealism” By Cecilia G. Robles and Miriam L.Wallach
In 1896, a rather short and obscure journal entitled Le Petit Journal des Refusees was published in San Francisco, California by a man named Gelett Burgess. Burgess, whose name was generally associated with humorous, satirical writing, teamed up with Porter Garnett, to produce this one-issued journal. Garnett, like Burgess, was classified as one of the Bohemian writers of San Francisco, was also the assistant curator of the Bankcroft Library from 1907-1912. Both men, well established, came together to produce this journal, of which little is known for sure, but much is supposed.
Burgess began his literary career in 1894 in San Francisco as associate editor of The Wave. While the cover of Les Petit Journal credits James Marrion 2nd as editor of the journal, Mr. Marrion did not in fact exist. Burgess did not sign his name to the journal, although hints to his identity are woven through the articles. Burgess, working by himself and not with Garnett, was also the editor of The Lark, whose publication overlapped with that of Le Petit Journal. The Lark was printed between1895-1897 and Burgess’s name can be clearly found on some covers and often within texts as well. He took open credit for The Lark while with Les Petit, he did not, using a pseudonym on the cover while alluding to himself and his work in other sections of the text. 
The Lark also contained an illustrated version of his famous poem “Purple Cow” in its first edition and while all three periodicals were considered radical departures from conventional magazines, it was The Lark that gained him considerable notoriety. Often associated with his non-sensical writing, his pattern of rhyme and his manuals for writing rhyme, including his Goop series, are considered children’s literary classics.
It is unclear why Burgess did not sign the one issue of Les Petit Journal that was produced. The journal seems to be dedicated to publishing the voices of ignored and ‘refused’ women, although the names of the women to whom the articles are accredited are barely known or again, unknown because they did not exist. Research shows that there was a real Nellie Hethington, although her married name was not Ford – it was Halbmaier – and her connection to Burgess could not be determined. There are no easily discernable traces of Alisse Rainbird or of Florence Lundberg either, for example. The Modern Journals Project (MJP) claims that all of the work in this journal seems to be that of one person, which would therefore substantiate the inability to identify these women as authors or writers of their time and further lead one to assume that Burgess (or Marrion, as the case may be) penned all of the articles in the journal.
At first glance, even before actually reading an entry, Le Petit Journal de Refusees provides many opportunities to intrigue and peak the interest
of any reader. The many facets of the journal that pop out begin with the illustrations and the general shape of the journal itself. The use of whimsical art throughout and bordering every page, the variety in size and application of the font, even the use of outmoded wallpaper that has been cut trapezoidally, all diverge from the common printing practices of the time. Also quite remarkable is the nonsensical writing, both as actual pieces of literature and within the illustrations, deviate from the highly academic and often lofty writing that was being published in small journals of the time.
In comparing the art and illustrations of both Les Petit Journal and The Lark, there are definite stylistic similarities that would also lead one to believe that Burgess was also Marrion. The font styles are similar and so are the curviness of the lines and the feeling of each illustration. Without being an art historian or a curator, a simple study of both illustrations could allow one to deduce that they were both drawn and written by the same hand.
Dada was a cultural movement of artists and writers that looked to ridicule contemporary culture and traditional art forms. It was a reaction toward a morally corrupt society that was capable of creating WWI. It was a nihilistic movement that primarily involved the visual arts, literature, theater, and graphic design. The movement produced art objects in unconventional forms that were produced by unconventional methods.
Likewise, Surrealism sought to create the element of surprise through unexpected juxtapositions and the use of non-sequitor. This was accomplished through the use of conversational and literary devices that were absurd to the point of being humorous and confusing. The goal of Surrealism was to transform human experience by freeing people from the restrictive customs and structures of society.
The poem “Spring” is one of the many examples of how Burgess’s work plays
with the ideas of Dada and Surrealism. While the subject of the poem is traditional, the execution of the subject matter is not. The lines do not follow a conventional pattern or form. In fact, the poem looks as if it is being edited in print. In this, Burgess implements typographical freedom. He chooses not to prescribe to traditional formatting.
The irony in the illustrations perhaps lies in that while the poem speaks lyrically of green fields, buttercups, and cows, the illustration of alley cats climbing around crowded buildings in an urban setting is hinted at in the background.
Another example in the publication is “Our Clubbing List – refused by The Complete Alphabet of Freaks.” In this section, Burgess takes a very traditional practice used to help children learn the alphabet, and creates a very humorous, and at times scathing, list. He makes reference to fellow writers, artists, and publishers, sometimes in a complementary way, “B is for [Aubrey] Beardsley, this idol supreme. Whose drawings are not half so bad as they, seem”. Others are more scathing, “I am an Idiot, awful result of reading the rot of the Yellow Book cult” and “O is for Oblivion – ultimate fate Of most magazines, published of late”.
The illustrations on these four pages vary from page to page but all have a theme of interconnectedness. The first page of “The Clubbing List” features Burgess’s ‘Goops’ which were to become his trademark illustration.
As can be seen from these two examples, Burgess’s ventures into nonsense verse and cartoonesque illustrations were an attempt to refute literary realism through the affirmation of imaginative absurdity. In another twenty years, this would become the goal of Dadaism and then Surrealism as modernist movement.
Part Two: “A Method to His Madness? Burgess’s Possible Intentions” By Charlene Nicholson
Burgess’s new and unorthodox style of presenting his ideologies in Le Petit Journal des Refusees shows his radical nature as well as his determination to prove to those who have rejected the creativity of his work that there was an audience awaiting literature and art of an extraordinary nature. Johanna Drucker believes that Burgess’s journal has value because she is able to see “the relationship between various vanguard ideologies and the physical characteristics” of his work (Art Journal, Vol.3 p 95). She further contends that the work is “visually striking (the sinewy lines of its imitation Beardsley drawings) with innovative patterns-though the thrust of its literary jabs may be blunted by time or obscured, the volume functions as a thing unto itself, replete and redolent with spirit, energy, and ideas (96). His literary jabs are still biting and his absurd innovations still leave his readers awed.
Ephemeral bibelot is the name given to Le Petit Journal des Refusees. The bibelots, according to F.W. Faxon in Bibliography of Modern Chap-Books, “own their origin to probably the Chap-Books, a little semi-monthly magazine which was born in Cambridge on May 15, 1894” (p 3). These were in great demand and the collectors were willing to pay much more than the original price once they could get the copies to the public. This ushered in the proliferation of “little magazines” and paved the way for young writers to present readers with readings, which will allow them to escape from the seriousness of the more established magazines. Many of these bibelots might have been written by writers who felt they had works of aesthetic value but they were not known and therefore they were not accepted. Faxon supposed that there might be a large waiting public for the new writers since the author of the established magazines might not reach this readership probably because the author’s manuscript was rejected or because the readership which he targeted did not subscribe to those older and more recognized monthlies and quarterlies [p5]. Even though many of the Chap-Books were short lived they had an interesting audience during their existence. Due to the highly intellectual style of expression in this journal one can conclude that the readership was of “a particular kind of aesthetic sensibility and expression” (Faxon, 20).
Le Petit Journal des Refuses was born in San Francisco and like many others it seemed to have been only in circulation in that small sphere. I also think it proved itself well as a note worthy work for in collaboration with others, Burgess was able to publish a journal which displayed only works which according to him were refused a place in the major magazines. It is ironic that he is able to mock those who felt he and his work were not of their high standard and the same work proved them otherwise as it gained recognition and acclamation. The readership appears to be economically stable since they craved the bibelots and would pay much more than the actual cost. Yet these journals were not close to the number of established journals and magazines sold. This proved that people were hungering for writings with aesthetic values as well as writings, which could give them some humor such as Le Petit Journal des Refusees with its satire. Burgess also used this journal to express a major concern of his time and that was the issue with women writers and how they were not being acknowledged.
In Conclusion…
While journals are not popular medium today, there would have been a place for Burgess’s satirical wit in modern culture had he written for a magazine, wrote his own column or been a regular commentator on a late night talk show. It is interesting, however, that he seems to have been so popular in his day that he could produce one single issue of a journal at the time when he was already producing another successful journal, clearly confident that his fans and readership would appreciate it and make the purchase. Writing under a pseudonym also added to the journal’s intrigue and witty nature. Adorned with detailed illustrations, the mere format of Le Petit Journal framed to its whimsical nature, making it fun to read, to hold, to simply look through and to find Burgess’s hidden references to himself. The single issue of this journal clearly had a purpose – like one episode of a beloved sitcom that is trying to ‘make a point,’ or an editorial that deviates from its standard format to deliver a particular message, although the writer’s intentions are not all apparent or clear. Regardless, Burgess and Le Petit Journal succeeded in one of its goal – to allow readers to read more than what was simply the printed word on the page but instead, to immerse them in what would be the joyful, provocative and intriguing experience of his sixteen page journal.
