John Inman, New York City magazine and newspaper journalist of the 1820s through the 1840s, has not often been remembered by media historians. Little has been written of his life and work, yet in his day he was a prominent member of New York's newspaper press, first as editor of the Standard, then of the Commercial Advertiser. His later magazine experience included six years as coeditor of the popular New-York Mirror, and Ladies' Literary Gazette and five years as editor of the Columbian Lady's and Gentleman's Magazine. Inman is an example of a journalist whose reputation rests more on his contributions as an editor than on what he contributed as a writer.

Inman was born in 1805 in Utica, New York, to English parents, William and Sarah Inman. In or around 1812 the family moved to New York City, where the three Inman sons prospered, each in his own field...