Mary Lincoln wrote a poem called "Sacrifice" in the early days of the Civil War, which appeared in the July 1861 issue of Arthur's Home Magazine. Unfortunately, it was Mary A. Lincoln of Minneapolis, not Mary T. Lincoln of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Nonetheless, because the issue dates of this set of magazines coincides with the first four months of the Civil War, they provide a unique glimpse into the mindset of the country in the early days of the War Between States.

Arthur's was published by T.S. Arthur, Philadelphia. The magazine primarily dealt with issues in the home, poetry, and sermons. It included a few nice illustrations and an occasional sewing pattern. There were few ads, but due to the time period, the ads that do appear are very interesting.

In general, I'm not especially enamored of old magazines. There are a lot of them in circulation, especially Time, Life, Ladies Home Journal, etc. I hate to see any publication broken up, but I can understand why it is done. And in some cases it is for the best. If a common periodical of relatively recent vintage (published after 1920) is in less than pristine condition, there is almost no point in keeping it whole. If the ads or illustrations can be of some use to a collector than I'm in favor of breaking it. Besides, that makes the remaining copies in pristine condition a little more valuable. However, when a periodical has historic value, it should be left whole even if the condition is only fair. There are so few remaining copies that any whole issue is worth saving. It would be a crime to break them, even if doing so would net more money for the dealer.