The Gentleman's Magazine

Cave's innovation was to create a monthly digest of news and commentary on any topic the educated public might be interested in, from commodity prices to Latin poetry.

It carried original content from a stable of regular contributors, as well as extensive quotations and extracts from other periodicals and books.

The iconic illustration of St John's Gate, Clerkenwell, on the front of each issue (occasionally updated over the years) depicted Cave's home, in effect, the magazine's "office".

[6][7][8] A skilled businessman, Edward Cave developed an extensive distribution system for The Gentleman's Magazine.

[9] This 75-volume index, covering the years 1731–1850, gives the full name and an abbreviated reference to the date, event, and any other person(s) in each entry.

The indexes are by surname only and are available online for free through Google Books: David Dobson gleaned references to American births, marriages, and deaths from The Gentleman's Magazine and published it as American Vital Records from the Gentleman's Magazine, 1731–1868 (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1987).