Magazine History: A Collector's Blog

Dr. Seuss and Magazines

2009-11-11T12:46:00.015-05:00

Iconic American illustrator and author Theodor Seuss Geisel (1904- 1991) best known for his children's books, the first of which was written in 1937, had a long and successful association with numerous magazines throughout his career.

My recent interest in Dr. Seuss, a name he first used as a result of a desire to continue contibuting to and editing his college (Dartmouth) humor magazine, Jack-O-Lantern, after being suspended from extracurricular activities for violating prohibition in 1924, began after acquiring a copy of the humor magazine Judge with a marvelous cover illustration by Suess on ebay a few weeks ago.

This triggered considerable research into this interesting and talented man. Beginning with "Dr. Seuss American Icon" by Philip Nel (Continuum Books, 2004), then a conversation with the ever knowledgable Richard West, followed by a recent enlightening and delightful conversation with Suess zealot Dr. Charles D. Cohen, author of the highly illustrated and informative"The Seuss, the Whole Seuss and Nothing but the Seuss" (Random House, 2004), I am now prepared to present a reasonably informative and accurate post.

Issues of Jack-O-Lantern are extremely hard to come by outside of the major Seuss collections.

There are eighty-two Geisel appearances between October 1921 and May 1925. Prior to this he made six contributions to his Springfield, Massachusetts high school newspaper, The Central Recorder, between April 1919 and January 1920.

After a brief sojourn to Lincoln College, Oxford, where he met his future wife, Geisel returned to America and started his career in earnest, contributing to numerous national magazines, most notably the humor periodicals Judge (approximately 225 contributions betwen October 1927 and 1938) and Life (Approximately 85 contributions between July 1929 and July 1934).

These include the six most highly collected covers.

Judge (5)

March 23, 1929 (his first national magazine cover)

January 3, 1931

January 9, 1932 (can't find an image as yet, but will happily post one upon receipt from a kind donor)

March 1933

June 1933

Life (1)

May 1933

All of these issues are scarce but when they show up they usually sell for $100-200, depending on condition.

Dr. Cohen also made me aware of an in-house publication of the Warren Telechron Company called Telechronicle. Seuss did five covers in 1932 and 1933, all of which are essentially unobtainable.

Other prominent magazine contributions include:

College Humor (20)September 1930-October 1932

Liberty (21) June-December 1932

as well as few for University Magazine (1933) New York Woman (1936) Collier's (1937) Ballyhoo (1937) and The Saturday Evening Post.

As you can see the doctor was a very busy and successful guy at this time, and this does not even include dozens of ads, most notably for "Flit" a bug spray!

Between 1941 and June 1942 Geisel devoted the bulk of his talents to a newspaper PM. His anti-isolationist, pro-FDR political views at this time are quite apparant. During the war he headed the army's illustration unit and, with director Frank Capra and a talented cast of actors, participated in a famous series of training films featuring Private Snafu http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_Snafu, an acronym for "Situation Normal- All Fouled (or insert approriate F word) Up!

After the war, the vast majority of time was spent on his classic children's books (over a hundred million copies in circulation) though there are a few random magazine appearances as well.

That pretty much does it for today. Its been an instructive and interesting learning experience and I'm happy to share it with you. Have a great day. C U again shortly.

The Present Issue of Fine Books and Collections Magazine

2009-11-07T07:39:00.003-05:00

My sincere thanks to the editors for devoting the cover of this issue to my collection! I love this image as well. I mocked-up a prototype of a dust jacket for my 1995 book that I never used and this image, by Alphonse Mucha, originally appearing on Hearst's Magazine, was to be featured on it.

A link to the article is on the homepage.

The Latest Installmement of My 2005 Magazine Collection Supplement O-Q and a Great Collecting Story. Pennsylvania Magazine.

2009-11-07T06:32:00.006-05:00

http://www.scribd.com/doc/22248011/o-q

For those of you that keep up with my 2005 supplement, here's the latest installment. A pot-pourri of wonderful images and information about American magazines that I obtained between 1995 and 2005.

A great way of showcasing the variety and depth of what I collect, annotated with bibiographic references.

The most valuable is clearly the complete run of Pennsylvania Magazine, including all the engravings. Today, this would be an impossible task and would approach six figures to obtain.

A great collecting story is how I obtained the complete April 1776 issue, notable for two very important contents: the appearance of former slave Phillis Wheatley's "Ode to George Washington" (the first literary work published by an African-American) and the first American Map of Virginia. Both of these today would approach 5 figures in value.

The magazine without the map was obtained from issues obtained by The Print Shop on Lexington Avenue in NYC. They had a complete copy but obtained the issue for the map. Hence, they had little or no appreciation of the value of the contents, so I was able to buy it for a small fraction of its value.

Just a few months later, the map was obtained from Mark Mitchell ( I believe for under $2000), a prominent dealer in African-Americana. He understood completely the value of the Wheatley contribution but had very little appreciation of the true value of the map and was quite willing to part with it!

By the way, here's the other scarce and highly valuable map from the June 1776 issue (the extreme importance of the contents of this issue having been discussued in a prior post)

So that's how to do it. You can obtain great material even from very knowlegeable dealers when they are selling material out of their area of expertise.

So, as they say in Latin: Scientia potestas est or, alternatively Scientia ops est

and in Greek: Η γνώση είναι δύναμη.

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!

More on Early Television

2009-11-02T18:39:00.007-05:00

First of all, I have already heard back from Jack R. My 1938 Bernadette Peters look-alike cover was created by Earle Bergey, not Enoch Bolles. Nonetheless a great image.

I also have some additional info from Bob Reed about early TV programming guides and then a little suprise.

From Bob (once again with a little copy editing):

"Chicago was blessed as one of the select few burgs by what are now commonly referred to as ‘pioneer’ television stations. I made a cursory ‘surfing’ of internet sites and determined that there were less than a dozen such outlets that were already operating before and during the Second World War: a couple in Hollywood, the Philco station in Philadelphia, one in Washington D. C., another at the General Electric Laboratories in Schenectady, New York plus, of course, the Big Apple trio: flagship stations of the NBC, CBS and Dumont networks.

It signed on as the ‘experimental’ W9XBX on August 29, 1940 and went fully ’commercial’ as WBKB on October 13, 1943. When there is but one broadcaster in town, the choice is simple - - turning the electronic monster on or off. The station, in order to encourage viewership, compiled a comprehensive list of the names and addresses of all known set owners in the region and mailed each of them a little card every week with a detailed rundown of what was supposed to be shown.

In the spring of 1948, a second Windy City operation, WGN, came on the airwaves. Shortly thereafter, the 4 partners who started Television Forecast stepped into the scene. The group was collectively rather well heeled, as they reached into their deep pockets and took over the operation from WBKB. Suddenly, without any fanfare, the quartet started shipping copies of the new magazine to every single person on the lengthy roster. Amazing! One week you got a hunk of cardboard in your mailbox, and the iconic Volume 1 # 1 the next (illustrated in the previous blog).

This incredible bit of largesse went unchecked for several weeks, until this full page announcement finally appeared in the June 20-26, 1948 number:

“Our trial period is over and you, the television owners, advertisers, advertising agencies and television stations say that we are IN. We appreciate the confidence and approval you expressed in your letters and phone calls. At first Television Forecast concerned itself chiefly with program listings. Since that time we have received numerous requests for additional information concerning television - factual material about broadcasts and broadcasters, technical data, etc. Now and in the future, Television Forecast plans to meet your requests and to anticipate and fulfill your interests and demands. This issue is a step in that direction. Our original intention was to underwrite the expense of publishing Television Forecast entirely with advertising. However these expenses proved to be more than we anticipated, especially with our new features and services. We know the kind of a publication you want, and we feel confident that you will give it your support. Therefore, we are asking you to mail us $ 2.00 (in the attached, postage free envelope) for a one year subscription (52 issues). This is a special offer for charter subscribers only.”

For more than a month afterward, there is the same “please answer” announcement on the back cover of the mag, until the August 2-8, 1948 Forecast - - the thirteenth issue published - - when there is this final plea given:“Sorry - But This Your Last Free Issue. We’ve given you a little time, folks! But now that we’re completely readjusted to a paid subscription, the free introductory issues of Television Forecast must stop. You have until August 7, 1948 to send in your Charter subscription of $ 2.00. Starting August 8, 1948, the rate will be $ 3.00. So save yourself a dollar! Take advantage of the Charter Membership rate and mail your $ 2.00 TODAY.”

Now skip ahead mentally a couple of annums to a piece in the May 6-12, 1950 second anniversary issue of the Chicago TV Forecast entitled “Remember Way Back When? It is illustrated with postage stamp sized photos of the covers of three issues with these captions: May 9, 1948 16,000 copies; May 7, 1949 31,000 copies and May 6, 1950 145,513 copies. Compared with the starting circulation scenarios of the other major prenationals, that 16K is an enormous number - - enough so that pack rat accumulations of said '48 stuff do turn up on a fairly regular basis for the eBay crowd.

The most powerful incentive for a die hard collector there is to open up his wallet wide is that realization that you’ll never see this again - - like yours truly with that first Philadelphia Local Televiser last week. You never have to feel that way with Chi Town."

Heres that mailer that Bob referred to that was sent to all TV owners:

And now, here's the treat I promised.

This exquisitely rare TV mag from 1931 (My friend Joe and I split the only three issues I have ever seen or heard of. Of course, I took the first and he the second and third.

When I read Bob's note about TV Forecast, I recalled that inside the front cover there is a roster of all functioning 1931 TV Stations. I doubt this has been reproduced anywhere else so here it is:

One website states that at the maximum, there were 45 stations operating.

OK. Now off to have the best thin crust pizza in New Jersey and then game 5 of the World Series.

Enoch Bolles?

2009-11-02T14:45:00.005-05:00

After a couple of "heavy" academic posts, I thought I'd revert to the purely whimsical and aesthetic part of magazine collecting.

When I saw this 1938 cover at a pulpcon a few years ago I just had to own it. I hadn't seen the image anywhere else (or since) and it instantly reminded me of Bernadette Peters.

When someone name Jack R. responded to my Enoch Bolles halloween cover with a link to his great website devoted to Bolles http://enochbolles.blogspot.com , I searched the images that once again reminded me of the one above.

Bolles did do other covers for this obscure "girly" pulp:

So is mine a Bolles? No apparant attribution inside or signature on the cover. I'll leave it to my readers, many of whom appear to enfatuated with "good girl art" as am I.

I'll keep you posted.

P.S. I heard from the guy that bid me up on the Local Televisor. A very nice fellow from Colorado and a prior acquaintance of Bob Reed. Its fun to hear from all of you collectors out there.

Still no winner of my "who's picture is this?" contest.

Have a great day.

An Exceedingly Rare Television Magazine. Local Televisor.

2009-10-31T16:16:00.013-04:00

This magazine appeared on ebay last week with a starting bid of $50. Until the last few seconds it stayed under $100 and, at the last moment someone bid over $2000. To both my chagrin and elation, my $2300 snipe was indeed enough to snag it! I doubt I will ever again have an opportunity to obtain another one. While the price hurts a little, the collecting satisfaction is worth it!

This was essentially the last piece of the puzzle for my collection of TV programming guides. Over the years I'd seen a few later issues but never anything close to the first. A collector from Colorado, Bob Reed, had sent me a photostat of the first issue a number of years ago. Reed has an amazing devotion to early TV magazines and I would consider him the leading authority in the subject. Shortly after my win, I received a detailed email from Bob, with documentation of just how rare the magazine is. I also promised him that I would correct an error I had made, in attributing the inception of this magazine to Walter Annenberg. Bob's note to me is worth reprinting in its entirety (with a little copy editing).

"The extreme rarity of the first Local Televiser is beyond question. I will demonstrate by quoting from a couple of sources:

Page 238 of "The Annenbergs" by John Cooney (1982 by Simon & Shuster)

“In Philadelphia, the magazine Annenberg wanted belonged to two brothers, Irvin and Art Borowsky. In 1948, they were in the printing business when they dreamed up the idea of putting up a little TV program guide that could be used as a promotion piece to increase television sales. They received a commitment from local Philco television distributors to pay half the publishing costs as well as provide them with television ownership lists, which were prized, because owners were still such a novelty.

Philadelphia TV Digest November 4-10. 1949. Excerpted from an editorial celebrating magazine’s first anniversary.

“A year ago a lusty little infant now named T. V. Digest was born. TV was a little bewildered at first. He couldn’t understand why everybody thought so much of him right from the beginning .. Especially since he was born at a time when the thing called television hadn’t quite reached general audiences. Before long, induced by the confidence of his parents - your editors - TV’s bewilderment disappeared. Nurtured by an appreciative public, TV put on heft and grew. Yes, there was a bit of normal groping about while TV was still in the dydee stage. First christened the Local Televiser, his name was changed because because it seemed more apropos that he follow the call letters of his world. His appearance changed too. Like any other infant he outgrew his adornment as successive styles and formats were tried on him. Nonetheless, TV kept on growing. When TV was about a week old there were only 80,000 television sets in Philadelphia, the city where he was born. One-week-old TV could be found lying about on only 90 of these sets. But he was working and pleasing . . Giving solid service. TV grew in size too. First 8 pages of material loved by television owners; then 12, and upped again on March 20, 1949 to 16 pages . . . double his original size! TV reached adulthood at the age of six months when his circulation passed the 10,000 figure. As a full fledged, man-sized publication his name was now Mr. T. V. Digest - although his ever-growing list of followers fondly dropped the Mister and call him TV.”

Bottom line: one can easily picture the brothers Borowsky cooling their heels in the waiting room lobby outside of an office, nervously awaiting the call of Philco representatives, all the while clutching a ‘hand made’ first issue prototype to show them. Though by May 1, 1949, publication date of the first one called TV Digest, circulation totaled five figures - - i. e. over ten thousand distributed per week, the proverbial ’number’ six months earlier, (according to this account ) was just two figures: a mere ninety (emphasis added) copies. The total print run of that Vol 1 # 1 in question was probably just 100 copies."

To reiterate from my TV and Radio ebook (downloadable from this site), modern weekly TV programming guides began in 1946 with this magazine:

which evolved into this one:

The first digest sized guide was Television Forecast, later TV Forecast, published in Chicago. Here's the first issue:

Shortly afterwards, Television Guide later TV Guide, published in New York, began with this issue:

This issue is a reproduction, made by Jeff Kadet of TV Guide Specialists of Macomb Illinois http://www.oldtvguides.com/. He tells me that it was made from the only original copy he has ever seen and that, furthermore, the original issue may have been destroyed. Jeff and Bob have seen more TV programming guide than anyone else so, if there is one, it's a phenomenal rarity (I will post here a standing offer of $2000 to obtain one).

Enter Local Televisor in Philadelphia in November 1948. Here's a later issue and the first of its new title (maintaining the previous numbering) TV Digest (every time I see Paul Whitman can't help but think of George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue", that Whiteman pioneered and introduced in 1924):

TV Guide, TV Forecast and TV Digest (and all pre-1953 TV programming guides) are so called "pre-national" magazines (according to Bob, who should know, a term coined by Jeff), which were amalgamated into one title by Walter Annenberg in 1953 as national TV Guide, the highest circulation magazine of the twentieth century (today's is, believe it or not, Modern Maturity, the standard bearer of the AARP).

This issue, as all national TV Guides, are readily obtainable. The first one usually brings about $300 on ebay. Pre-national issues are scarce to unobtainable, show up randomly and are priced according to the cover image. As you go back in time to 1946 they get harder to find. Thanks again to Bob Reed for his incredible scholarship.

A Magazine Happy Halloween from Enoch Bolles

2009-10-30T00:24:00.005-04:00

One of the masters of the highly collected genre of "good girl art" was Enoch Bolles. This New Jerseyan created many memorable images for such titles as Film Fun, Judge, Snappy, Spicy and other "girlie" and humor magazines of the 1920's and thirties. You can see quite a few by simply going to google images using his name.

I bid on this magazine recently and was the underbidder at $118, but wanted to share this wonderful seasonally appropriate image with you.

Trick or treat!

p.s.

Laurie Powers, on her blog, pointed out that I own another rare Bolles image from Talking Screen, a very rare title (I've only seen this issue). Laurie scooped me with my own image from my e-book so, for completeness, I've added it for all to see.

Confederate and Southern Magazines

2009-10-24T14:24:00.041-04:00

It's a rainy Saturday, there's no antique shows or bookfairs to go to, so it's a perfect time for a long blog post. I just spent about an hour photographing some additional images, so here we go.

Since they called it the Confederate States of America and I collect American magazines, they are fair game for this discussion. Of course, when Parrish and Willingham wrote their book on confederate imprints, they left out the magazines, so I had to start from scratch. For my 1995 book, I did a lot of research and put together the only comprehensive list of Confederate periodicals I've ever seen. There's some real beauties here, all of which rate between scarce, rare and impossible to find. I'd give my eye teeth for an issue of Bugle Horn of Liberty, for instance. I've never personally examined one.

Here's the list:

Now here's some great images from my collection:

The first magazine published in any of the states that became the confederacy was South Carolina Weekly Museum, published in Charleston for three volumes in 1797-98. I do not own a copy. The second, and first in Virginia, was National Magazine, published largely due to the imprisonment of editor James Lyons' brother under the Alien and Sedition Acts. Even then the north was giving certain southerners fits!

Throughout the first half of the nineteenth century, quite a few magazines were published in the south, reflecting the political attitudes and literary preferences of the southern upper class.

This magazine was edited by one of the most important southern writers, William Gilmore Simms.

Perhap's the most important of all ante-bellum southern magazines were De Bow's Review, published in New Orleans and Southern Literary Messenger, clearly the finest in the literary area, edited for a time and with mutltiple contributions by Edgar Allan Poe.

Here is a real gem. The first issue of SLM in oriiginal wrappers and a presentation copy of the publisher Thomas White!

SLM continued publishing after the outbreak of the war. Here is the first confederate issue

Here's an 1858 magazine that Simon Legree types probably perused regularly. The motto at the bottom "The Negro, The Rail and The Bale" pretty much says it all.

When war broke out, magazines took a back burner to other more urgent priorities and lack of manpower and resources. Towards the end of the war southern newspapers were sometimes printed on "necessity paper" and numerous rare and valuable wallpaper editions are highly coveted. The most widely known are various editions of The Vicksburg Citizen. I'm not aware that any magazine was ever printed on wallpaper, though, towards the end, the paper quality was distinctly inferior.

Here's one of the earliest magazines to be started in the Confederacy. Aside from the frontis engraving of General Beauregard, there is a fold-out map of the southern victory at Manassas (Bull Run).

The second issue features this engraving of Jefferson Davis.

The most important and widely circulated periodical of the Confederacy was Southern Illustrated News. It was essentially the south's answer to Harper's Weekly and Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper. All issues are scarce and early ones are especially rare. One can get a random issue for a few hundred dollars. Generally, the more important the personality or event on the cover, the more valuable. Two issue's feature Robert E. Lee. Here's the three I own.

I owe a debt of gratitude to my friend Richard West of Periodyssey for offering me the first issue when he obtained it. I think I paid about $1000 and was thrilled to get it. I've never seen another copy. The cover features the iconic Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson (pre-beard). Pardon the slightly faded printing. When you have an opportunity to obtain something like this, you don't ask questions. As my friend David Leishman often says " find another one" !!

This is a very early issue with a view of Vicksburg:

And here's General James Longstreet of Gettysburg fame:

My favorite wartime issue of any confederate magazine is this one. The masthead features the seal of the Confederacy and the content is fantastic: General Lee's report of the Pennsylvania campaign (aka: How the war was lost).

The Magnolia is a combination newspaper/magazine. This issue features an early report of the death of the aforementioned General Jackson.

This is one of the last magazines to be started in the Confederacy.

Talk about rare: this magazine was published on a plantation in Georgia. Amazingly, it features the first appearance in print of the typesetter and soon to be author: Joel Chandler Harris.

Just to show how far we've come, Harris' Uncle Remus, immortalized in the Disney classic "Song of the South" his never been re-released due to its racial content.

A number of "copperhead" southern sympathizing publications were printed in the Union. The most famous was The Old Guard. The Weekly Southern Spy is exceedingly rare. This may be the only copy in existence.

After the war, with the infusion of raw materials and personnel, it didn't take long for magazines to start up again. This one was published in 1866 by a former Confederate General and brother of General A.P. Hill.

The last three decades of the 19th Century had its fair share of southern oriented magazines:

As the bitter memories faded, a spirit of mutual cooperation and common purpose began to slowly evolve- characteristically reflected in magazines (though I doubt there are still too many Yankee fans south of the Mason/Dixon line).

And lastly, I could not resist including this 1933 "southern" magazine which features my current obsession, Franklin D. Roosevelt (from southern N.Y!).

Whew! Quite a Saturday afternoon. Football- Shmootball, nothing beats talking about magazines!

Another Great Newstand Photo

2009-10-20T21:51:00.003-04:00

I found this on my hard drive. I love old newstand photos. Its amazing to see the quantity that these publications existed in and to appreciate how incredbly rare they are today!
Enjoy!

A Correction! and a Contest

2009-10-19T23:55:00.006-04:00

I stand corrected. In the last post I stated that William Livingston was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. This is incorrect. He was a signer of the Constitution (from New Jersey as a correctly stated, after being kicked out of New York for saying bad things about the local government in his magazine).

I also hedged and stated he was perhaps the only magazine publisher to sign the D of I. In fact, there was one, who also signed the Constitution as well. Pretty easy to guess who- the incredibly multi-talented printer, publisher, author, scientist, inventor, statesman, ladies' man and one-hundred dollar bill honoree- Benjamin Franklin.

While I'm eating a little crow, how about a little contest. A copy of my 1995 book to the first to identify the woman in the photo below. She holds the distinction of being an important "first" and led a tragic life afterwards. Hint: her first name rhymes with her last.

Good hunting!

Latest Installment M-O including Movies and New York. Lon Chaney

2009-10-19T08:16:00.004-04:00

http://www.scribd.com/doc/21286883/m-o

Should be a great day today. Meeting with the publicist for our upcoming book on FDR. I was underbidder on latest copy of the first Groucho Marx sheetmusic, Mary Moore, that sold for $2750 (the first one solf for $6700). Also, lost a damaged first issue Playboy (1953, Not 1919) for $850.

One of the original movie villains, Lon Chaney and a cover rarely if ever seen.

This installment includes an exquitely rare volume of movie magazines, Movie Adventures/Movie Thrillers/Movie Monthly that I paid a little under $2000 from Tampa pulp and memorabilia dealer David Alexander a few years back.

It also contains a pot-pourri of magazines published in New York. A topic I should address more completely in a separate entry. Here's the first issue of the first magazine published in the Gotham City, Independent Reflector. Perhaps the only magazine published by a signer of the Declaration of Independence (from New Jersey!), William Livingston.

more: http://books.google.com/books?id=1QpT_-SuR1AC&pg=PA13&lpg=PA13&dq=independent+reflector&source=bl&ots=96VMBYaR2j&sig=FV-9bTNWMNRL63URo0U-KK4fqlg&hl=en&ei=Y1vcSsm0HsTp8QbY9dS3BQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CB8Q6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=&f=false

The Latest Installmement of My 2005 Magazine Collection Supplement

2009-10-18T11:26:00.003-04:00

aka: the fruits of the labor of an obsessive collector with a few dollars and a lot of time on his hands!

I've since obtained a complete run of Illustrated California News (for $15,000, eek!) (one of only 2 in existence).

This is really the best way of demonstrating the scope and scholarship of the collection. As ususal, there are many images and much information that you will simply not find elsewhere.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/21253725/i-l

While it say's i-l it actually includes m as well.

The original 1995 book remains available (see home page).

Another Balloon Hoax in Magazine History. Poe, Mongolfier and Jules Verne

2009-10-16T10:34:00.012-04:00

What's in a word?

The most recent story about a "Balloon Hoax" brings to mind other references to balloons in the periodical literature.

The most interesting balloon hoax story is an article published in a newspaper, The New York Sun, on April 13, 1841, by none other than Edgar Allan Poe, the center of many controversies in his day..." Originally presented as a true story, it detailed European Monck Mason's trip across the Atlantic Ocean in only three days in a gas balloon". It was later revealed as a hoax and the story was retracted two days later. for more details see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Balloon-Hoax

Of course, the first balloon flight was inFrance in June 1783 by the Montgolfier brothers, and was reported in America in Boston Magazine with the following illustration:

From a magazine collectible standpoint, my greatest "balloon" find was this May 1852 issue of Sartain's Magazine I found in Connecticut for $7 (along with another 1852 issue, similarly priced, that contained the first appearance of Thoreau's "Walden"). It contains a story entitled "A Voyage in a Balloon" attributed to Anne T. Wilbur (the translator) on the rear wrapper, but correctly inside to the real author Jules Verne. This is Verne's first American appearance and the story was the basis for the 5 Oscar winning 1956 movie "Around the World in Eighty Days".

Here's the text with some additional information about Sartain and his magazine:

http://infomotions.com/etexts/gutenberg/dirs/1/6/0/8/16085/16085.htm

and, more importantly, here's the original magazine, one that may not elsewhere exist in its original state!

Repeat Titles- Who's Who (in Motion Pictures, of the Screen, in Movies)

2009-10-15T21:46:00.009-04:00

I get a kick out of title's that repeat over time and demonstrate the continuum of American magazines. "Who's Who" is a very popular recurring theme. The earliest reference to the term I can find is from a British publication in 1849. I just bought the 1964 magazine on ebay for a little over $20, to go along with my 1915 and 1931 versions.

There were quite a few others, though I suspect the 1915 version was the first of the bunch.

Here's a few non first issues currently for sale on ebay.

It really is amazing how much information you can get today with a PC and a mouse!

R.I.P. Gourmet Magazine 1941-2009

2009-10-13T17:17:00.002-04:00

Masonic Magazines. Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol".

2009-10-10T23:08:00.030-04:00

With the phenomenal success of Dan Brown's latest book "The Lost Symbol", this seems a pretty good time to talk about masonic magazines. Likewise, there is another great magazine connection. With all the intrigue about the clues pertaining to the map of Washington, D.C., it should be noted that the original map of L'Enfant's plan of the capital first appeared in Universal Asylum (a continuation of Columbian Magazine, and a title perhaps appropriate title to house all somewhat insane collectors such as yours truly) in March 1792.

Here's a fragment of the original front wrapper (no hidden symbols!), the title page, the map and the text of the article that appeared in the magazine, one that Washington himself likely read.

Here's some of the present day web material, using the map as a backdrop for the theory of a hidden masonic code.

In fact, if you read the original 1792 article that accompanied the first printing of the map, you will find that the city was indeed laid out on specific geographical meridians. Why?

That's the reality. I'll leave the secret codes to Mr. Brown and his millions of readers to ponder.

Now, as promised, (drum roll, please) THE MASONIC MAGAZINES.

America's first masonic periodical was Freemason's Magazine and General Miscellany, first published in April 1811. After researching it , I was pleased to find a own a bound copy of volume 1 and that, as of 1965, there were only 8 institutions in America that had one, making it quite rare. There is pressently one disbound copy on the web for sale for $500. I can't remember when and where I got mine or what I paid for it.

Here's the prospectus and half-title page from my volume.

There have been scores of Masonic publications throughout the years. Since my collection focuses on first issues and first volumes, I have a pretty fair sampling, such as this very scarce (8 holdings in the Union List) 1820 title. Of course, eight holdings means any issue or volume, so this first issue in original wrappers may very well be the only one in existence.

Probably the most important masonic periodical is The American Quarterly Review of Freemasonry and its Kindred Sciences, published in 1858. I paid $150 for an elegantlty bound first volume (it lasted for only one other volume). Mott (volume 2) calls it "one of the masonic classics ... its list of contributors included the greatest masonic scholars of the times."

Here's a number of other first issues, in original wrappers, that I own. You will surely not see them anywhere else. Western Free Mason, for instance, published in Iowa City in 1857 by John Kennedy, the first mason initiated west of the Mississippi and north of the Missouri line, is the only known copy of this title. All the others are of great rarity.

The Masons were not without controversy or opposition. The Anti-Masonic Review and Monthly Magazine, a monthly edited by Henry Dana Ward was designed to "take note of the origin and history, of the pretensions and character, and the standard works and productions of free masonry... and to prove thats its pillars of wisdom, strength and beauty are no firmer than chalk charoal and clay."

The Masons were only one of a number of fraternal organizations. Early on, most notably were the Odd Fellows, who had many periodicals of their own.

My original 1995 book lists shows that my collection contains at least five magazine published by this order, including a volume of an otherwise unknown literary miscellany, Talisman and Odd Fellows' Magazine, published in Philadelphia in 1846, edited by Theophilus Fisk.

This is all yet another important aspect of American life and culture that can be uniquely observed though the through the medium of magazines.

A January 1926 Magazine Rack

2009-10-10T10:48:00.005-04:00

This post was inspired by seeing a photo of a newsstand on the blog of Darwination (see link on the right hand column of my homepage).

I've always looked for photos of vintage newsstands. There are one or two you see all the time but I'm always on the lookout for new and unique images (if anyone out there in cyberspace has a great one, I'd love to see it). I found this beauty at Brimfield in the mid-90's and it is my favorite.

It dates to January 1926. The key to the puzzle is Movie Magazine, which was only published between September 1925 and April 1926. There are so many wonderful magazines (there's even an incredibly scarce issue of Arizona Highways on one of the bottom shelves), a few titles of which I've never seen (Marriage Problems, for one).

There's also some great advertising, particularly tobacco memorabilia, for those interested in that area of history.

Oh, to be back in the good old days! On second thought, it's pretty good to be around today. If we weren't, I wouldn't be able to share this wonderful image with you!

Next Installment of 2005 Catalog (f-h) Available for Download

2009-10-09T06:35:00.003-04:00

In retrospect, I must have had far too much time on my hands between 1995 and 2005!

http://www.scribd.com/doc/20839387/2005-magazine-supplelment-f-h

This format is probably the best way to show you the scope and philosophy of the collection.

Enjoy!

2005 Supplement C-E Available for Download

2009-10-07T18:49:00.003-04:00

http://www.scribd.com/doc/20766946/c-e

My favorite in this group is the only known complete run of Celebrities Monthly (see p. 31)

I first learned about this magazine when I supplied a group of magazines for a 1999 exhibition at MOMA (Museum of Modern Art, NYC) entitled "Fame After Photography". http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/1999/fameafterphotography/

(The extremely scarce Film Fun images of Charles Chaplin were the most popular of the ones I supplied)

The organizers of the exhibition told me that Celebrities Monthly was the most important magazine that they were seeking but they didn't have a copy to inspect- nor did I. A challenge to a maniac collector.

Shortly afterwards (too late for the exhibition), I found one issue on eBay for $65 and when I contacted the dealer, I learned to my great glee that he had the entire run, which I proceeded to buy. Further research indicated that the last issue was previously unknown.

I have never seen another issue since. Each magazine contains original photographs, from prime photographic studios (Pach Brothers, for instance) tipped in of each celebrity, all of which are unique to this very rare magazine, a veritable who's who of the end of the 19th Century. Each individual photograph is worth $100 and up- not a bad find for under $800!

The First Fox Magazine. Fox News. Twentieth Century Fox.

2009-10-04T20:34:00.004-04:00

I received this item yesterday, after winning it on eBay for $44.77.

The somewhat bizarre cover image reminded my significant other, Katherine, of those created by the prototypical outsider artist, Henry Darger. The magazine is the first issue of the Fox Folks, the in-house publication of Fox Film Corporation, that merged with the newly formed Twentieth Century Pictures in 1934 to form Twentieth Century Fox.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20th_Century_Fox

It is listed in my bibiography (available for download on this blog as part of the complete movie book) as beginning in 1915 (the year Fox Films began), based on all available references. I had not seen a copy until now and internal evidence clearly shows that this was the premier effort, inaugurated in May 1922.

Twentieth Century Fox became one of America's six major movie studios and eventually branched out into, among other things, television. So when you tune in to Fox news on your TV or radio, think of the modest little magazine above, the one that goes back to the origin of the whole network.

Are you beginning to believe in the importance of American magazines yet?

A Collecting Day in Allentown. A Bibliographic Conundrum Solved.

2009-10-03T20:16:00.009-04:00

As promised, here's a report of my day pursuing collectible magazines. Found a few minor magazines and one more important and very interesting pulp that I paid $250 for,

Spicy Screen Stories.

The Adventure House checklist lists one issue for October 1935 and Tim Cottrill's book has it as "rumored to exist". Both mention that it may have been continued as Saucy Movie Tales. (21 issues, December 1935-January/February 1938).

After a little research, I think we can finally put some lingering questions to rest.

My 66 page issue of Spicy Screen Stories is dated October on the cover though inside it is listed as December 1935 and volume 1 number 3. Somewhat atypically, the first story begins on the back of the front cover and the table of contents (also unusual for being on the last page of the magazine) accurately reflects the contents- so therefore this is definitely not the wrong cover.

So how can we explain the discrepancy?

Research on the web reveals that this issue was followed by three subequent issues, obviously by the same publisher and cover artist, entitled Stage and Screen Stories. In fact the issue that I own of Stage and Screen Stories,volume 1 number 5, March 1936, (no image on the web) confirms this.

Why the title change? The dealer told me that he heard that the title had to be changed because the use of "spicy" was under copyright by another publisher. I can't confirm this anywhere but it it makes perfect sense since there were other "spicy" titles being published at the time.

So. Here appears to be the correct bibliographic information:

Most probably, the anticipated publication date was October 1935 (there may be issues numbered volume 1, number 1 then later corrected, but mine is listed as number three)

Spicy Screen Stories, first and only issue of this title. Cover date October, inside December 1935.

Title changed to Stage and Screen Stories, January 1936, four issues, January- April 1936, ?numbered volume 1 numbers 3-6.

Here for the first time together anywhere!! the images.

Both Cottrill and Gunnison et. al. confirm that Saucy Movie Tales began in December 1935, first issue numbered volume 1 number 3, so this is not a continuation of the other title.

To the uneducated, this all may seem pretty obsessive, but that's really one of the most interesting and cerebral aspects of collecting.

An Illustrated Catalog of My Collection A-B

2009-10-02T18:40:00.002-04:00

If you want to get a pretty good idea of the scope and breadth of my collection, check out the pdf file at the end of this post. My first book on magazines was self-published in 1996, reflecting pretty much everything that I'd collected until that time. Its pretty much become the standard refernce for magazine collecting and I've sold or given away a few thousand copies. Its listed on the web for upwards of $100 but I will now be happy to sell it for $40 (they actually cost me $14 each to produce in 1996).

Between 1995 and 2005 I collected an equal amount of new material and kept an ongoing catalog of my new acquistions, which I compliled into a supplementary volume that, for the most part has never been circulated. Its time now to "let the cat out of the bag" so I'll do it in pieces alphabetically. Theres tons of material you simply will not find anywhere else and I think you'll get a pretty good idea from whence this self-admitted maniac comes.

Since 2005, the collecting has by no means slowed down, but a hectic work schedule, this blog and my new book on the health Franklin Roosevelt has prevented me from starting a third supplement.

So now, for your reading pleasure, I present the A and B entries of the 1995-2005 supplement. I think you'll find this work interesting and informative. Enjoy!

http://www.scribd.com/doc/20550511/Magazine-supplement-ab

Two Military Magazines: History Repeats Itself. Norman Rockwell Military Artist.

2009-10-02T16:59:00.005-04:00

The more things change, the more they stay the same. I love to collect comparable magazines from different eras. Here's a great example.

Perhaps the first magazine to be published by the American military outside the United States was The Soldier's Letter, published in 1898 in Manila, Philippines. I've seen a few issues over the years and its valued at a few hundred dollars.

Only a few years ago, I came across the first issue of Rank, published in Vietnam by the American military 1969. Its sort of a meld between Playboy and a travel magazine, geared towards the recreational activities of soldiers while on liberty in Japan. There can't be too many of these around. I got it for $14.67 on eBay and am very happy to own it.

During WW1 and moreso during WW2, miniature abbreviated "pony" editions of popular magazines were produced for the use of soldiers overseas. I've seen Time, Newsweek, and New Yorker and the Saturday Evening Postpublished a cute little title called Post Yarns. Here are the covers that were done by Norman Rockwell, in only the way he could, featuring his recurring GI character Willie Gillis (Bob Beck in real life). These images had also appeared previously on the cover of the parent publication.

Rockwell had also done miltary theme covers for various magazines during WW1, especially the old humor Life. He spent his military service during the war as an apprentice painter and varnisher in the good 'ol U.S.A, but basically spent his time illustrating the base newpaper Afloat and Ashore and painting portraits of officers, aside from ongoing contributions to a dozen or so non-military magazines. Here's one the rarest of all Rockwell illustrations on the cover of the pulp fiction Popular Magazine.

Its rarity is testimony to truly ephemeral nature of these magazines. The original circulation must have been in the tens if not hundreds of thousands and in all my years of collecting, I've only seen one of these (bought at a pulpcon in Dayton, Ohio for one dollar!).The bulk of 'em probably went into the paper drives (early 2oth century recycling).

Ain't collecting fun? Going off to one of my favorite paper shows tomorrow at the Allentown, Pennsylvania fairgrounds, right across from a fabulous Amish farmers market- can't wait- I can taste the shoo-fly pie already- and who knows what paper treasures are to be found! Full report to follow.

John Kennedy's First Magazine Cover. My 100th Post!

2009-09-24T18:36:00.009-04:00

I just noticed that I had made 99 posts since this blog began so I wanted to add another as soon as possible to cross the century mark. There's plenty more material to talk about among the 276 years of American popular culture residing in various niches of my abode.

Here's one item that's a lot of fun that I've never seen discussed.

Pic magazine was one of the more successsful picture magazines created following the tremendous success of LIFE in 1936. Others that made significant impacts were LOOK and Click, and I have at least two dozen others that were of lesser consequence.

The first newstand issue of LOOK,volume one number two (notice the dark blob over the left eye of Franklin Roosevelt, lots more about that in my upcoming book!) and the first issue of Click, featuring Dorothy Lamour.

The first issue of Pic has Joe DiMaggio on the cover (probably his first). I have one but its too large for my scanner. The issue of Pic that I find most intriguing is the one illustrated above- It is basically a campaign advertisement for the 1946 congressional campaign of John F. Kennedy, undoubtedly published through the influence of his father Joseph P. Kennedy (don't get me started on this anti-semitic, bootlegging, disgraced ambassador), who ordained John as a future president after the death of his oldest son, Joe, during an incredibly dangerous mission during WWII. Interestingly, JFK is not referred to within the magazine. He may have been seen in earlier publications but this his first cover appearance.

Just another of many great magazine covers and the start of quite an interesting political career.

Reader's Digest. Dummy Issue 1920. Repros. DeWitt Wallace

2009-09-21T19:19:00.019-04:00

Magazine history was made by DeWitt Wallace when he published his monumental magazine, Reader's Digest in February 1922. After a time it became the cornerstone of a publishing empire.

Wallace's roots in publishing are well documented. See: http://www.scribd.com/doc/97266/A-Small-History-of-Readers-Digest for a nice summary.

It all began with a self-published pamphlet entitled "Getting the Most Out of Farming", published in 1916, that Wallace sold door to door to the tune of 100,000 copies. There are no copies presently for sale on the web. I obtained this copy, apparantly a dummy copy (see the insert on the front cover), from bookdealer Jim Cummins. It came in an expensive imprinted box, along with a "first first" issue, dated January 1920, along with a set of all the issues from 1922 in a similar box, obviously produced by someone who was pretty close to the magazine.

The first "first issue" probably only had a print run of a few hundred copies. It is expensively produced on high quality paper and was sent out to potential publishers, with little or no success. I have never seen another copy. You can get a good idea what Wallace was aiming at by the first page, essentially the prospectus.

The second "first issue" arrived in February 1922 and had a run of 5000 copies. It was reprinted in 1957 and 1972 in large quantities. Allegedly, there is a way of telling the reprints from the original. The table of contents misprinted "Is the Stage too Vulgar" as "Is the State too Vulgar" which is supposed to have been corrected in the reprint. This may be partially true.

I suspect one of the reprints (perhaps the later one) may have done this but there are just two many alleged originals around. I own four copies altogether (including the one in the box) all with the error in the table of contents. In an effort to determine a way to cull out what is really an original copy, I carefully examined all of my 1922 copies from the boxed set.

original

probable repro

If there is any difference at all, the printing on the original copies is a bit more delicate than the later copies, and there is a distinct speckling in the hair of the female figure on the cover. The paper may also be ever so slightly more porous, but this is a very tough call.

Eureka!!!!!!

In examining the blown up scans of the above copies after first publishing this post, I noticed a subtle but real difference. In my "copy in the box" and the other with the stippled hair (the ones I assumed to be original) the "s" in "Digest" has a small bite out of it (the March issue has it too, but not subsequent issues). Since it's on two of them in exactly the same way, it most likely isn't a one-time printing quirk. So that's how you can tell them apart. At least one can say with assurance that the ones with the nicked "s" are original.

Not exactly a cure for cancer but a lot of fun nonetheless. Gosh, I love this stuff!

All in all, I'd have to say that the multitude of copies on the web (the last sold for $100 on eBay this week) are later repros. There just can't be more than a few dozen originals extant, if that many.

Originals are worth $1000 plus. Repros are valued at the cost of reproducing them.