Best 1930s-40s American magazines?

[Cousin Hepcat]

What do you think were the best 1930s-40s American magazines, both in terms of written and visual content (illustrations / photography), particularly touching on aspects of everyday life? (i.e. culture, movie stars, gardening, homes, cars...)

I myself just got my first 3 vintage LIFE magazines the weekend before this, issues from 1944, 47, and 48, and am AMAZED - at the content of the articles, the photography, and the ads: all incredible.

Also the Photoplay scans posted by Amy Jeanne have put that one on my list to look out for.

Other suggestions, and what aspect of American life they hililght?

And, if you know, how relatively rare and/or expensive 30s-40s issues of those titles may be compared to, say, LIFE magazine?

Thanks in advance
- C H

 

[Sefton]

I have two Esquires from 1933 and I've seen others from the 30's and they are great. Wonderful clothes and articles from some of the 20th C.'s best writers.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

"Fortune" magazine was a good one with lots of high-end color ads. I don't see very many of them. I recently scored some "Flying" magazines from 1945 with lots of articles about the war and the roles that different companies were playing in the war effort. Very interesting and some good color pics.

 

[Rafter]

The New Yorker is one of the last surviving magazines from that era and has not strayed too far from it's original 30's and 40's roots.
It was known back then, and still is for its commentaries on popular culture and eccentric Americana; its attention to "modern" fiction by the inclusion of short stories and literary reviews; its rigorous fact checking and copyediting; its journalism about world politics and social issues; and its famous, single-panel cartoons sprinkled throughout each issue.

The catch phrase "back to the drawing board" originated with the 1941 Peter Arno cartoon showing an engineer walking away from a crashed plane, saying, "Well, back to the old drawing board."

 

[Mr. 'H']

I have lots of Life Magazines from the 40s and I find them very entertaining and beautifully laid out and written. I love the large format as well.

 

[Mr. 'H']

 

[LizzieMaine]

The "slicks" -- The Saturday Evening Post , Colliers, and the American Magazine in particular -- are ideal time capsules of the Era, with a mix of light fiction and popular journalism that really captures the times. Some world-class authors worked for these magazines in their prime, but the tone was never snooty: you might find F. Scott Fitzgerald on one page and Octavus Roy Cohen on the next, a remarkable blend of the literary and the lowbrow.

Many of the women's magazines of the era have a similar high quality of content, especially the Ladies' Home Journal, which was the Post's dignified sister, and the Women's Home Companion, which filled a similar role for Colliers. And even though I'm not its target audience, Esquire was another very fine "slick".

If you want to go more upscale, look for the Atlantic Monthly, Harpers, and Scribners -- not much for illustrations, but fascinating insight into middle-to-highbrow mindset of the times. The New Yorker, of course, is the most entertaining magazine of this niche.

Photoplay, in the teens, twenties, and early thirties, was as fine a movie magazine as there ever was. Amidst the fan-rag press releases there was some very fine reporting and if you read between the lines you can often pick up on what the real mood was behind the scenes. Radio Guide during the latter half of the thirties filled a similar role for broadcasting, and is an invaluable resource for program schedules.

Life was only one of many "picture magazines" that came along in the thirties -- Look was the most enduring rival, but there was also Pic and Click and various others. Life was by far the slickest and classiest of these magazines, though, and attracted the highest quality of contributions. It's one of the best visual records you'll ever find of the passing scene of the US in the mid-twentieth-century, and it's still comparatively inexpensive. Most magazines of the era go for $8-10 a copy nowadays, but if you're in the right place at the right time you can often pick up Life for $5 or less.

 

[Amy Jeanne]

You already mentioned mine!

Being a huge movie fan, I LOVE Photoplay! My collection of movie magazines spans 1912 to 1961 -- the bulk of my collection being Photoplay from 1926-1933 (also roughly my favourite era for movies!)

I have other vintage movie publications such as Motion Picture, Motion Picture Classic, Modern Screen, Picture Play, and Movie Classic, but none touch Photoplay! Photoplay is the thickest, has the best pictures, is the most entertaining read, and is printed on the best quality paper. My other publications have yellowed and become slightly brittle; Photoplay's pages are still white and the spines are almost indestructable! Even magazines that have been water damaged are still in pretty decent shape!

I can't praise Photoplay enough.

 

[scotrace]

All of the above are excellent.

Has anyone seen a copy of "Coronet?" Is it worth seeking out?

Look for "Ken," also published by the Esquire folks. Very edge of the envelope political commentary for the time.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Coronet was sort of an upscale version of the Readers Digest in format and overall tone, but it used a lot more original material rather than depending on condensations of previously published articles. Not a lot of illustrations, and no fiction, but a good resource for articles!

 

[Flivver]

Life was only one of many "picture magazines" that came along in the thirties -- Look was the most enduring rival, but there was also Pic and Click and various others. Life was by far the slickest and classiest of these magazines, though, and attracted the highest quality of contributions. It's one of the best visual records you'll ever find of the passing scene of the US in the mid-twentieth-century, and it's still comparatively inexpensive. Most magazines of the era go for $8-10 a copy nowadays, but if you're in the right place at the right time you can often pick up Life for $5 or less.

Another "picture magazine" that I particularly like is the Mid-Weel Pictorial. This was published from about 1914 to about 1936 as a newspaper magazine supplement. It began as a means of covering world events like the Great War in Europe, but in the 1920s began to focus on the home scene as well. These contain coverage of human interest topics, movies, fashion, radio as well as world and national events. It is all presented tabloid style...sometimes with huge photos

Unfortunately the Mid-Week Pictorial was produced tabloid style on newspaper stock and surviving issues can be quite brittle. But I have never found a better source of photos on what life in America was really like, prior to the introduction of the modern Life magazine in 1936. And the best part is that these magazines are affordable. They usually sell for no more than one dollar a copy, at least around here.

 

[dhermann1]

Leatherneck

My parents met in the Marine Corps in Washington DC, while working on the Marine Corps magazine, Leatherneck. I've been told that during those 2 years of 1944 and 1945 it was the best magazine in America. I'd like to post some stuff from it, but I'm concerned about copyright issues. It had wonderful art work, interesting layout, and terrific writing.

 

[The Wolf]

I like "True" which was a men's magazine. I have one from June of 1946. Joe Louis and Billy Conn each wrote an article saying why they each believe themselves will be the victor of the upcoming fight. The ads for alcohol, men's grooming aids, etc are great to see.
"Liberty" magazine was good.
"Reader's Digest" from the forties give a nice overview of articles from various magazines.
I always enjoy the movie magazines. It seems like stories about actors, sometimes even birthdays, are completely made up.lol
Of course "Time" magazines from the golden era are fascinating to read.
I'm probably leaving out plenty but those are my top picks.

Sincerely,
The Wolf

 

[Cousin Hepcat]

Thanks all, great info - learning about some mags I'd never even heard of ("Leatherneck" sounds Great).

Mr. H - Cool pic! (Nice Vettriano print on the wall)

Amy Jeanne, interesting to hear Photoplay was at the top in their game - glad too, since that's the only one of the titles you've mentioned I've seen around in the few places I've just started looking.

Scotrace, already saw your post on Ken when I did a site-search to see if this topic had already been brought up before posting, and upon reading that it had intriguing insights on events leading up to WWII, immediately added it to the list - thanks.

... Some world-class authors worked for these magazines in their prime, but the tone was never snooty: you might find F. Scott Fitzgerald on one page and Octavus Roy Cohen on the next, a remarkable blend of the literary and the lowbrow.

Thanks for taking the time Lizzie, those sound right up my alley, added them to the list. Can appreciate cultural eloquence, but Don't Tolerate snootiness or elitism very well... (D'ough, that almost comes off like "Jimmy the Gent" )

 

[dhermann1]

ALL magazines were good in those days. I read somewhere a theory about mass media. The idea was that when a new medium comes out there is a great proliferation of sources, all of which are competitive. Then as the medium matures it gets consolidated down to a few outlets. They also go from broad general appeal to narrower focus. This happened with magazines, radio and TV. There were many wonderful magazines in the 19th century, such as Harper's Weekly (still around), Atlantic Monthly (also still around,since 1847) and Leslie Illustrated Weekly. They all had tons of wonderful material in them. I think the golden age of magazines ended with the advent of TV. When I was a kid there was still Saturday Evening Post, with the wonderful landscape paintings on the cover ("It looks like a Saturday Evening Post cover"), Collier's, Life, Look, etc. They all died out when network TV came along.
True magazine always reminds me of the barber shop! There was always a stack of True, Argosy, Police Gazette., etc.

 

[Quigley Brown]

Some of the titles I've aquired over the years....

From the mid-30s

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From the early 30s

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[Parallel Guy]

Was surprised to find that Better Home and Garden was not strictly a "women's" magazine. I also like American Home for the floor plans and interior shots.

Found a couple hundred Life's at $1 a pop. Yeah, I bought them. Greatest magazine for my money.

 

[Martinis at 8]

Cosmopolitan, no not that one. Somerset Maugham used to publish in Cosmopolitan.

M8

 

[Jay]

I have a couple old issues of National Geographic that are pretty entertaining. Some cool pictures of old travel destinations, plus they're printed on some nice paper (still do) that holds up well.

 

[The Reno Kid]

No red-blooded American male could manage without Field and Stream, Outdoor Life, and Sports Afield. I have several copies of each from the late 30s and they're great. I've seen some of the covers available as prints. There are some other titles available but the three listed are the best known.