Vintage magazines appeal to people who have a particular interest in old paper, to be sure, but they are also collected for the specific content on and between their covers. For example, those who have fond memories of JFK may seek out copies of the November 29, 1963, issue of “Life,” with its formal portrait of the recently assassinated 35th president on its somber cover. Serious Beatles fans almost certainly want a copy of the January 9, 1968, issue of “Look,” which included a quartet of full-page, psychedelic photos of John, Paul, George, and Ringo by Richard Avedon. And military historians may collect copies of “Colliers” printed during World War II for its articles by Martha Gellhorn, who famously stowed away on a hospital ship so she could report on the D-Day landing at Normandy.
Not all magazine collectors are so high-minded. Year in and year out, one of the most popular vintage-magazine titles has been “Playboy,” especially its undated first issue from December of 1953, which featured a Marilyn Monroe centerfold. For those who claim that they only read “Playboy” for the articles, there are numerous more literary issues to choose from, including the March, April, and May editions from 1954, in which Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451” was serialized in its entirety.
For art lovers, there are old copies of “The Saturday Evening Post,” which were famous for its covers by Norman Rockwell, and “Harper’s Weekly,” which occasionally had covers by ...
Other magazines fall somewhere between comic books and science-fiction novels, such as issues of “Amazing Stories,” which, in the 1940s, reprinted a number of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ tales of earthman John Carter’s adventures on Mars, or, as it was named by Burroughs, Barsoom. “Argosy” was also an outlet for Burroughs, serializing his “Tarzan” adventures in the 1920s and ’30s.
Finally, there are magazines that are infamous for being spot-on parodies of other magazines. In 1972, the “Harvard Lampoon” produced its version of “Cosmopolitan,” which featured a nude centerfold of Henry Kissinger, which was as disgusting as you might imagine it would be. Not to be outdone, in 1980, “New West” produced a slim but brilliant five-page parody of “Sunset” which it called “Sunsect,” featuring a family picnicking in the shadow of a nuclear power plant on the cover and articles such as “Mule trips into East Los Angeles--a guide" and "Tulips so big they eat meat" inside.
Interviews & Articles
Digging Up the Weirdest Old Books and Comics From the Thrift-Store Bargain Bins

When we first encountered Alan Scherstuhl's "Studies in Crap" column over at the "SF Weekly," we knew he was one of us. Every week… [more]
Best of the Web (“Hall of Fame”)
MagazineArt.org

This incredible database of over 3700 magazine covers from 1850-1950 is both beautiful and informative. Start here … [read review or visit site]
Doug Gilford’s Mad Cover Site

Doug Gilford's great Mad Magazine reference site features cover scans and reference information on every issue of t… [read review or visit site]
Ephemera Blog

Marty Weil's wide-ranging, in-depth blog on ephemera, including lots of great interviews with ephemera collectors. … [read review or visit site]
Ephemera Society of America

Great reference on ephemera... includes examples and descriptions of various ephemera categories, selected special … [read review or visit site]
Vintage Guru Reveals Her Glamour Secrets
The Killer Mobile Device for Victorian Women
Gloriously Grotesque 19th-Century Pipes
The Beautiful Chaos of Improvisational Quilts
Our Dad, the Water Witch of Wyoming
This 1959 Goggomobil Is Insanely Cute and Gets 55 MPG. Why Can’t Detroit Do That?
California Cool: How the Wetsuit Became the Surfer's Second Skin
The Unfiltered History of Rolling Papers, Plus Tommy Chong's Big Fat Jamaican Vacation
World's Smallest Museum Finds the Wonder in Everyday Objects
Fightin’ Femmes: Unmasking Female Superheroes with Author Mike Madrid


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