Many collectors have found that they thoroughly enjoy collecting magazines. Such publications as TV Guide, People Magazine, and Time Magazine are very poplar among collectors. TV Guide capitalized on Lucille Ball's popularity to launch its national guide on April 3, 1953, which featured Lucille Ball's baby on the cover. That issue, along with the September 25, 1953 issue, with George Reeves as Superman on the cover, rank as two of the most valuable TV Guides in history. Prior to the Lucille Ball's baby issue, there were valuable regional issues, such as the January 23, 1953 issue with Marilyn Monroe on the cover. That issue is worth about $750.

First, the inaugural issue of Time magazine was March 3, 1924, with Senator Joseph Cannon adorning the cover. Nine thousand copies were printed, and depending on the condition of the copies, they are valued at about $500. The magazine was a risk on the part of two young men, Henry Robinson Luce and Britton Hadden. Time is still going strong some 83 years later.

The first issue of People magazine launched March 4, 1974, and featured Mia Farrow on the cover. The movie "The Great Gatsby", starring Farrow and Robert Redford, was the rage of the time. The outspoken Martha Mitchell, wife of then Attorney General John Mitchell, appeared on the following week's cover. A Mia Farrow copy is worth about $100.

The starting years of some of today's major publications include: Good Housekeeping, 1855; Saturday Evening Post, 1877; Ladies Home Journal, 1883; Life, 1883; Cosmopolitan, 1886; National Geographic, 1888; Field and Stream, 1896; Newsweek, 1925; Family Circle, 1932; Look, 1937; Playboy, 1953; and Sports Illustrated, 1954.

Copies of most old magazines can still be purchased for anywhere from $5 to $20 at flea markets and garage sales. However, keep in mind that the real collectables, such as the first Playboy published in December 1953, will cost a couple of thousand dollars. Some collectors try to collect all the issues of a particular magazine, but for obvious reasons that can be overwhelming. The most valuable magazines are the first issues of a magazine, whether or not those magazines are still in circulation.

Taking a closer look at a few of today's magazines, the first Sports Illustrated was released on August 16, 1954, which featured the Milwaukee Braves' Eddie Mathews on the cover. That issue is worth around $250 in excellent condition. The second issue, a week later, is also very collectible, as it contained a card foldout of the New York Yankees.

Life magazine debuted on January 4, 1883. The motto of the first issue was "While there's Life, there's hope." Life was the first all-photograph U.S. news magazine, and was a dominant magazine for more than forty years. One of the best known pictures Life ever printed was Alfred Eisenstaedt's picture of a nurse in a sailor's arms, taken on August 27, 1945, as Victory Over Japan Day was celebrated in New York City.

National Geographic actually started in 1888, but there were only nine issues until 1896. Since that time (except in a couple of rare instances) the magazine has been issued monthly. The first four issues from 1888-1889 are worth several thousand dollars each, but are extremely difficult to obtain. Most of the other issues can be purchased for no more than about $50, but actually most issues cost much less. There are many National Geographic magazine dealers across the world, but one of the most established is Don Smith of Louisville, Kentucky. He can be reached at (502) 366-7504. A good source of National Geographic maps is Carl Emde, who can be reached at (951) 679-9058, or by email at cfmd@erols.com.

Not all magazines do survive the test of time. Take the case of Woman's Magazine. Its founder, Edward G. Lewis, started it in the early 1900s, and for a while its circulation of 1,600,000 was the greatest in the world of any magazine. However, a dispute with an advertiser, the American Woman's League, led to the demise of Lewis and his publishing empire. In 1912, Lewis, the founder and first mayor of University City, Missouri, closed his publishing doors and moved to California. Early copies of Woman's Magazine, or another of Lewis' publications, Woman's National Daily, are very popular among serious magazine collectors.

A very comprehensive price-guide of contemporary magazines is "Collecting Magazines" by David Henkel. If you are interested in learning more about magazines and their place in history, a book by Norberto Angeletti and Alberto Oliva, "Magazines That Make History: Their Origins, Development and Influence", may interest you.

Magazines have always been a popular collectible. People enjoy reminiscing about the past, and where they were or what they were doing when certain incidents occurred. Likewise, if you flip through the pages of a magazine you can see the fashions and products of the day, as well as the famous and infamous people of the time. Magazines are a window to culture.

 

POLITICAL MEMORABILIA

 

This is the time of the year when the buzz around the nation is about national politics. The United States will have a new person living in the White House, that is for certain.

With every presidential election collectors snap up what is available. Political collectibles never decrease in value.

Collect as much as possible.

But which presidents' memorabilia are the toughest to obtain, and the most desirable? Serious collectors know the answer is William Henry Harrison. Harrison was the ninth president, but only served for thirty days starting on March 4, 1841. On that day he caught pneumonia while delivering his inaugural speech. The weather can be very brisk and chilly in Washington at that time of year, and Harrison did not wear a topcoat for the occasion. There are only fourteen pieces known to exist that have survived that he signed during the thirty days he was president. Most of the pieces are in public offices and museums, but a few of them still remain with private collectors.

Through the years the most popular form of political memorabilia has been buttons and pins made with metal disks covered with printed paper and a piece of celluloid. These types of buttons and pins were popular starting in the 1880s, and were often the products of Whitehead and Hoag, a Newark, New Jersey company.

Among collectors, the buttons and pins of Abraham Lincoln, Harry Truman and John Kennedy are the most sought after. The cost of most buttons and pins can fun the spectrum from twenty-five dollars to several hundred dollars or more. Buttons and pins are small and easy to display. They are also quite plentiful. The value of a button rarely has to do with its visual appeal or even a slogan. The value of a button is almost always based on rarity and condition.

A couple of campaign buttons are among the few that stand out as being the most valuable, and not coincidentally, the toughest to obtain. First is the 1920 James Cox and Franklin Roosevelt campaign button. The slogan "Americanize America" is on the button, and there are only a handful of known buttons that are seven-eighth inch size in diameter. Governor Cox of Ohio, and FDR, then assistant secretary of the Navy would be soundly beaten in the election by the team of Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, but it certainly did not deter FDR from running in the future. That scarce Cox and Roosevelt button is worth more than $100,000.

A second very pricey campaign button is of the 1924 Democratic team of John Davis and William Jennings Byan. One of the variations of a Davis and Byan button sold several years ago for more than $100,000 as well.

It is ironic that in both of those instances, the buttons depicted losing candidates.

A collector may also want to collect buttons of candidates that drop out of the race. For example, George McGovern's' first choice for his running mate in 1972 was Thomas Eagleton of Missouri. Soon after being selected, Eagleton went public that he was seeking help from a psychiatrist. He removed himself from the ballot, but a McGovern and Eagleton button is valuable.

Another piece of presidential memorabilia may still remain a puzzle. In 1932 the U.S. Caramel company produced a set of presidential cards called the R114 set. This 31 card set, was on the bottom of boxes of chocolates. To promote business the U.S. Caramel company offered a box of candy to anyone who would send in all 31 presidential cards. There was only one problem for the general consumer. There was only a handful of William McKinley cards issued. It was nearly impossible to have a complete set and redeem your cards for a box of chocolates. Business picked up for a while, but U.S. Caramel eventually shut its doors.

Legend has it that there is still one uncancelled McKinley card, so if you think you know someone who has that ultra rare card, let me know.

There is a tremendous amount of presidential memorabilia available. I would suggest that a collector focus on a specific president or time period.

A "Price Guide to American Patriotic Memorabilia" by Michael Polok is an excellent reference guide. In addition, you may wish to subscribe to "The Political Bandwagon", a monthly publication. Their telephone number is (717) 656-7855.

In San Diego, the U. S. Grant Hotel, which founded by the son of the president himself does have some presidential memorabilia on display. In addition, the Richard Nixon Library in Yorba Linda and the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley are extremely educational and within easy driving distance from San Diego.

By the way, there isn't too much memorabilia on one president who you won't read too much about in history books. On March 4, 1849, David Rice Atchison served as the president of the United States for only that day. His one day as president was a Sunday, and Zachary Taylor refused to be inaugurated until the next day.