Munsey's Magazine

Munsey's Magazine May 1911

Munsey's Weekly, later known as Munsey's Magazine, was a 36-page quarto American magazine founded by Frank A. Munsey in 1889 and edited by John Kendrick Bangs.^[1] It is credited with being the first mass-market magazine. Frank Munsey aimed to publish "a magazine of the people and for the people, with pictures and art and good cheer and human interest throughout". Soon after its inception, the magazine was selling 40,000 copies a week. In 1891, Munsey's Weekly adopted a monthly schedule and was renamed Munsey's Magazine.

In October 1893, Munsey reduced the price of the magazine from 25 cents to 10 cents, which was greatly successful. By 1895, the magazine had a circulation of 500,000 a month. It included numerous illustrations (including many by the illustrator Charles Howard Johnson) and was attacked for its "half-dressed women and undressed statuary". Some outlets refused to stock the magazine as a result, but circulation continued to grow and by 1897 had reached 700,000 per month.

Circulation began to fall in 1906 and by the 1920s was down to 60,000. In October 1929, Munsey's was merged with Argosy. It immediately thereafter demerged with Argosy All-Story to form All-Story, which continued on a monthly schedule under a variety of similar titles until May 1955.^[2]

Contributors

Charles M. Relyea was among the illustrators whose work appeared in Munsey's.^[3]

Tod Robbins' short story "Spurs" was published by Munsey's in 1923. It was loosely adapted into the film Freaks (1932).

Mazo de la Roche, the author of the popular Jalna series, had her first story published in 1902 in Munsey's Magazine.

Robert William Service published the poem "Unforgotten" (also called "Apart and yet Together") in December 1903.^[4]

Editors

• John Kendrick Bangs (January–June, 1889)
• Richard H. Titherton (Jul 1889 – ?)
• Robert H. Davis (fiction editor 1904–1905)
• Isaac Frederick Marcosson (1910–1913)
• William Marcus MacMahon, Editor-in-Chief (??? - ???)

Back issues

Full-text on-line versions available via Google Books (last accessed 2012-01-02):

Vol VII: April 1892 to September 1892 Vol VIII: October 1892 to March 1893 Vol IX: April 1893 to September 1893 Vol X: October 1893 to March 1894 Vol XI: April 1894 to September 1894 Vol XII: October 1894 to March 1895 Vol XIII: April 1895 to September 1895 Vol XIV: October 1895 to March 1896 Vol XV: April 1896 to September 1896 Vol XVI: October 1896 to March 1897 Vol XVII: April 1897 to September 1897 Vol XVIII: October 1897 to March 1898 Vol XIX: April 1898 to September 1898 Vol XX: October 1898 to March 1899 Vol XXI: April 1899 to September 1899 Vol XXII: October 1899 to March 1900 Vol XXIII: April 1900 to September 1900 Vol XXIV: October 1900 to March 1901 Vol XXV: April 1901 to September 1901 Vol XXVI: October 1901 to March 1902 Vol XXVII: April 1902 to September 1902 Vol XXVIII: October 1902 to March 1903 Vol XXIX: April 1903 to September 1903

Vol XXX: October 1903 to March 1904 Vol XXXI: April 1904 to September 1904 Vol XXXII: October 1904 to March 1905 Vol XXXIII: April 1905 to September 1905 Vol XXXIV: October 1905 to March 1906 Vol XXXV: April 1906 to September 1906 Vol XXXVI: October 1906 to March 1907 Vol XXXVII: April 1907 to September 1907 Vol XXXVIII: October 1907 to March 1908 Vol XXXIX April 1908 to September 1908 Vol XL: October 1908 to March 1909 Vol XLI: April 1909 to September 1909 Vol XLII: October 1909 to March 1910 Vol XLIII: April 1910 to September 1910 Vol XLIV: October 1910 to March 1911 (not found) Vol XLV: April 1911 to September 1911 Vol XLVI: October 1911 to March 1912 Vol XLVII: April 1912 to September 1912 Vol XLVIII: October 1912 to March 1913 (not found) Vol XLIX: April 1913 to September 1913 (not found) Vol L: October 1913 to January 1914 Vol LI: February 1914 to May 1914 Vol LII: June 1914 to September 1914

Vol LIII: October 1914 to January 1915 Vol LVI: February 1915 to May 1915 Vol LV: June 1915 to September 1915 Vol LVI: October 1915 to January 1916 Vol LVII: February 1916 to May 1916 Vol LVIII: June 1916 to September 1916 Vol LIX: October 1916 to January 1917 Vol LX: February 1917 to May 1917 Vol LXI: June 1917 to September 1917 Vol LXII: October 1917 to January 1918 Vol LXIII: February 1918 to May 1918 Vol LXIV: June 1918 to September 1918 Vol LXV: October 1918 to January 1919 Vol LXVI: February 1919 to May 1919 Vol LXVII: June 1919 to September 1919 Vol LXVIII: October 1919 to January 1920 Vol LXIX: February 1920 to May 1920 Vol LXX: June 1920 to September 1920 Vol LXXI: October 1920 to January 1921 Vol LXXII: February 1921 to May 1921 Vol LXXIII: June 1921 to September 1921 Vol LXXIV: October 1921 to January 1922 Vol LXXV: February 1922 to May 1922 Vol LXXVI: June 1922 to September 1922

See also

• The Bookman
• Harper's Magazine
• McClure's
• The Outlook
• The Review of Reviews
• World's Work

References

1. Tassin, Algernon (December 1915). "The Magazine In America, Part X: The End Of The Century". The Bookman: an Illustrated Magazine of Literature and Life. XLII (4): 396–412. Retrieved 2008-08-03.
2. "The Argosy & related magazines". Philsp.com.
3. Walt Reed (2001). The illustrator in America, 1860-2000 (third ed.). pp. 114–115. ISBN 9780823025237.
4. "Biographie". Robert Service.

Sources

• Munsey, Frank A. (December 1907). The Founding of the Munsey Publishing-House. De Vinne Press. Subtitles: Quarter of a Century Old : The Story of The Argosy, Our First Publication, and Incidentally the Story of Munsey's Magazine

Additional reading

• "USA Munsey's". Spartacus Educational.

External links