Sentimental Value

From the November/December 2008 issue of Reminisce Extra

150 Magazines

This 1914 issue of Wild West Weekly (right) is representative of about 150 MAGAZINES I inherited from my father. The magazines vary in condition and range in topics from Revolutionary War adven-tures to exploits of more recent boys, in the 1920s.
—Bruce Randall, Reston, Virginia

Youth weeklies were vintage magazines that brought excitement to a nation of young people from about 1900 to the 1930s.

What an awful wait it was for the next issue to arrive with continuing episodes or installments. Stories on sports, aviation and detectives and Westerns, mysteries and science fiction were filled with sensationalism.

Authors were treated with movie-star status, and if the stories didn’t sell the magazines, at least the illustrations did.

For the low price of a nickel, and often with patriotic titles, these magazines, called pulps, were printed on cheap newsprint, which is why so little of this material has survived. The collectibles category of ephemera is made up of items without durability, not intended to survive or have lasting value.

A second explanation for their scarcity may be a request from publishers: “When you finish reading this magazine, attach a one-cent stamp and drop it in the mail. It will be placed in the hands of our military.” Adults liked to read them, too.

Nearly 100 years later, your magazines could still entice readers. Value: determined by paper condition, illustration power, authors and story titles. Fair-to-good condition, $4-$6 each; mint condition, up to $25 each.

 

52 Lantern Slides

My maternal grandfather owned this box (left), and the slots hold 52 LANTERN SLIDES of the Spanish-American War; 11 are in color. It was sold by Sears, Roebuck & Co.
—Cristine Greer, Stuart, Virginia

“Transparent Photographic Views” is the description for these images in the 1902 Sears, Roebuck catalog. To sell a stereopticon, an impressive title was needed to go with the impressive price of $53.

It was marketed as a way to make money by selling tickets and providing a night of entertainment as a traveling lecturer.

The purchase of a stereopticon projector included a screen, lectures in book form, advertising posters, exhibition tickets and 52 views—40 plain and 12 hand-tinted.

Choice of categories included religious, travel, copyrighted subjects and patriotic, which included the Spanish-American War. The views would arrive in a beautifully fitted and polished wood case.

The glass-plate images are transfer-printed and protected with a cover glass, with the edges bound with strips of black-gummed paper.

One full box of views, without the projector, would have cost $16, and many people bought several boxes. Some advertising companies even gave away sets that promoted their products.

Both the views and the projector were needed, but the slides outlasted the projectors. Value: $65 per box, higher with copyrighted subjects.