Ever a lover of ephemera, old advertising, magazines and the like, parts of my house resemble a ferret hut. Or the hut of whatever burrowing animal revels in lots of paper goods. I can’t pass up the chance to peruse the mold scented pages of vintage magazines. Not only do I have an obsession with vintage fashion, but I find the manner of speaking, topics and advertisements infinitely entertaining.
After finding that “The Ladies Mercury” started on this day in 1693, published by John Dunton in London–and that it was the first magazine marketed to women (and featured a question and answer section known as the “problem page”) I started thinking about the various magazines and newspapers women have relied on through the years. There have been so many publications that have been lost over time, we may never know how many amazing publications there were out there–especially here in Indianapolis.
One of my favorites is Indiana Woman (also known as Indiana Illustrated). Of all the publications I know of in Indianapolis history, this is my favorite. There were always fictional stories, gossip stories and society mentions and photos. Would love to find a complete collection of these. I know it was published in 1896 through at least 1899, but not much beyond that.
Seems we also had a publication devoted to bicycling. Hmm… that may come back around again, with IndyCog and other interested parties out there. Do you know of any other rare/ specialized magazine publications of long ago that few know about? Here are a couple of covers outside the main staples. Happy hunting!
