When editors were gods

Walter Winchell attacks The New Yorker's Harold Ross

On this day (November 30) in 1951, the gossip columnist Walter Winchell saw his opportunity to settle a score against Harold Ross, editor of The New Yorker, for an unflattering profile of Winchell that had appeared in Ross's magazine. Ross, who was going through marital difficulties at the time, had been sued by his wife, who complained he was "snobbish, uncouth, a boor and a bore." Winchell reported that with glee, adding his own "Hardly a scoop." Ross died a week later during lung surgery.

The youngest editor of the oldest magazine

Today (November 29) is the birthday of Willie Morris, who would grow up to become the youngest-ever editor of the U.S.'s oldest magazine (Harper's), as well as the author of "My Dog Skip" and other books. Morris was born in 1934, in Jackson, Mississippi.

 

First and foremost, a business proposition

"It is hard to make the amateur understand that a magazine is first and foremost a business proposition, as much as a shop or a factory. The editor must make it pay; in order to do this, he must publish the type of material that his readers are willing to purchase." — Flora Klickmann, editor of The Girl's Own Paper and Woman's Magazine, in "The Lure of the Pen: A Book for Would-be Authors" (1920).

The hands-off approach to editing

"A good editor should know when not to edit." — Charles Angoff, managing editor of The American Mercury magazine during the 1920s and '30s.

Getting better all the time

"My own theory is that a magazine must be better this year than it was last year to be as good as it was last year. Everything in all lines is getting to be better and better." — Frank A. Munsey, founder of Munsey's, Argosy, and other magazines. 

A magazine editor/governor's memorable Thanksgiving tributes

This morning's New York Times has a piece by Lincoln Caplan on Connecticut Governor Wilbur Cross's memorable Depression-era Thanksgiving proclamations, in particular the one of 1936.

Cross's way with words probably shouldn't be surprising. In addition to a long career as a Yale professor and a shorter one as a politician, he was also a magazine editor, running the influential Yale Review from 1911 to 1940, even during his governorship. His autobiography is "Connecticut Yankee" (Yale University Press, 1943). 

The editor of The Black Cat magazine meets an unlucky end

It was on this day (November 25) in 1913 that Herman D. Umbstaetter, founder and editor of The Black Cat, a popular fiction magazine at the turn of last century, died in Maine of a self-inflicted but apparently accidental gunshot wound. According to a newspaper account, "as he was climbing a wall his rifle was discharged and the bullet penetrated his body just below the heart." Umbstaetter's magazine gave many well-known writers of that era their start, most notably Jack London, who paid tribute to the editor, and his prompt payments, in an introduction to "The Red-Hot Dollar and Other Stories from The Black Cat" (1911). 

 

The magazine editor we can thank for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving might not be a national holiday but for the efforts of Sarah Josepha Hale (1788 to 1879), longtime editor of Godey’s Lady’s Book, who persuaded Abraham Lincoln to back it. The old New England tradition became an official, coast-to-coast overeating orgy in 1863. When she was not editing magazines or lobbying Presidents, Hale was also a poet, novelist, and author of the nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” A children's book version of Hale's life is "Thank You, Sarah," by Laurie Halse Anderson.

Happy birthday, Forrest J Ackerman and William F. Buckley

Two editors who probably didn't have a whole lot in common besides a shared birthday made their earthly debuts on this day, November 24. In 1916 it was Forrest J Ackerman, founding editor of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine; in 1925, William F. Buckley, founding editor of National Review. Buckley died in February 2008 at age 82, Ackerman in December 2008 at 92. 

The beginning of Life as we knew it

It was on this day in 1936 that Life magazine made its debut as a picture weekly (November 23 was the cover date). In her 1977 book "That Was the Life," Dora Jane Hamblin writes that, "It is difficult to explain, to those too young to remember the first issue, the stunning impact of its size alone. Opened out flat, the magazine measured 13-1/2 by 21 inches, a display space larger than many of today's television screens and in pre-television 1936 a revelation." The online Life photo archive is said to contain millions of the magazine's photographs.

Eat like a famous dead magazine editor

The Stag Cook Book: Written by Men for Men (1922) featured recipes from a long list of male celebrities of the day, including Charlie Chaplin, Rube Goldberg, Warren G. Harding, John Philip Sousa, Houdini, and half a dozen then-famous editors. Here are the editors' favorite recipes:   

Charles Hanson Towne's recipe for corn pudding.

Ray Long's recipes for shad roe and a pineapple dessert.

Edward W. Bok's recipe for asparagus.

Robert H. Davis's recipe for cream sauce a la Worcestershire.

S. S. McClure's recipes for omelettes and pies.

Arthur T. Vance's recipes for Welsh rabbit (or rarebit), a tomato/cucumber/onion salad, and French dressing.

How to beat the high cost of Westchester living, 1936

From O.O. McIntyre's August 6, 1936 syndicated newspaper column:

"Arthur McKeogh, the magazine editor, and his talented wife Elsie the literary agent decided several seasons ago they wanted a small summer home on the water near New York — almost an impossibility. But they began to annoy the real estate people just the same.

"So much so, one in sudden pique exclaimed: 'What you want is a house-boat!' And muffing the sarcasm, the McKeoghs almost fell into each others arms, their eyes lit with the light of glory. That was exactly what they wanted. To be razored away from things, the telephone, the roar, etc. It was answer to a prayer.

"They became in this fashion the first of the celebrity house-boaters. They are moored this season in their double-decker off Milton Point, near Rye. But, of course, gipsy fashion they may drift and anchor where they please. Fresh water is the biggest item, $10 a tank.

"On the main deck is a 20 by 20 foot living room, with a galley, wash room, etc. On the second deck, three bedrooms, bath, lounge and sun deck. They have named the galleon 'Sea Horse' and reach it in a motor boat called The Side Car. They bought it for $900 and can sell it any time for $5000."

McKeogh was an editor at Good Housekeeping, McClure's, and Red Book, among other magazines. He seems to have died the year after this item appeared.