When editors were gods

The private lives of editors, No. 4

"Editor-Publisher MacAusland's private sanctum is a glamorous conglomeration of French period furniture, marble fireplace, paintings, cut glass and flowers, shared by his four dogs — three French poodles and a Yorkshire terrier."  — Rene Cappon of the Associated Press in a January 1957 article about Earle MacAusland, founder, publisher, and longtime editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine. Gourmet, the article reported, occupied "a sumptuous suite of offices in the penthouse of a super-refined Fifth Ave. hotel."

How to butter up an editor, 1787

“The editor requests all those who are indebted to him for Newspapers and Magazines to make payment. — Butter will be received for small sums, if brought within a few days.”  — Isaiah Thomas, editor of Worcester Magazine, in a 1787 notice to readers, quoted in “A History of American Magazines: 1741–1850,” by  Frank Luther Mott.

Mott adds that Thomas also accepted “wood, cheese, pork, corn, and other produce.”

What editors should eat, according to Scientific American, 1871

"It is well known that certain kinds of food are peculiarly fitted for keeping the brain in a state of healthy activity. Many literary men here and in Europe permit themselves coffee, tea, and condiments in moderation, and for the rest confine themselves almost entirely to fish, fruit, vegetables, milk, and various kinds of farinaceous food, Graham bread and oat meal taking the lead. These articles have, by repeated experiments, been found to be the best for brain workers." — Scientific American magazine, in a short article titled "What an Editor Should Eat," 1871. 

The magazine editor with a cocktail named after him

Ray Long, a hugely famous (in his day) editor of Cosmopolitan and other magazines, was born in Lebanon, Indiana, on this day (March 23) in 1878. This cocktail seems to have been named for him.

Here's Ray Long's advice to would-be magazine editors.

 

The magazine that was survived by a cookie

It was on this day (June 12) in 1979 that the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. announced that the organization was ending publication of The American Girl, its 72-year-old magazine. The magazine's legacy lives on in Girl Scout Cookies, for which it published a recipe in 1922.

Cosmo's second most famous editor

Ray Long, the hugely famous (in his day) editor of Cosmopolitan and other magazines, was born in Lebanon, Indiana, on this day (March 23) in 1878. This cocktail seems to have been named for him.

Here's Ray Long's advice to would-be magazine editors.

On this day...

... in 1878, Ray Long, hugely famous (in his day) editor of Cosmopolitan and other magazines, was born in Lebanon, Indiana. This cocktail seems to have been named for him.

On this day...

... in 2000, William J. Garry, editor of Bon Appetit magazine, died at age 56. According to Garry's obituaries, he and another editor, reportedly Rochelle Udell of Self magazine, were so underwhelmed by the food at one late-1990s National Magazine Awards ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria that they ordered room service (pizza and shrimp) for themselves and their tablemates.   

On this day...

... in 1878, Ray Long, hugely famous (in his day) editor of Cosmopolitan and other magazines, was born in Lebanon, Indiana. This cocktail appears to have been named for him.