Earlier this month, the Franklin Township Historical Society received a donation of antique books and magazines from board member Ben Schuman. One of these was an issue of Liberty magazine from May, 1926. You can view this and other magazines at the Meeting House, but here are some highlights!Magazines in the early 20th century were a major media source for both news and entertainment. In 1926, radio broadcasting had only been in use for five or six years and was not yet ubiquitous, and the mysterious new technology known as "television" was still in development (the first experimental cathode ray tube was introduced about six months after this issue was published, but most Americans would not discover in-home television until after World War II). Magazines were large-format periodicals packed with articles, illustrations, news and fictional stories.
Like modern magazines, periodicals relied heavily on advertising for revenue, and often sold full-page ads inside the front and back covers. This issue of Liberty features a full-page ad (at right) for a familiar product -- Lysol -- which was originally marketed for a very different use than the household cleaning products we know.
Magazines also regularly featured serialized fiction, poetry and short stories. This suspense novella, Flying Death (at left) is very typical of the era. Before television or multiplex cinemas, reading fiction was one of the primary forms of entertainment, and escapist stories of romance and adventure were in particularly high demand. Many famous authors such as Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle, Johnston McCulley, Dashiell Hammett and Leslie Charteris established their writing careers by having their stories serialized in popular magazines.
As we head into election season, we're reminded that some things don't change at all: Editorial cartoons and political satire have been published in periodicals for hundreds of years! Here are a few topical cartoons from 1926 (at right).The Meeting House is open from 1 to 4PM on the first Saturday and third Sunday of each month from March through October. If you liked these photos, stop by and check out our collection of books, magazines newspapers and other vintage reading material!
This is a very well-written piece! I've always found old periodicals interesting because of the way they reflect life as it was at the time, and ads and fiction pieces (when the latter exist at all in periodicals today) have certainly changed. Thanks for posting this.
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