Welcome back to Magazine of the Week!
We would like to congratulate Esquire for publishing their 1000th issue! And for being the premier voice of menswear style in America since 1933.
Esquire began publishing in 1933, but was only distributed “to the trade” in men’s haberdashery (a.k.a. “furnishings” i.e. shirts, ties, and other underpinnings) shops. It was launched as a sister publication to Apparel Arts, also a “to the trade” title in menswear. However, both titles were popular with customers as well as retailers, and their focus shifted. In 1957, Apparel Arts was renamed Gentleman’s Quarterly, and in 1980 Conde Nast bought Gentleman’s Quarterly and set it up in competition with Esquire for the menswear lifestyle market.
https://www.hearst.com/magazines/esquire
We have copies of Apparel Arts going back to 1933 in Special Collections (212-217-4385, please make an appointment first) back to 1931 on microfilm in PERS.
Our holdings of Esquire begin in 1943 at the PERS desk (6th floor).
We have Gentleman’s Quarterly going back to 1969 on microfilm and 1983 in hard copies. We have a few bound volumes from the late 1950s and 1960s as well.
Mens’ lifestyle has become a hot topic lately, and many new magazines are being published with this theme. You can check out all the menswear magazines we subscribe to here:
http://fitnyc.libguides.com/periodicals-by-subject/menswear
Come and take a look!
Comments
2 responses to “Magazine of the Week”
Thank you.
[…] This title is published by our friends at Esquire which has been America’s longest running men’s “lifestyle” magazine. While Apparel Arts/GQ began in 1931, it was more focused on the menswear retailing business until 1958. Esquire was establish ed in 1933 in answer to the many retail customers taking Apparel Arts issues from shops. When GQ was purchased by Conde Nast in 1980, the two titles went into direct competition with one another. I wrote about this a month or two ago: Esquire’s 1000th issue! […]