magazine

The Golden State Scientist

Despite dying at only 28, Edward M. Haight (1863-1891) established a busy career as an enthusiastic naturalist, collector, taxidermist, and publisher. The Golden State Scientist is one of three serials that he edited in the late 1880s, and it is by far the scarcest. This was the only issue ever published, and only 450 copies made it into print, owing to “the many blunders made in the advertisements." Only about a dozen copies survive in libraries today.

The Cabinet of Natural History

Botanicals and books on zoology, insect, and marine life are important sources for design and ornament; coloration and patterns from the natural world inspire artists and designers in many ways. The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Library has a great collection of these resources available for study. The Cabinet was published as monthly issues and contains entries on the natural history of various species in America as well as accounts of hunting expeditions.

Wendingen: Vol. 4: No. 11 (1921)

El Lissitzky (1890-1941) was a Russian avant-garde artist, designer, photographer, typographer, and architect whose work greatly influenced the Bauhaus and constructivist movements. His experimentation with techniques and styles went on to dominate 20th Century graphic design. Lissitzky designed this cover of Wendingen, an international Dutch magazine focusing on modern architecture, art, and design from 1918-1931. This issue was dedicated entirely to Frank Lloyd Wright with text by H.P.

[Articles and Clippings Relating to British Railways]

The Caledonian railway, or The Caley as it was fondly named, was a Scottish railway system that connected Scotland to London from the 1840’s until its dissolution in the 1920’s. This compilation of book excerpts, articles, news clippings, and advertisements chronicles and romanticizes the waning decades of the Caledonian Railway from the turn of the century until 1923 when The Caley was absorbed into the London, Midland, and Scottish Railway by The Railways Act of 1921, an act that streamlined 120 individual British railway systems into just four.

The Godey's Lady's Book Receipts and Household Hints

The Godey’s Lady’s Book was a widely read journal that pioneered the field of women’s magazines. When first published in 1830, it included mainly images of the current fashions, but later it expanded to include fiction, essays, and recipes. In 1870, the magazine published its first cookbook, The Godey’s Lady’s Book Receipts and Household Hints. The book is a compilation of featured recipes along with a chapter of household and cooking advice. The chapter ends on a playful note with a poem —each couplet is a cooking tip or proverb.

And the Migrants Kept Coming

A rare eight-page reprint of Jacob Lawrence’s The Migration of the Negro (Series) for Fortune Magazine, November 1941. Lawrence, educated at the Harlem Community Art Center and the American Artists School in New York, worked on WPA mural projects in the city. In 1940 he created this series of colorful paintings, illustrating the migration of African-Americans from the south to northern industrial centers such as New York, Philadelphia, and Detroit.  The Fortune article was the first time a mainstream magazine published the work of an African-American artist.