American Children's Periodicals: The American Boy

Figure 1.--This cover from "The American Boy" is the May 1932 issue. There is no hibt of the worsenung Depression. It shows a highschool boy in his bathrobe pressing his trousers with the suspenders dangling over the ironing board. Presumably he is preparing for a date. He is reading instructions on how to iron and his bedroom has college penants hanging on the wall. He is obviously aspiring to be a college boy.
The American Boy was one of three popular boys' magazines. William C. Sprague founded it in 1899. The magazine was published in Detroit, Michigan, The magazine cost $1 for a year's subscription (1901). The magazine proved an immediate success. The circulation reached 100,000 (1902) and continued to incease after that. We are not sure how they developed their circulation so rapidly, but note a clothing store was providing subscriptions as an enducement to purchase boys' clothing. The publisher was Sprague Publishing. They absorbed Youth's Companion, eliminating an important cometitor (1920). Important comptitors became Walter Camp's Boy's Magazine and the Boy Scout's Boy's Life. As with many of these magazines, the most important content was fiction. Short stories were primrily adventure stories. These often concerned the military and after the Wright Brothers achievement, aviatiin became very important. There almost always was a sports stiry. An important theme was victories of the righteous. Many sport stories were illustrated by Courtney Allen during the 1920s and 30s. Animal stories often concerning hunting were also popular. They were commonly illustrated by Paul Bransom or Charles Livingston Bull. To spark interest, there were a range of contests sponsored. One popular contest was for model airplanes. There were departments in every issue. Some of the popular ones were for stamp collectors, a comic page featuring a gag cartoon by the legendary Harrison Cady, hobbies, and sports tios. An important aspect of the magazine was the work of important illustrators--including Norman Rockwell. The advertisement were at the time mundane, but today provide valuable clues as to the producrs of interst to boys at the time.





HBC







Navigate the HBC literary pages' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Return to the Main America children's periodical page]
[Return to the main Main U.S. children's literary page]
[Return to the main Main literary page]



Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Clothing styles] [Countries]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Glossaries] [Images] [Links] [Registration] [Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]




Created: 10:27 PM 12/24/2008
Last updated: 10:27 PM 12/24/2008