Thu 31 Dec 2009
Taken in December of either 1902 or 1903…
For an image with considerably more detail, one in which you can actually read the titles, go to:
http://www.shorpy.com/node/7392?size=_original
UPDATE. [01-01-10] The Internet is wonderful. The copy of Scientific American along the top right edge of the extended newsstand is dated 13 December 1902. See below:
December 31st, 2009 at 4:33 pm
And think of this. You could have bought a copy of everything on the newsstand for under $5 most likely. Of course $5 was a pretty good chunk of change in 1902.
December 31st, 2009 at 6:38 pm
As far as pulp related magazines, I see an issue of Argosy and also Nick Carter’s Weekly. Fascinating photo.
December 31st, 2009 at 10:27 pm
Fascinating, indeed! I wonder what the most valuable magazine on this particular stand might be, to collectors today. The Argosy? Or maybe one of those other magazines has an author or cover artist in high demand today.
December 31st, 2009 at 10:37 pm
1902 -05 there is very likely a Wyeth, Pyle, Gibson or such in there somewhere. The mind boggleth.
January 1st, 2010 at 1:50 am
In the Update, I’ve pinpointed the year as 1902, and for what it’s worth (pun intended), the copy of SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN that I found for sale on the Internet was offered for sale at $54 in rather tatty condition.
January 1st, 2010 at 10:09 am
Something about old photos captivate me. I studied every detail in this old shot. Very cool.
January 1st, 2010 at 10:53 am
Steve asks which magazine on the newstand is the most valuable to collectors today. He suggests the Argosy or an issue with a collectible artist.
I once bought a run of late 1890’s and early 1900’s Argosy for $5.00 each and had a terrible time trying to read them. I finally gave up and had problems selling them. Eventually I gladly found a buyer for the same price I paid, $5.00 each. So except for the Oct 1896 issue which may be the first pulp, I’d say the Argosy is not particularly valuable.
What probably is most valuable thing is not a magazine at all but the interesting art print of the British soldiers fighting in the Boer War. We think now of the Boer War to be old news but at the time of this photo it was very recent indeed.
January 1st, 2010 at 5:11 pm
Outstanding post, Steve! A real pleasure to examine in detail.
January 1st, 2010 at 6:03 pm
Walker
I had the same experience with Argosy from this period. A little later on specific writers on the cover push up the value of certain issues, but all in all Argosy never seems to have been one of the really collectible pulps. As for the Nick Carter’s I’ve never paid more than $12 for one from that era in very good condition which is why I tend to think one of the magazines with illustrations by a Wyeth, Pyle, Gibson, Parrish, some of the others might be the real collectors piece of this grouping.
Not that I wouldn’t want to read all of them if given the chance.
January 1st, 2010 at 8:37 pm
Did a little research and found some Colliers in this general era with ads or other art done by Maxfield Parrish and Lydendecker selling in the $100 range, though most issues run from $3 to $20. I suspect some of the later issues with either Frederic Dorr Steele illustrated Sherlock Holmes material or J. C. Coll illustrated Fu Manchu would run a bit higher. Colliers went under a major transformation in 1903 with a new editor.
I would be willing to bet that’s the prize value wise shown here. The Colliers cover depicted here of a Victorian (Dickensian) fellow standing and reading by the hearth looks to be the prize though that Santa Claus cover might bring a bit. Down at the bottom you’ll notice MYSTERY OF MYSTERIES which was magazine of the occult and might bring a bit as well. Still you never can tell, it’s an almost impossible market to predict. That Sunset might be worth something too as they often featured important artists and writers of the era.
Still I wouldn’t mind owning that Boer war print.