Sports Illustrated is considered the benchmark when it comes to weekly magazines covering the world of sports. Originally conceived and launched in 1954, it is now the nation's largest sports magazine, published weekly by Time Warner. Its weekly print circulation is better than 3.1 million and its web traffic ranks among the highest of the web's sports sites. This lot includes elements from the early stages of what has become the top selling sports magazine in history.
The first part of the lot comes in the form of an “inception” letter, dated February 17, 1954, and typed out on Time letterhead. It is sent by Bill Clark, a Time employee who was repping “the new magazine,” to advertising executive Harvey Mann of the Weiss & Geller group in Chicago. It was accompanied by a dummy version of the magazine, a prototype of sorts. In the “pitch” letter to Mann, Clark explains that Time is considering launching a new weekly sports magazine and is seeking any suggestions and/or ideas from Mann on how to make it better. Excerpts from the letter include: “I can now tell you that we do expect to produce a new magazine, and while the first issue for [public distribution will not appear until late next summer, I thought that you might be interested in seeing our first dummy.” Another reads: “In the next few months our editors will be working overtime looking for new ways to improve their product…I will greatly appreciate any suggestions you may have that will help us make it a better and more valuable magazine.” It is part of a presentation that includes two more pages covering page specs and proposed advertising rates. A cover price of 25 cents per issue is included.
A pair of “dummy” issues (prototypes) for the “new weekly sport magazine” are included in the lot, one dated December 5, 1953, and the second dated April 19, 1954. The first is a 144-page effort and has a full bleed cover photo of fans in the stands, while the second runs 136 pages deep and shows an unidentified golfer on the cover teeing off at what appears to be Pebble Beach. What’s more, the actual first three editions of the weekly sports magazine are part of the lot including the inaugural issue (dated August 16, 1954) with Milwaukee Braves slugger Eddie Mathews swinging through at the plate gracing the cover. Mathews has signed the issue in black across the front. The 148-page effort includes its original six-page color pullout of Topps baseball cards featuring players such as Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays and Ted Williams. Although the premier issue is a hugely popular collectible, the accompanying second and third issues are far more rare. The last piece to this historical lot is an original one-year anniversary issue of Sports Illustrated (dated August 15, 1955) that repeats a smaller version of the original cover shot on its cover placed inside a white border that includes the cover lines: “ONE YEAR OLD THIS WEEK: America’s First National Sports Weekly.” This is an incredible collection of sports print history all rolled into one!
Includes Letter of Provenance from the Newport Sports Museum.
Pre-certified by PSA/DNA.