Appreciation
11.15.09
The First Issue (Part 1)
Here is a small collection of pop-culture/entertainment debut issues...
In chronological order:
Billboard, November 11, 1894, (originally titled: "Billboard Advertising").
TV Guide, April 3, 1953
Rolling Stone, November 9, 1967.
Roger Black tells SPD that he believe that the AD for the first issue of Rolling Stone was John Williams, who was Dugald Stermer's assistant at Ramparts. Roger says, "The story goes that that Jann had been some kind of arts editor for Warren Hinckle's Sunday Ramparts, a kind of SF strike paper 1966-67 era. The first RS was pasted up on the boards of the paper. Hence the Oxford rules and the Times bold caps heads, a nod to the Times of London."
UPDATE: John Williams was the art director of Rolling Stone for the first 12 issues. He had been alternately production manager and consulting AD at Ramparts, and knew Wenner through both Ramparts and the Sunday Ramparts newspaper. --RN
Interview, November 1969, (originally titled: "Inter/VIEW, A Monthly Film Journal").
Best we can find, Andy Warhol had art directed the first issue
People Weekly, March 4, 1974 (art director: Elton Robinson).
SPIN, May 1985, (art director: Bob Guccione, Jr.).
Us, July 1, 1985, (art director: Robert Priest).
While, this is not technically the first issue of Us, its the first we could find of the Wenner Media (then, monthly) days. Us was founded in 1977 by The New York Times Company and sold in 1980. Thanks to Liz Betts for digging this one up.
Premiere, July/August 1987, (Art Director: Robert Best).
Robert tells SPD: "I was part of the start up of Premiere, seven weeks start to finish with a hand full of people."
Entertainment Weekly, Feb 16, 1990, (art director: Michael Grossman).
VIBE, Fall 1992 "preview issue", and September 1993 "premiere issue" (art director: Gary Koepke).
Do you have a first issue to share? E-mail us a JPG to mail@spd.org
[Additional reporting by Robert Newman]
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