Library Research

     After examining the April 21, 1930 issue of Time Magazine, I noticed some interesting things.  When first opening the issue, I realized there was a substantial amount of advertisement throughout the entire publication.  Second, the overall content of the articles published within was quite different to current-day articles.
     Plainand simply put, some of the advertisements in this issue were bizarre and unnecessary in a nationally recognized magazine.  Specifically, there is one article persuading people to use Zenitherm Walls and Floors from New York, New York.  The company specialized in laying floors that, “looks and wears like marble, yet is worked like wood.”  Even though some people do lay fake marble floors in their homes or establishments, it does not pertain to the general population of readers. I was simply surprised that such a specific advertisement would be in a national magazine that reaches out to the general population of the United States.  For those people who do not live in New York, this company is not available to them for flooring purposes.
     Another advertisement I found interesting was one about the state of Colorado.  The article claimed that one can “…do more, see more, get more rest and have more fun in Colorful Colorado.”  Even though I do not doubt that Colorado is a wonderful state, seeing Time Magazine advertise it in this way is shocking.  The advertisement did not provide specific attractions in Colorado besides briefly mentioning that there is the Continental Divide.  I found it comical that at the end of the advertisement there is a dotted line, and below the dotted line is an ordering form for a “Colorado book”.  Realizing that magazines today include ordering forms for specific products, I found it bizarre that Time in 1930 would dedicate an entire page for such a vague advertisement.  I am interested in finding out how many readers actually purchased this book about Colorado!
     One of the more unusual articles was in the ‘Animals’ section of the issue.  The article, titled ‘Tiger Man’ covered a story about Latvian tiger hunter Alexander Siemel.  Siemel left his home in Latvia when he was 16 and began tiger hunting in Brazil shortly after.  This article nonchalantly details the killing of tigers in foreign countries.  Describing that if the tigers are shot through the heart, the beasts sometimes live long enough to claw a hunting dog to death was just a part of the bizarreness of this article.  The article goes on to say that Siemel, over the past 2 years, has killed a total of 107 tigers.  This is a sickly statistic; mainly because the article puts Siemel into a category of ‘tiger-hunter’ meaning he is not the only tiger-hunter in the world.  Thinking that all these tigers were killed just a few decades ago makes me appreciate today’s laws against hunting tigers.
     The ‘Cimema’ section of the Time issue also caught my attention.  There is a small portion of one page that highlights awards.  It was not until I began to read the tidbit that I realized it was recapping the Academy Awards!  I found it humorous that they described the prizes as, “little good statues, given out at a dinner in the Ambassador Hotel in Hollywood.”  The way in which they described the statues was amusing considering today, many people from around the world recognize the Academy Award statuettes.  I then proceeded to research when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences began holding an Academy Awards ceremony.  I discovered it started in 1929, just one year before this issue was published.  Today, entire magazines are published recapping one single Academy Awards ceremony, and it was interesting that this Time issue covered the entire event in a 4-sentence column.  Also, back in 1930, the cost of guest tickets for the night’s ceremony was only $5.  Being nominated for an award, let alone being invited to attend the Academy Awards, is very uncommon today and reserved for simply the elite.
     Examining a 1930 issue of Time Magazine has made me realize how much the magazine industry has evolved in the past 80 years.  The advertisements and articles in today’s publications have switched focus from those in the past.  I am thoroughly interested in looking back in 50 years to see what changes have been made since 2011 and what I find bizarre and shocking from today’s periodicals.