Celebrating The New Yorker’s 100th Anniversary: The 25th, 50th, and 75th Anniversary Issues
I thought it would be fun on this Friday, the day The New Yorker‘s 100th Anniversary issue closes, and just days before it is published, to take a quick look at how the magazine celebrated its other “big” milestones. If you have a subscription, you can spend a whole lot more time browsing these issues using your access to the archive.
The 25th Anniversary Issue: February 25, 1950:
Would it surprise you to learn that this milestone was barely mentioned in the 25th anniversary issue? Sidebar: It is the only anniversary issue of the three discussed in this post edited by the magazine’s founder, Harold Ross.
The Table Of Contents in those days was quite modest:
This is what you’ll find celebratory-wise, leading off a paragraph-length entry in The Talk Of The Town:
And that was that, no confetti-tossing, no trumpets-blaring in the issue. The 25th was celebrated with the publication of the must-haveThe New Yorker 25th Anniversary Album:
The 50th Anniversary Issue: February 24, 1975
If you thought the 25th anniversary issue was shy about celebrating itself, the 50th (as far as I can tell) had even less to say about the big anniversary. In fact (again, unless I missed something) it had nothing to say. Instead, it presented a parade of some of its stellar talent.
Editor William Shawn brought together some of the magazine’s “big” names for its golden anniversary: Steinberg, S.J. Perleman, Pauline Kael, E.B. White, Calvin Trillin, John Updike, John McPhee, Edward Koren, Arlene Croce…well, look below to see for yourself…
As with the 25th anniversary, there was another must-have “Album” of cartoons published:
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The 75th Anniversary: February 21 & 28, 2000
If you’re well-versed in the magazine’s anniversary issues, you might think, Hey wait a sec! That’s not the cover of the 75th anniversary issue. And you would be right.
Dear Spill visitor, please allow me this one omission. I never took to the 75th anniversary issue cover using a somewhat “famous” dog instead of our faithful friend, Eustace Tilley. If you want to see the dog, here’s a link.
Instead of that cover I’m bringing us back to basics by showing you the cover of the very first New Yorker Album of drawings, published in 1928.
Unlike the previous issues mentioned here, there was a three column piece (by Anthony Lane) devoted to the anniversary issue. Here’s how Mr. Lane concluded his essay:
Also in the issue: pieces drawn from the magazine’s archive, and a feature on cover art. As with the 50th anniversary issue, the Table of Contents drops a lot of names:
And as with the previous anniversaries mentioned, there was a collection of cartoons published (a “Collection” this time, not an “Album”):
And that brings us to the nearby future. On Monday there’ll be another milestone cover to add to the above (unless it’s a dog in a top hat).
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More 100 Stuff…
Audio Of Interest…David Remnick On The Brian Lehrer Show
The New Yorker‘s current editor, David Remnick joins host Brian Lehrer to discuss the magazine’s 100th. Listen here.
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GOAT At 100
The magazine celebrates Goings On About Town: “Goings On Turns One Hundred”