''McCall's'' was a monthly
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
women's
magazine
A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
, published by the
McCall Corporation
McCall Corporation was an American publishing company that produced some popular magazines. These included ''Redbook'' for women, ''Bluebook'' for men, ''McCall's'', the '' Saturday Review'', and ''Popular Mechanics''. It also published ''Better L ...
, that enjoyed great popularity through much of the 20th century, peaking at a readership of 8.4 million in the early 1960s. It was established as a small-format magazine called ''The Queen'' in 1873. In 1897 it was renamed ''McCall's Magazine—The Queen of Fashion'' (later shortened to ''McCall's'') and subsequently grew in size to become a large-format glossy. It was one of the "
Seven Sisters" group of women's service magazines.
''McCall's'' published fiction by such well-known authors as
Alice Adams,
Lester Atwell
Lester Atwell (July 31, 1908 – April 30, 2001) was a novelist, short-story writer and US veteran from Brooklyn. His most notable works include ''Private'', ''Love is Just Around the Corner'' and ''Life with its Sorrow, Life with its Tear''.
Mi ...
,
Ray Bradbury
Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and r ...
,
Gelett Burgess
Frank Gelett Burgess (January 30, 1866 – September 18, 1951) was an American artist, art critic, poet, author and humorist. An important figure in the San Francisco Bay Area literary renaissance of the 1890s, particularly through his iconoclast ...
,
Willa Cather
Willa Sibert Cather (; born Wilella Sibert Cather; December 7, 1873 – April 24, 1947) was an American writer known for her novels of life on the Great Plains, including ''O Pioneers!'', '' The Song of the Lark'', and ''My Ántonia''. In 1923, ...
,
Jack Finney
Walter Braden "Jack" Finney (born John Finney; October 2, 1911 – November 14, 1995) was an American writer. His best-known works are science fiction and thrillers, including ''The Body Snatchers'' and '' Time and Again''. The former was the ba ...
,
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...
,
Barbara Garson
Barbara Garson (born July 7, 1941, Brooklyn) is an American playwright, author and social activist, perhaps best known for the play '' MacBird!''
Education and personal life
Garson attended the University of California, Berkeley, where she e ...
,
John Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. (; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer and the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature winner "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social ...
,
Tim O'Brien,
Tony J. Caridi,
Anne Tyler
Anne Tyler (born October 25, 1941) is an American novelist, short story writer, and literary critic. She has published twenty-four novels, including ''Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant'' (1982), ''The Accidental Tourist'' (1985), and '' Breathin ...
and
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American writer known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. In a career spanning over 50 years, he published fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and ...
.
Features
From June 1949 until her death in November 1962,
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...
wrote a ''McCall's'' column, "If You Ask Me". The former First Lady gave brief answers to questions sent into the magazine.
Starting in May 1951, and lasting until at least 1995, Betsy McCall paper dolls were printed in most issues. Children could cut out the printed dolls and clothing, or for a small fee (10¢ in 1957, 25¢ in 1967) paper dolls printed on cardboard could be ordered. Betsy McCall became so popular that various sized vinyl dolls were produced by
Ideal
Ideal may refer to:
Philosophy
* Ideal (ethics), values that one actively pursues as goals
* Platonic ideal, a philosophical idea of trueness of form, associated with Plato
Mathematics
* Ideal (ring theory), special subsets of a ring considere ...
and
American Character Dolls.
Another popular feature which ran for many years was the cartoon panel "It's All in the Family" by
Stan and Jan Berenstain
Stanley Melvin Berenstain (September 29, 1923 – November 26, 2005) and Janice Marian Berenstain (née Grant; July 26, 1923 – February 24, 2012) were American writers and illustrators best known for creating the children's book seri ...
. A pair of pioneering female illustrators,
Jessie Willcox Smith
Jessie Willcox Smith (September 6, 1863 – May 3, 1935) was an American illustrator during the Golden Age of American illustration. She was considered "one of the greatest pure illustrators". A contributor to books and magazines during the lat ...
and
Neysa McMein
Neysa Moran McMein (born Marjorie Frances McMein; January 24, 1888 – May 12, 1949) was an American illustrator and portrait painter who studied at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago and Art Students League of New York. She began her ca ...
, drew dozens of ''McCall's'' cover portraits.
Film critic
Pauline Kael
Pauline Kael (; June 19, 1919 – September 3, 2001) was an American film critic who wrote for ''The New Yorker'' magazine from 1968 to 1991. Known for her "witty, biting, highly opinionated and sharply focused" reviews, Kael's opinions oft ...
worked at ''McCall's'' from 1965 to 1966, and was reportedly fired after writing a highly unfavorable review of ''
The Sound of Music
''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. Se ...
''.
Sewing patterns and ''The Queen of Fashion''
In 1870, Scottish immigrant James McCall began designing and printing his own line of sewing patterns. As a means of advertising his patterns, McCall founded a four-page fashion journal entitled ''The Queen: Illustrating McCall's Bazaar Glove-Fitting Patterns''.
When McCall died in 1884, his widow became president of McCall Company, and hired Mrs. George Bladsworth as magazine editor. Mrs. Bladsworth held the position until 1891. Though still mainly a vehicle to sell McCall's sewing patterns, ''The Queen'' began to publish homemaking and handiwork information, and by 1890 had expanded to 12 pages.
In 1891, the magazine's name became ''The Queen of Fashion'', and the cost for a year's subscription was 30 cents.
In 1893, James Henry Ottley took over the McCall Company. He increased the subscription price to 50 cents a year, increased the number of pages to between 16 and 30 per issue, and began to publish articles on children's issues, health, beauty, and foreign travel.
In order to reflect the magazine's expanded range of topics, the name was changed to ''McCall's Magazine—The Queen of Fashion'' in 1897. In time, the name would be shortened to ''McCall's.''
Despite the name changes, for many years information on McCall's patterns filled an average of 20 percent of the magazine's pages.
''McCall's Magazine''
![McCalls Magazine Fashion Print c 1916](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/McCalls_Magazine_Fashion_Print_c_1916.jpg)
In 1913, the magazine was purchased by the banking firm of
White Weld & Co., which organized the
McCall Corporation
McCall Corporation was an American publishing company that produced some popular magazines. These included ''Redbook'' for women, ''Bluebook'' for men, ''McCall's'', the '' Saturday Review'', and ''Popular Mechanics''. It also published ''Better L ...
under the direction of president Edward Alfred Simmons. In 1917, the price was raised to 10 cents per issue.
In 1922, Harry Payne Burton became editor, and for the first time such well-known fiction writers as
Kathleen Norris
Kathleen Thompson Norris (July 16, 1880 – January 18, 1966) was an American novelist and newspaper columnist. She was one of the most widely read and highest paid female writers in the United States for nearly fifty years, from 1911 to 1959. N ...
,
Harold Bell Wright
Harold Bell Wright (May 4, 1872 – May 24, 1944) was a best-selling American writer of fiction, essays, and nonfiction. Although mostly forgotten or ignored after the middle of the 20th century, he had a very successful career; he is said to hav ...
,
Zane Grey
Pearl Zane Grey (January 31, 1872 – October 23, 1939) was an American author and dentist. He is known for his popular adventure novels and stories associated with the Western genre in literature and the arts; he idealized the American frontie ...
and
Booth Tarkington
Newton Booth Tarkington (July 29, 1869 – May 19, 1946) was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his novels ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' (1918) and '' Alice Adams'' (1921). He is one of only four novelists to win the Pulitze ...
had stories published in McCall's.
In 1928, the 23-year-old associate editor, Otis Wiese, was promoted to editor. He believed "women were ready for more significant fiction than
Gene Stratton-Porter
Gene Stratton-Porter (August 17, 1863 – December 6, 1924), born Geneva Grace Stratton, was an American author, nature photographer, and naturalist from Wabash County, Indiana. In 1917 Stratton-Porter urged legislative support for the conservat ...
" and suggested that McCall's sell Burton's acquisitions of popular fiction to ''
Ladies Home Journal
''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States. In 18 ...
'' and ''
Woman's Home Companion
''Woman's Home Companion'' was an American monthly magazine, published from 1873 to 1957. It was highly successful, climbing to a circulation peak of more than four million during the 1930s and 1940s. The magazine, headquartered in Springfield, O ...
''. Such radical ideas caused Wiese to be fired at least six times within his first year as editor, but he was always rehired because, as he put it, "there was no one else around the place with ideas."
![McCall Homemaking Cover, Jinx Falkenberg in Calif](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/McCall_Homemaking_Cover%2C_Jinx_Falkenberg_in_Calif..jpg)
In 1932, Wiese changed the format to what he called Three Magazines in One. Three sections—News and Fiction, Homemaking, Style and Beauty—had their own cover, and each contained ads tailored to its contents.
A survey was conducted that showed fiction was a major attraction for female magazine readers, and in 1937 ''McCall's'' became the first women's magazine to print a complete novel in one issue.
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...
was attacked on December 7, 1941, and Otis Wiese immediately revamped the February 1942 issue then in preparation. A frilly valentine cover was replaced with a woman wearing an "I've Enlisted" consumer pledge button. Readers were asked to sign a pledge that stated "As a consumer, in the total defense of democracy, I will do my part to make my country ready, efficient and strong. I will buy carefully. I will take good care of the things I have. I will waste nothing." Within three weeks, 150,000 readers signed the pledge and sent in a coupon printed in the magazine. During World War II, all women's magazines took on a patriotic slant, but ''McCall's'' received much positive press coverage for being the first magazine to do so. ''McCall's'' began a "Washington Newsletter" section, which provided information on rationing and conservation.
During the post-war era, fiction was no longer such an important draw for readers; they wanted more articles and picture spreads. To provide lively nonfiction Wiese hired two former ''Look'' magazine editors. Daniel Danforth Mich became editorial director, and Henry Ehrlich was named managing editor.
''McCall's'' Three Magazines in One format was discontinued in 1950.
In 1954 Wiese began to reformat ''McCall's'' with a "Togetherness" slogan; it was announced that the magazine would no longer be just for women, but aimed at the entire family. During this time period paid circulation was 4.5 million per issue.
In 1953, financier
Norton Simon
Norton Winfred Simon (February 5, 1907 – June 2, 1993) was an American industrialist and philanthropist. He was at one time one of the wealthiest men in America. At the time of his death, he had amassed a net worth of nearly US$10 billion.
...
began purchasing shares of McCall Corporation, and in 1956, Simon's group of investors was in control of the corporation.
In 1958, Simon named
Arthur B. Langlie
Arthur Bernard Langlie (July 25, 1900 – July 24, 1966) was an American politician who served as the mayor of Seattle, Washington and was the 12th and 14th governor of the U.S. state of Washington from 1941 to 1945 and 1949 to 1957. To date ...
as president of the company. Otis Wiese, who had been vice president, as well as editor and publisher of ''McCall's'', had expected to be named president. When Langlie was named to the position, Wiese and a number of staffers resigned in protest.
A ''Business Week'' article stated "The house of togetherness had come apart at the seams." Simon replaced Wiese with
Herbert Mayes, who had been editor of ''Good Housekeeping''.
Mayes did away with the "Togetherness" slant, and came up with a new slogan, "First Magazine For Women."
He introduced additional color pages, and used more fiction. In 1962 Mayes became president and CEO of McCall Corporation.
From 1962 to 1965, John Mack Carter was editor of ''McCall's''. Under his leadership, circulation rose to 8.4 million, making it the third most popular magazine in the United States after ''
Reader's Digest
''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...
'' and ''
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...
''.
In 1965, Carter left to become editor of ''Ladies' Home Journal''. A rapid succession of editors followed Carter, including Robert Stein and James Fixx.
In 1969, ''Life'' magazine columnist
Shana Alexander
Shana Alexander (October 6, 1925 – June 23, 2005) was an American journalist. Although she became the first woman staff writer and columnist for ''Life'' magazine, she was best known for her participation in the "Point-Counterpoint" debate seg ...
was named editor. Alexander had no editing experience, and at the time of her appointment stated "I have to educate myself about women's magazines, but I think I know something about women." Alexander left in 1971.
Robert Stein was editor from 1972 to 1986. During Stein's tenure, ''McCalls'' gained the slogan / subtitle "The Magazine for Suburban Women."
After Stein left, the quick turnover of editors returned.
Change in ownership
Ownership of ''McCall's'' began to change nearly as fast as editors came and went. Norton Simon sold ''McCall's'' to the
Pritzker family
The Pritzker family is an American family engaged in entrepreneurship and philanthropy, and List of wealthiest families, one of the wealthiest families in the United States of America (staying in the top 10 of ''Forbes'' magazine's "America's Riche ...
in 1973. Norton Simon kept the McCall pattern business, which continues under different ownership. In 1986, McCall's Publishing Company was bought by
Time Inc.
Time Inc. was an American worldwide mass media corporation founded on November 28, 1922, by Henry Luce and Briton Hadden and based in New York City. It owned and published over 100 magazine brands, including its namesake ''Time'', ''Sports Illu ...
and Lang Communications.
In 1989, ''McCall's'' was sold to
The New York Times Company
The New York Times Company is an American mass media company that publishes ''The New York Times''. Its headquarters are in Manhattan, New York City.
History
The company was founded by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones in New York City. T ...
, and in 1994, German-based
Gruner + Jahr Gruner may refer to:
People
* Dov Gruner (1912–1947), Jewish Zionist leader
* Eduard Gruner, Swiss engineer
* Elioth Gruner (1882–1939), Australian painter
* Gottlieb Sigmund Gruner (1717–1778), Swiss cartographer and geologist
* Klaus ...
announced plans to purchase their magazine business.
Change to ''Rosie''
In 2000, entertainer
Rosie O'Donnell
Roseann O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American comedian, television producer, actress, author, and television personality. She began her comedy career as a teenager and received her breakthrough on the television series ''Star Search'' ...
became editorial director of ''McCall's''.
In 2001 ''McCall's'' was renamed ''
Rosie''.
O'Donnell stated, "I wanted a magazine that celebrates real women, that understands that they care about more than waistlines or the latest makeup styles or fashions, that they want to be relevant and help each other and care about the world."
''Rosie'' ceased publication at the end of 2002. O'Donnell said in a statement "I decided I could not participate in a magazine that bears my name when I could not be assured it would reflect my vision, values and editorial direction."
After publication of the long-running magazine ended, a highly publicized legal battle between O'Donnell and her publisher,
Gruner + Jahr Gruner may refer to:
People
* Dov Gruner (1912–1947), Jewish Zionist leader
* Eduard Gruner, Swiss engineer
* Elioth Gruner (1882–1939), Australian painter
* Gottlieb Sigmund Gruner (1717–1778), Swiss cartographer and geologist
* Klaus ...
, began in 2003. Ultimately, the judge ruled against both sides and dismissed the case. Gruner + Jahr exited the U.S. magazine business in 2005, selling its women's magazine portfolio to the
Meredith Corporation
Meredith Corporation was an American media conglomerate based in Des Moines, Iowa, that owned magazines, television stations, websites, and radio stations. Its publications had a readership of more than 120 million and paid circulation of more ...
and its business magazine portfolio to Mansueto Ventures.
References
External links
Betsy McCall Paper Dolls''McCall's Magazine'' archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mccall's
Fashion magazines published in the United States
Monthly magazines published in the United States
Defunct women's magazines published in the United States
Magazines established in 1897
Magazines disestablished in 2002
Women's fashion magazines