''Stag'' was the name of various

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 ...

men's magazines This is a list of magazines primarily marketed to men. The list has been split into subcategories according to the target audience of the magazines. This list includes mostly mainstream magazines as well as adult ones. Not included here are auto ...

published from the 1930s through at least the 1990s.

Publication history

First publication

The first ''Stag'', published by Leeds Publishing Corp., beginning with vol. 1, #1 (June 1937), was a 25-cent, 96-page, digest subtitled "A Magazine for Men" and which included articles and stories by such writers as

Carleton Beals Carleton Beals (November 13, 1893 – April 4, 1979) was an American journalist, writer, historian, and political activist with special interests in Latin America. A major journalistic coup for him was his interview with Nicaraguan rebel, August ...

Elsa Maxwell Elsa Maxwell (May 24, 1883 – November 1, 1963) was an American gossip columnist and author, songwriter, screenwriter, radio personality and professional hostess renowned for her parties for royalty and high society figures of her day. Max ...

Bernard Sobel Bernard Sobel (1887–1964) was an American playwright, a drama critic for the ''New York Daily Mirror'', an author of a number of books on theatre and theatre history, and a publicist. Career Among his clients were Florenz Ziegfeld, Charles Dil ...

, and

Hendrik Willem van Loon Hendrik Willem van Loon (January 14, 1882 – March 11, 1944) was a Dutch-American historian, journalist, and children's book author. Life He was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands, the son of Hendrik Willem van Loon and Elisabeth Johanna Hanken. ...

. It covered a range of topics, including literature, music, sports, and theater, along with stories on male-female relationships, sexual issues, and such topics as striptease.

Second publication

A second ''Stag'', published by Official Com. Inc. and edited by Noah Sarlat, appeared circa 1951 as a 25-cent, 82-page, standard-sized

men's adventure Men's adventure is a genre of magazine that was published in the United States from the 1940s until the early 1970s. Catering to a male audience, these magazines featured pin-up girls and lurid tales of adventure that typically featured wartime fe ...

magazine. This version, containing ostensibly "true-life" fiction of men in wartime or in rugged adventure mode, continued through at least volume 22 in 1971. In 1958, Martin Goodman took over the magazine, using first his Atlas Magazines imprint, and then switching to his

Magazine Management Magazine Management Co., Inc. was an American publishing company lasting from at least 1947 to the early 1970s, known for men's-adventure magazines, risque men's magazines, humor, romance, puzzle, celebrity/film and other types of magazines, and ...

imprint circa 1970 with the cover price rising to 50 cents. In 1953, the publisher at the time threatened fledgling magazine founder Hugh Hefner with a

trademark infringement Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attached to a trademark without the authorization of the trademark owner or any licensees (provided that such authorization was within the scope of the licence). Infringement may ...

lawsuit unless he changed the name of his planned men's magazine, ''Stag Party''; Hefner redubbed the magazine ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...

''. Goodman also published the annual publication ''Stag Annual'', starting in 1964. Writer Dorothy Gallagher reminisced in 1998 that by the early 1960s, when Magazine Management occupied the second floor at 60th Street and Madison Avenue, Cover illustrators included Frank Soltesz. Bruce Minney, and Mort Kunstler.

Transition to pornography

''Stag'' transitioned to become a men's

pornographic Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,

magazine, published by Goodman's son Charles "Chip" Goodman at Magazine Management's successor company, Swank Publications. The

Magna Publishing Group Magna Publishing Group, Inc. is an American publishing company headquartered in Paramus, New Jersey. Founded in 1975, the company publishes a number of magazine titles and is one of the largest publishers of pornographic magazines in the United ...

bought ''Stag'' and its sister publication '' Swank'' from that company in 1993.

References

{{reflist

External links

''Stag'' magazine covers 1949-78 at Galactic Central
Pornographic magazines published in the United States Men's magazines published in the United States Pornographic men's magazines Men's adventure magazines Magazines established in 1937 Magazines with year of disestablishment missing Defunct magazines published in the United States