Magazine

Yankee Magazine Covers | 1940s

As America changed for World War II, so did Yankee Magazine. Rations and patriotism made paper hard to come by, so Yankee downsized from a 9×12 inch digest size (which fit the old presses well) to a new and iconic 6×9 size. Yankee stopped its monthly issues but published two annual four-page flyers to keep […]

Cover of Yankee magazine's October 1949 issue. It features a black-and-white illustration of a country scene with farm produce under a stormy sky. The cover price is twenty-five cents.

October 1949 | A farm stand illustration by Beatrix Sagendorph

Photo Credit:
As America changed for World War II, so did Yankee Magazine. Rations and patriotism made paper hard to come by, so Yankee downsized from a 9×12 inch digest size (which fit the old presses well) to a new and iconic 6×9 size. Yankee stopped its monthly issues but published two annual four-page flyers to keep the company’s copyright. Readers were more than willing to wait for the publication to resume printing after the war as opposed to refunding their subscriptions. “In July 1945 he published a slim, 10-page issue of Yankee with these opening words: “With this issue Yankee returns to the old stand. We are back because our faith in the simple, everyday, honest things of life is as strong as ever.” Mel Allen, All Memories Invited, September 1985  Yankee Fun Fact: The early 1940’s brought a new member to the Yankee family. Yankee Publishing bought the then 147-year-old, Old Farmer’s Almanac from Little, Brown Publishing in Boston, and Robb Sagendorph became the almanac’s 11th editor. Here is a selection of 9 covers Yankee Magazine ran in the 1940s, all of which were on sale for 25 cents at time time.
April 1940 | "Two Boys," a reproduced painting by Frank Benson
April 1940 | “Two Boys,” a reproduced painting by Frank Benson
August 1941 | Cover Art by Beatrix Sagendorph
August 1941 | Cover Art by Beatrix Sagendorph
October 1942 | A famhouse photo by Alton Hall Blackington
October 1942 | A famhouse photo by Alton Hall Blackington
August 1945 | Canoeing down the river by Beatrix Thorne
August 1945 | Canoeing down the river by Beatrix Thorne
September 1946 | Inside the barn by Beatrix Sagendorph
September 1946 | Inside the barn by Beatrix Sagendorph
October 1947 | Fall chores by Beatrix Sagendorph
October 1947 | Fall chores by Beatrix Sagendorph
November 1948 | Cover by Beatrix Thorne Sagendorph
November 1948 | Cover by Beatrix Thorne Sagendorph
October 1949 | A farm stand illustration by Beatrix Sagendorph
October 1949 | A farm stand illustration by Beatrix Sagendorph

Taylor Thomas & Bethany Bourgault

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  1. I just like its plain message of broadcasting that it is the fall season, one of the most beautiful of seasons of the year, spring being the other. They are all good but I especially remember the Oct 1983 cover as being the first cover I received after signing up for a Yankee magazine subscription.

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