Our new house has less storage space so I've been motivated to go through all my boxes of magazines and recycle/bring away a lot of them to make some much needed wiggle-room. While doing this, I've discovered some old gems, the most touching being the re-discovery of the first magazine I ever subscribed to: The Miniature Magazine. I bought an issue in 1981 (when I was wee!) from a magazine rack (remember when stands in stores had all kinds of neat, strange things to offer?) and was hooked! I already was enjoying miniatures but this magazine opened up the mini world (and the world in general) in such a deep and profound way that now, almost 40 years later, I remember almost every page, every picture! It was a bizarre and beautiful experience, to go through page by page and have a clear recollection of what would appear when I turned the pages. Obviously this magazine made a very lasting impression!
One article in particular about a stunning house called Laven Dell was very helpful in that it talked about how expensive miniatures were and how to embrace our creativity to make our own items from inexpensive things.
The lasting power of the printed word...
Other magazines were remarkable in how much they changed over the years. The Teddy and doll magazines all SHRANK an incredible amount over the decades, and now sadly so many have completely disappeared or gone online only.
For example, Haute Doll: this magazine was the "Vogue" of the doll community, a bit risqué and avant garde and beautifully photographed (whether you agreed with the contents or not). In its glory days, an issue would consist of 114+/- color pages. Then, in May 2011 it merged with Doll Reader and the two magazines together only numbered 64 pages. 2016 seems to be when the name was dropped entirely and now only Dolls Magazine continues as a printed and digital publication. Is there any magazine out there that replaces Haute Doll? Let me know please!
Closer to my heart, the Teddy magazines didn't fare any better. In the years that I subscribed, Teddy Bear and Friends was a full-bodied magazine, half black and white, that ran about 120+/- pages. June 1997 had 144 pages! Then things started to whittle down and by 2014 they were printing issues with only 46+/- pages. So sad!
Teddy Bear Review was always somewhat smaller and more a light read but it still had just under a 100 pages or so before they also shrank. It merged with Teddy Bear and Friends in 2012 and then Teddy Bear and Friends just in the past year or so merged with the British publication Teddy Bear Times. There is still a printed issue (but you can preview a virtual one here). Other magazines like Teddy Today disappeared all together.
(I did not follow the British or Australian magazines so I have no insight into their publications.)
I would like to add that I was honored to appear in various Teddy magazines numerous times: my most treasured memory was seeing my Quin the Rat in Teddy Bear and Friends in 2003 (see the page to the left) and then being interviewed for a spotlight article in Teddy Bear Review in 2007! (see the three pages below)
Do you have a favorite Teddy, doll or miniature magazine that is still being produced? If so, please leave a comment so we can take a look and support what remains of our printed community!
