National Geographic

I was at a book store today and an elderly couple outside the store asked me if I wanted some National Geographic magazines for free. I declined at first but then accepted. It turned out that "some magazines" meant that I now have every issue of National Geographic from 1948 to the present plus all of the special issues in between. My question is, outside of the material, which I like, did I just add 600lbs of paper to my library or are there some real gems to be discovered. I have always been a casual reader of NG so I am woefully uninformed about their "collectability"

National Geographic ,USA magazines do come in CD ROM version for PC thus saving library space.

If someone need a particular issue of a magazine, or liked to read a particular magazine or journal it will become a "collectibile". If you intend to discard, ask your nearest public library's authority whether they want old issues of NG for posterity and used as reference(archive).

Just had to laugh about the 600 lbs... I recall an article I once read in the Journal of Irreproducible Results proving that tectonic shift is caused by the weight of NatGeos stacked in garages and attics worldwide.

OK, back on my head... ;-)

There are few that are collected in that era. For NG to be collectable in itself, they usually have to be from before 1920, even earlier. From that era, the issue w/ the color spread on uniforms, medals, etc. from WWII is popular, as is the Aug. 1969 map of the moon (if it's still there). There are others. Haunt ebay for a few weeks and you'll see what I mean.

There is a Disneyland issue from August 1963 that has interest among those collectors. It is quite findable of course but more interesting than the put it under a table leg to balance it variety.

James

I too have loads of National Geographics stored in boxes now .Collectability depeds on completeness of the years, condition, the age (earlier pre1950) are considered v collectable. Also special issues eg one on African gold,others on paleoanthropology are worth keeping but they are great space consumers. I once heard the comment "save a tree and cancel your subscription to Nat Geographic", Funnily my niece has told me that as a kid the one thing about my library that really impressed her were the Nat Geogs! She's now a corporate lawyer and I've said she can have my NG collection. By the way they sell at about $0.50 equivalent each at the local charity store- how does that compare with USAprice levels?

When we were kids National Geographic was the only magazine in the house we weren't allowed to cut up!

Yes that is about right. they were part of one's education along with an encyclopaedia,Arthur Mee, and Readers Digest. took me a good few years before I bought an Encyclopaedia Britannica and now who needs except for the pleasure of the book as a tangible object.

Funny, I have been asked to tote away NGs by the pound at used bookshops and thrift stores as well.

Second hand book stores are desperate to sell you their NG stock, I've experienced. At one point I was thinking about collecting pre-1960 but space concerns are an issue. However, those new NG slipcases (the brown ones with the NG logo) are very tempting and a whole shelf lined with them surely are beautiful.



While searching, I've found some interesting shelf choices and combinations, although the last one is probably undesirable: