Description
Collector's Note – Why This Issue Matters
This September 1942 issue of Esquire arrives during the first full year of American involvement in the Second World War, reflected directly in its lead article, "The 'Death-and-Glory Boys,'" by Linton Wells, documenting the RMS and the considerable wartime risks faced by British forces. This wartime focus extends throughout the issue's articles section, including "Death in Short Pants" by Robert W. Marks, examining the contemporary state of chemical warfare research, and "Lifeboats That Really Save Lives" by Sigmund Sameth, addressing maritime survival equipment for torpedoed British and American ships during a period when German U-boat operations posed a genuine and immediate threat to Allied shipping. This combination of serious wartime analysis alongside Esquire's established lighter content reflects the magazine's distinctive editorial balance during this period of total American mobilization.
This issue's sports coverage offers genuinely significant baseball history through "DiMaggio, the Man" by Will Connolly, profiling Joe DiMaggio at a point well into his celebrated career with the New York Yankees. A separate sports feature, "The Team of the Year," documents the Great Lakes Naval Training Station football team, reflecting how thoroughly American athletics had become intertwined with military training institutions during the war years, drawing a direct historical parallel to similar wartime sports arrangements during the First World War. The issue's "Personalities" section includes "Yes, Mr. Mercer," profiling songwriter Johnny Mercer, credited here with fifty song hits spanning both commercial work and folk jazz compositions including "Blues in the Night," documenting one of American popular music's most significant songwriting figures at a notably productive point in his career.
The issue's fiction section includes "The Taming of Red Thunder" credited to Max Brand, one of several pseudonyms used by the extraordinarily prolific pulp writer Frederick Faust, reflecting his continued prolific output across multiple genre fiction publications during this period. A pictorial feature documents actress Frances Gifford in connection with her role in Paramount's "The Glass Key," photographed by the celebrated Hollywood portrait photographer George Hurrell, whose distinctive lighting and composition style had become closely associated with glamour photography of major studio stars throughout this era. The issue's "Pictorial Features" section also includes Varga's painted "Miss America" pinup illustration, reflecting the artist's well-documented and historically significant body of work for Esquire during this period, alongside a Grumman F4F-3 Navy fighter plane painting by Alexander Leydenfrost, directly connecting the issue's content to contemporary American military aviation.
Taken together, this issue offers an extraordinarily comprehensive cross-section of wartime American culture, spanning serious military analysis, significant sports and entertainment profiles, genre fiction from a major pulp author, and the celebrated Varga pinup illustration tradition within a single set of pages. It sits within the broader context of 1942 magazines and the long editorial history of Esquire itself, capturing a specific, exceptionally well-documented moment during the first full year of American wartime mobilization.
About the Publication
Esquire was an American men's magazine that built its distinctive editorial identity around combining substantial fiction and journalism with sports coverage, fashion guidance, and its well-known illustrated pinup features, particularly the Varga Girl artwork that became one of the magazine's most historically significant visual contributions. By 1942, Esquire had established itself as a significant venue for both serious wartime journalism and established literary fiction, regularly featuring contributions from prominent writers across multiple genres alongside its lighter entertainment and lifestyle content. The magazine's combination of war reporting, sports profiles, fiction from established authors, and illustrated pictorial features reflected a broad editorial ambition aimed at a male readership seeking both substantive content and entertainment within a single publication. Esquire's wartime content frequently addressed the conflict's impact on American institutions, including sports and entertainment, while maintaining its established format of fiction, departments, and pictorial features. This September 1942 issue reflects that established editorial approach during a particularly significant period of American wartime mobilization, with its specific combination of contents organized into clearly defined articles, fiction, personalities, pictorial features, sports, and trends-in-dress sections.
Key Highlights Inside
- "DiMaggio, the Man," a sports profile by Will Connolly examining Joe DiMaggio's path to baseball stardom with the New York Yankees. This piece reflects the magazine's substantial sports journalism content alongside its wartime and entertainment coverage. DiMaggio's significance within baseball history adds genuine historical weight to this profile.
- "Yes, Mr. Mercer," a profile by Sidney Carroll examining songwriter Johnny Mercer, credited with fifty song hits spanning commercial and folk jazz compositions including "Blues in the Night." This piece documents a significant American songwriting figure at a notably productive point in his career. It reflects the issue's substantial entertainment and music industry coverage.
- "The Taming of Red Thunder," a short story credited to Max Brand, one of several pseudonyms used by the prolific pulp writer Frederick Faust. This piece reflects Faust's continued significant output across multiple genre fiction publications during this period. It situates the issue within Esquire's substantial commitment to established fiction writers.
- A pictorial feature on actress Frances Gifford, connected to her role in Paramount's "The Glass Key," photographed by celebrated Hollywood portrait photographer George Hurrell. This piece reflects the magazine's access to major studio talent and significant Hollywood photographers. Hurrell's distinctive style adds notable artistic and historical weight to this feature.
- "The 'Death-and-Glory Boys,'" the issue's lead article by Linton Wells, documenting British wartime risk and sacrifice during the early years of the Second World War. This piece anchors the issue's substantial wartime journalism content. It reflects Esquire's willingness to address serious military subject matter alongside its lighter entertainment content.
- Varga's painted "Miss America" pinup illustration, part of the issue's pictorial features and reflecting the artist's well-documented and historically significant body of work for Esquire during this period. The listing notes that only pinups actually depicted in the accompanying photographs are confirmed present in this specific copy. This illustration represents one of the magazine's most historically notable visual contributions of the era.
Condition & Rarity
Condition for men's magazines of this age and type is generally assessed through cover and binding integrity, page completeness, and the overall legibility and visual clarity of printed text, fiction, and pictorial content. A complete copy showing moderate signs of age and wear, such as corner creases, spine stress, or light surface wear, reflects wear that is genuinely typical for periodicals approaching eight decades in age, particularly given that wartime paper stock was often produced under material restrictions that affected its long-term durability. A protective plastic sleeve plays a meaningful role in halting further deterioration, guarding against additional humidity exposure and handling wear going forward. Given the issue's substantial pictorial content, including its Varga illustration and Hurrell photography, the clarity and condition of these specific visual features carry particular weight when evaluating long-term collectible value, and prospective collectors should review all available photographs closely to confirm which specific pictorial elements are present in any given surviving copy. Collectors evaluating any surviving copy of this issue should weigh overall structural completeness and the continued clarity of its printed text and pictorial content as the primary indicators of long-term collectible and reference value.
Looking for More Issues Like This?
An Esquire issue from September 1942 combining significant wartime journalism with sports profiles of figures like Joe DiMaggio and pictorial content from artists like Varga represents a genuinely notable category of wartime American men's magazine collecting. If this exact issue isn't what you're looking for, the broader Esquire collection spans material from across the magazine's publishing history, offering a wider range of issues and editorial eras for collectors interested in the title's overall legacy, including its well-documented pinup illustration tradition. For those more focused on this specific year, the full range of 1942 magazines brings together material from across that year, spanning multiple publications beyond Esquire alone, including other periodicals documenting wartime American life. Browsing the Esquire collection can be especially useful for collectors building a set around specific contributors, sports figures, or illustrators like Varga across different decades of the magazine's editorial history. Browsing by year, on the other hand, suits collectors more interested in capturing a broader cultural and wartime snapshot of 1942 across different types of periodicals. Either approach offers a practical way to continue exploring material connected to this issue's particular combination of content. Both collections represent solid starting points for finding comparable issues from this historically significant period in American men's magazine publishing.