Description
Collector's Note – Why This Issue Matters
The August 1998 issue of George magazine featuring Charlize Theron on the cover — photographed by Ellen von Unwerth — documents multiple historically interesting subjects simultaneously in a single issue that captures the specific editorial vision of John F. Kennedy Jr.'s publication at its most fully realized. Charlize Theron in August 1998 was at the precise cusp of the breakthrough that would define her career: she had appeared in The Devil's Advocate in 1997 and was about to deliver the performance in Mighty Joe Young (1998) that would finally confirm her as a major commercial actress. The "Starlet Fever" profile by David Colman — which combines her immigration status (waiting for a green card between trips to the mailbox, as the contents note) with the politics of Hollywood celebrity — is a primary document of a future Oscar winner at the exact liminal moment between struggling actress and established star. Ellen von Unwerth's cover photography adds a significant artistic dimension: von Unwerth was one of the most commercially prominent and visually distinctive photographers of the nineties, and her work on this cover situates it within the specific aesthetic conversation of late-nineties celebrity fashion photography. The full arc of George's editorial vision and complete publishing history is traceable through the George magazine collection.
The editorial content of this issue is unusually substantive even by George's standards. Tipper Gore's feature — "What Tipper Sees," combining her photography of Al Gore, Bill Clinton, and Hillary Clinton with text by Joe Marullo — constitutes a primary document of extraordinary value: private, unguarded photographs of two of the most significant figures in American political life in August 1998, published at the specific moment when the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal was at its most acute and the Gore candidacy for 2000 was beginning its preparation. The Mary Kay Letourneau interview by Elizabeth Kaye engages with one of the most discussed American criminal cases of the late nineties at a moment when public debate about it was still active. The feature on Japanese-American World War II veterans — approximately 12,000 soldiers, 9,468 Purple Hearts, who earned recognition only belatedly against the background of wartime prejudice — documents a belated historical reckoning with military service and racism that was receiving renewed attention in the late nineties. William Styron's introduction to the "American Dreamers" feature adds literary weight. The broader late-nineties context is documented across the 1998 magazine collection.
The removed address label is worth noting as a condition attribute. Unlike the many George issues that carry subscriber labels either intact or covered with removable protective labels, this issue has had the label removed — a condition that is more common in late-period George issues and that leaves the front cover in a state between labeled and label-free: the label is absent, but the adhesive marks or minor surface damage that label removal typically produces may be visible in the photographs. The extent and visibility of any residual label evidence is best assessed through the provided photographs, as it affects the cover's display quality and collector evaluation relative to clean no-label examples of the same issue.
About the Publication
George was founded by John F. Kennedy Jr. and co-founder Michael Berman and launched in September 1995 with the premise that American politics was popular culture and popular culture was American politics. Published by Hachette Filipacchi Media, the magazine combined the visual production values and celebrity access of major entertainment titles with substantive political reporting and the kind of access to major figures that Kennedy's name made uniquely possible. Its run ended in early 2001 following Kennedy's death in July 1999, making its complete publishing history a finite and now fully archivable body of work. August 1998 — eleven months before Kennedy's death — represents the magazine in its most editorially confident and fully realized phase, its editorial formula operating with the combination of celebrity, political, and cultural content that Kennedy had developed across three years of publication.
Key Highlights Inside
- "Starlet Fever" (David Colman on Charlize Theron, p.94) — a profile of the South African actress at the precise cusp of her commercial breakthrough, combining her immigration status with the politics of Hollywood celebrity, photographed on the cover by Ellen von Unwerth in a John Galliano for Christian Dior pearl choker.
- "What Tipper Sees" (Tipper Gore's photography of Al Gore, Bill and Hillary Clinton, p.102) — private, unguarded photographs of two of the most significant figures in American political life published at the height of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, constituting a primary document of extraordinary historical value from one of the most consequential periods in recent American political history.
- "American Dreamers" (introduction by William Styron, p.76) — a photo tribute to living American legends introduced by one of the most significant American novelists of the twentieth century, reflecting George's characteristic investment in literary and cultural authority alongside its political and celebrity content.
- "It's a Family Affair" (Elizabeth Kaye on Mary Kay Letourneau, p.90) — a contemporaneous interview with the subject of one of the most discussed American criminal cases of the late nineties, published at a moment when public debate about the case was still active and unresolved.
- "Small Soldiers" (Tom Dunkel on Japanese-American World War II veterans, p.98) — a feature on a belated historical reckoning with military service and wartime racism, documenting 12,000 soldiers and 9,468 Purple Hearts that were only belatedly receiving full national recognition.
Condition & Rarity
Surviving copies of the August 1998 George in good condition represent a solid and collectible example of one of the magazine's most editorially substantive issues from its final full year of Kennedy's leadership. The removed address label leaves the front cover in a condition that the photographs are the appropriate reference for evaluating — the extent of any residual adhesive marks or surface evidence of the label's removal will determine how significantly this affects the cover's display quality relative to clean no-label examples. Corner creases and light surface wear are the expected and honest attributes of an original, unrestored periodical from a quarter-century ago. Complete page integrity is a meaningful positive for an issue whose table of contents documents this level of substantive editorial content. The protective plastic sleeve is the correct conservation measure for a magazine of this age and paper stock.
Looking for More Issues Like This?
An August 1998 George with Charlize Theron on the cover, Tipper Gore's private political photography inside, and the Japanese-American veterans feature alongside the Letourneau interview — published eleven months before Kennedy's death would close the magazine forever — is one of the most editorially substantial issues in the publication's complete run, and it rewards serious attention from collectors working across celebrity media, political history, and the history of American journalism simultaneously. If this particular issue is no longer available, the full George magazine collection at OriginalMagazines.com is the most comprehensive source for exploring other issues across the publication's finite and now permanently closed run. For collectors building a broader archive of the late-nineties cultural and political moment, the 1998 magazine collection brings together titles from one of the most consequential years in recent American history.