Description
Collector's Note – Why This Issue Matters
By May 1968, Simon and Garfunkel were no longer simply a successful folk-pop duo — they were the defining sound of a generation in the middle of its most painful awakening. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel had released Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme in 1966 and were deep into the recording of what would become Bookends, released just one month before this issue hit newsstands. Their contribution to the The Graduate soundtrack — featuring "Mrs. Robinson," "The Sound of Silence," and "Scarborough Fair" — had made them, in early 1968, arguably the most culturally resonant musical act in America. A Seventeen feature on the duo at this precise moment captures them at the intersection of mainstream breakthrough and genuine artistic ambition, speaking directly to the teenage readership that was growing up alongside their music.
The spring of 1968 was also a moment of profound national grief and turbulence. Martin Luther King Jr. had been assassinated on April 4th, just weeks before this issue would have gone to press. Robert F. Kennedy would be killed in June. Against that backdrop, Simon and Garfunkel's voice — melancholic, literary, deeply concerned with alienation and connection — carried a weight that teenagers felt viscerally. A magazine interview in which they "tell it all," as the listing describes, arriving in that specific month, represents a genuine primary document of how the duo communicated with their core audience during one of the most charged periods of the decade. For collectors tracking the magazine record of 1968, this issue offers a cultural counterpoint to the harder news coverage dominating other publications that spring.
The absence of a newsstand label is a meaningful detail for anyone serious about this issue. Clean-cover copies of Seventeen from this era are notably harder to locate than subscriber copies, and the combination of a label-free cover with a confirmed Simon and Garfunkel feature makes this a specimen that appeals simultaneously to music collectors, 1960s ephemera specialists, and fans of the publication itself. Collectors who follow the Seventeen magazine archive will recognize that issues featuring major musical artists — rather than models or film actresses — represent a distinct and collectible subcategory within the title's long run.
About the Publication
Seventeen was founded in 1944 and quickly became the dominant magazine voice aimed at American teenage girls, covering fashion, beauty, relationships, and culture with an editorial sensibility that took its readership seriously rather than talking down to them. By the late 1960s, the magazine had evolved to reflect the era's youth culture more broadly — incorporating music coverage, social commentary, and a growing awareness of the political and cultural forces shaping young American lives. Its readership in 1968 was precisely the generation coming of age during Vietnam, the civil rights movement, and the counterculture, and its editorial choices in that period reflect an attempt to speak authentically to teenagers navigating an unusually complicated world.
Key Highlights Inside
- Exclusive Simon and Garfunkel interview: The listing confirms an in-depth interview with Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, described as the duo revealing their experiences and perspectives on the music scene of the time.
- Cover feature on Simon and Garfunkel: The listing references a cover image and an engaging interior spread featuring the duo, making this a visually documented as well as editorially significant Simon and Garfunkel appearance.
- Late-1960s fashion and culture: As a May 1968 issue of Seventeen, the magazine would have reflected the fashion, beauty, and youth culture of a particularly vivid moment in American style history — the tail end of mod aesthetics giving way to hippie influence.
- Note: Specific article titles, additional features, and full interior content beyond the confirmed Simon and Garfunkel interview have not been independently verified for this issue. Collectors seeking a complete content inventory may wish to consult a periodicals archive or university library holding.
Condition & Rarity
The absence of a newsstand address label on the front cover is the single most important condition attribute for any surviving copy of this issue. Label-free copies of Seventeen from 1968 are considerably less common than subscriber copies, and a clean cover preserves the full visual integrity of whatever cover art or photography the issue carried — in this case, imagery associated with Simon and Garfunkel. Minor wear and visible marks are consistent with a magazine now approaching sixty years of age and printed on coated stock that was never intended for long-term archival preservation. The plastic protective covering signals deliberate collectible storage at some point in the issue's history. When evaluating any surviving copy of this issue, key assessment points are the condition of the cover image, the legibility and completeness of the Simon and Garfunkel interior feature, spine integrity, and the degree of any toning or brittleness in the interior pages.
Looking for More Issues Like This?
A label-free copy of Seventeen with a confirmed Simon and Garfunkel feature from the spring of 1968 is a genuinely uncommon find — the kind of issue that tends to move quickly when it surfaces in collector circles. If this particular issue is no longer available, the full Seventeen magazine collection at OriginalMagazines.com is worth exploring for other issues from the late 1960s run. The broader 1968 magazine archive is also a rich hunting ground for anyone documenting the music, culture, and turbulent news cycle of that extraordinary year.