Description
Collector's Note – Why This Issue Matters
The May 13, 1950 issue of Collier’s is correctly identified within the original magazine as Volume 125, Number 19. The Number 10 designation appearing in the supplied listing should therefore be treated as a cataloging error. Its painted cover, created by Jack Hearne, depicts sailors aboard a brigantine attempting to control a stunsail. The magazine’s own cover note acknowledges that Hearne adjusted certain details to heighten the composition and sense of movement. One sailor faces into the wind, while the long sheet of canvas appears to be pulling away from the crew. The maritime artwork is separate from the prominent cover line “Cheaper Food—Promise or Political Lure?” Rather than illustrating the political article directly, the cover combines an adventurous historical sailing scene with a headline addressing a current domestic-policy debate.
Allan B. Kline’s “Cheaper Food—Promise or Political Lure?” examines agricultural policy and the difficult relationship among farm prices, government support programs, production, and the cost of food to consumers. The article appeared during the Truman administration, when wartime agricultural expansion and postwar economic adjustment continued to influence national policy. Its title asks whether proposals advertised as providing less expensive food represented workable reform or attractive political rhetoric. Such questions placed farmers and urban consumers within the same debate even though their immediate economic interests could differ. The feature now provides a contemporary statement from an important period in the development of federal farm policy. Its conclusions should be read as one participant’s position within an active political argument rather than as a neutral modern summary. The article’s prominent placement demonstrates how Collier’s combined household concerns such as grocery prices with larger questions about government and the national economy.
The edition is also notable for the range and quality of its fiction and reported features. Ray Bradbury’s “To the Future” appeared here before the story became better known under the title “The Fox and the Forest.” Alan Hynd recounts the criminal career of Gerald Chapman in “Last of the Great Mail Robbers,” while Budd Schulberg concludes his serialized account of boxing promoter Mike Jacobs with “Fadeout.” Marion Hargrove examines the work of Travelers Aid in “Somebody Always Going Away,” and Robert Froman profiles radio host Don McNeill in “The Man Who Comes to Breakfast.” Richard Witkin’s “Test Pilot for Our New A-Bomb” concerns General Elwood R. Quesada and preparations surrounding American atomic testing. These subjects place science fiction, crime history, broadcasting, boxing, social service, military technology, serialized fiction, and maritime cover art within a single weekly issue.
About the Publication
Collier’s was an American general-interest magazine founded by Peter Fenelon Collier in 1888. It began as Collier’s Once a Week and passed through several title variations before becoming widely known as Collier’s: The National Weekly. The publication combined journalism, social investigation, political commentary, fiction, humor, illustration, photography, and advertising. Its writers reported on government, labor, crime, public health, business, war, transportation, education, science, entertainment, and everyday American life. Collier’s developed a particularly important reputation for investigative reporting and campaigns involving social and political reform. Fiction remained equally central to its identity, allowing established authors and emerging writers to reach a large national readership. Serialized novels appeared alongside short stories, profiles, practical articles, cartoons, and editorials. Illustrated covers ranged from topical portraits to humorous scenes, maritime subjects, holidays, families, recreation, and observations of ordinary behavior. In 1950, Louis Ruppel served as editor and Edward Anthony as publisher. The magazine continued publication until January 1957 after changes in advertising, television, production costs, and reader habits weakened many large weekly periodicals. Surviving Collier’s issues now preserve a broad record of American journalism, fiction, illustration, popular entertainment, and commercial culture.
Key Highlights Inside
- Jack Hearne’s verified cover depicts a brigantine using a stunsail, with sailors attempting to manage the billowing canvas. The magazine’s cover note explains that Hearne deliberately exaggerated selected details to strengthen the visual motion. The maritime scene should not be described as a direct illustration of the agricultural-policy article promoted by the cover line.
- “Cheaper Food—Promise or Political Lure?” by Allan B. Kline addresses farm policy, food prices, production, and government agricultural programs. Its central question concerns whether proposed changes would genuinely lower consumer costs while protecting the economic stability of farmers. The complete article should be consulted for Kline’s specific policy recommendations, statistics, and arguments.
- Ray Bradbury’s “To the Future” presents people attempting to escape a war-dominated future by traveling into the past. The story was later revised and published under the better-known title “The Fox and the Forest.” Its appearance gives the issue particular bibliographic interest within Bradbury’s early career and the history of mainstream magazine science fiction.
- Alan Hynd’s “Last of the Great Mail Robbers” recounts the criminal career of Gerald Chapman. The article connects his robberies and pursuit with the public fascination surrounding organized crime and celebrated fugitives during the early twentieth century. Its descriptions should be compared with court, prison, police, and newspaper records when used for detailed criminal-history research.
- Budd Schulberg’s “Fadeout” concludes the five-part Mike Jacobs story, while Robert Froman profiles radio personality Don McNeill and Richard Witkin examines General Elwood R. Quesada’s atomic-testing responsibilities. Marion Hargrove’s “Somebody Always Going Away” documents the work of Travelers Aid with people facing difficulties while in transit. Together with fiction by Paul Annixter, Alec Waugh, William R. Scott, Lester Atwell, and Nord Riley, these features demonstrate the issue’s broad editorial range.
Condition & Rarity
The listing states that the photographed magazine is the exact physical issue represented by the description. No formal collector grade or detailed list of defects is supplied, so the condition should be determined from the accompanying images rather than from an assumed category. The presence or absence of a mailing or address label is not clearly confirmed in the written information. That characteristic should therefore be established through direct examination of the cover. A plastic protective covering accompanies the magazine and may reduce additional exposure to dust, fingerprints, and surface abrasion. The sleeve does not verify page completeness, cover attachment, secure staples, or the condition of the interior paper. Large weekly magazines from this period are commonly vulnerable to edge rubbing, softened corners, short tears, creases, spine stress, and paper toning. Particular attention should be given to Jack Hearne’s maritime cover and the pages containing Bradbury’s “To the Future,” since visually or bibliographically desirable material may have been removed from some surviving examples. The complete sequence should also be checked for the conclusion of the Mike Jacobs series, the agricultural-policy article, advertisements, and all listed fiction. Inspection should look for writing, clipping, stains, moisture exposure, brittleness, loose leaves, tape, and previous repairs. Historical importance and notable contributors do not independently establish rarity, which should be assessed through documented availability and the condition of the individual magazine.
Looking for More Issues Like This?
Exact Collier’s issues can require patience to identify when research is centered on a particular date, cover artist, article, or first appearance of a story. The May 13, 1950 edition is especially relevant to readers interested in Jack Hearne, Ray Bradbury, agricultural policy, true crime, radio, boxing, and early atomic-age reporting. Related fiction, illustration, journalism, and historical commentary can be explored through the broader collection of vintage Collier’s magazines. Neighboring issues help document serialized articles and fiction that began earlier or continued into later publication dates. They also reveal how the magazine balanced political reporting with entertainment, short stories, human-interest journalism, humor, and advertising. The collection of original magazines from 1950 provides a wider view of the year represented by this edition. Publications from that year preserve the opening of the Korean War, Cold War politics, agriculture, radio, cinema, literature, science, consumer products, and postwar domestic life. Comparing Collier’s with other general-interest magazines helps distinguish its strong mixture of reported articles and popular fiction. Closely dated editions remain historically useful even when this precise Volume 125, Number 19 issue is not represented because they establish its surrounding editorial chronology. Together, the Collier’s and 1950 collections provide a useful foundation for continued research into mid-century American magazine culture.