Description
Collector's Note – Why This Issue Matters
The April 1913 issue of National Geographic Magazine, centered on the feature "In The Wonderland of Peru," arrives at one of the most electrifying moments in the history of exploration and archaeology. Hiram Bingham III had reached Machu Picchu in July 1911 — less than two years before this issue's publication date — and his discovery of the "lost city of the Incas" had captured the imagination of the educated Western world in a way that few archaeological finds ever have. National Geographic had been Bingham's primary institutional partner and financial backer for his Peruvian expeditions, and the magazine's coverage of Peru in this period represents the primary vehicle through which the American public first encountered the full scope of what Bingham's team had found. An April 1913 issue featuring Peruvian content lands directly in the heart of that sustained editorial engagement — a moment when Peru was not simply a travel destination but the site of what many readers understood as the archaeological discovery of the age. Collectors building archives of exploration-era National Geographic will find the National Geographic magazine archive at OriginalMagazines.com an essential resource for tracing this coverage across the key issues of the period.
The broader context of April 1913 adds further layers of significance. The early twentieth century was the golden age of geographic exploration in the popular imagination — Amundsen had reached the South Pole in December 1911, Scott's tragic Antarctic expedition had ended in March 1912, and the appetite for stories of discovery and remote landscapes was at a cultural peak that the magazine was uniquely positioned to satisfy. National Geographic's formula of combining serious geographic and anthropological content with ambitious photography had by 1913 made it one of the most widely read magazines in America, and its Peru coverage from this period — rich with photographs of Andean landscapes, Incan ruins, and indigenous communities — represented the publication at the full expression of its editorial mission. For collectors interested in the wider landscape of American print culture during the pre-war decade, the 1913 magazine archive at OriginalMagazines.com offers valuable context across multiple publications from this remarkable period in American journalism and exploration history.
About the Publication
National Geographic Magazine was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1888 as the journal of the National Geographic Society, initially serving a small membership of scientists and geography enthusiasts before evolving under editor Gilbert H. Grosvenor into a mass-circulation illustrated monthly that by the early 1910s had become one of the most recognizable periodicals in the United States. Its distinctive formula — authoritative geographic and anthropological content combined with ambitious, high-quality photography, wrapped in the iconic yellow-bordered cover that became its visual signature — was fully established by 1913. Its audience encompassed a broad educated readership with an appetite for exploration, natural history, and the cultures of distant lands. Issues from the 1910s represent the magazine in the early maturity of its modern format, before the two world wars would reshape both its editorial priorities and its relationship to the world it was documenting.
Key Highlights Inside
- "In The Wonderland of Peru" — the central feature article, published during National Geographic's period of sustained engagement with Hiram Bingham's Peruvian expeditions and the broader archaeological and geographic story of the Andes in the years immediately following the 1911 discovery of Machu Picchu.
- Photography of Peruvian landscapes, cultures, and geographic features consistent with National Geographic's 1913 editorial format — the publication was by this point investing heavily in photographic illustration as the primary vehicle for its storytelling, and Peruvian content from this period is among the most visually rich in the magazine's early archive.
- An engraved address label on the back cover and a stamped mark — condition details that identify this as a Society membership copy rather than a newsstand issue, and that carry their own documentary interest as artifacts of the magazine's early distribution and membership history.
- Editorial content consistent with National Geographic's April 1913 format, which typically combined a primary geographic feature with shorter dispatches, maps, and photographic spreads covering multiple regions and topics.
- Note: Specific secondary articles, additional features, and full interior content beyond what is documented above are not confirmed in available listing details. The above reflects what is verifiable from the cover date, the named feature article, and the well-documented editorial and historical context of the period.
Condition & Rarity
Good condition with minor wear throughout, an engraved address label on the back cover, a stamped mark on the magazine, and plastic protective covering is an honest and informative condition assessment for a publication that is now more than 110 years old. The engraved address label on the back — rather than the front — is a less visually disruptive condition attribute than a front-cover label, and it identifies this as a Society membership copy, the primary distribution method for National Geographic throughout its early decades. The stamped mark is consistent with library or institutional ownership at some point in the issue's history, a common provenance for surviving copies of pre-World War I periodicals. Minor wear throughout is the expected and honest condition descriptor for any unrestored copy of this vintage, and its presence alongside an otherwise intact issue indicates survival rather than damage. Plastic protective covering provides ongoing preservation benefits. Pre-World War I National Geographic issues in any readable condition are increasingly uncommon in the collector market — more than a century of attrition has substantially reduced surviving populations, and issues with significant editorial content tied to major historical events or discoveries carry additional collector weight above their baseline scarcity.
Looking for More Issues Like This?
Early twentieth-century National Geographic issues with significant exploration content are among the most historically rich periodicals in the vintage magazine market, and a 1913 Peru feature tied to the Bingham expedition era is particularly worth seeking out. If this issue is no longer available, the National Geographic archive at OriginalMagazines.com is the most comprehensive source for the magazine across its full publishing history, with strong representation in issues from the exploration golden age of the early twentieth century. Collectors drawn to the broader world of Edwardian-era American print culture will also find the 1913 magazine archive worth exploring for primary sources from a year that sits at a remarkable intersection of exploration history and the eve of the First World War.