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Amateur Journalism History
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The purpose of The Fossils is to
stimulate interest in and preserve the history of independent
publishing, much of which took place in the hobby known as amateur
journalism.
This page directs you to resources available in several places:
The Fossils
Resources about amateur journalism history available on this
site:
Fanzine repositories
At least two organizations have repositories for fanzines -- fan
publications related to science fiction.
Google Books
Google Books includes several books related to amateur journalism:
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A History of Amateur Journalism,
George M. Huss, 1877, 28 pp
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The Career and Reminiscences of an Amateur Journalist, and a History of Amateur Journalism,
Thos. G. Harrison, 1883, 330 pp
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A Cyclopedia of the Literature of Amateur Journalism,
Truman J. Spencer, 1891, 512 pp
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Ex-Presidents of the National Amateur Press Association,
William C. Ahlhauser, 1919, 93 pp
There are also magazine articles:
- “Amateur Newspapers,” St. Nicholas,
July 1882 (Vol. 9, No. 9, pp 717-27) captures the enthusiasm of
early NAPA publishers.
- “A Convention of Amateur Journalists,”
St. Nicholas, July 1883 (Vol. 10, No. 9, pp 708-9)
briefly mentions the 1882 and 1883 NAPA convention, then
describes political campaigns by using a hypothetical (and
humorous) example.
- “Amateur Journalism,” The Illustrated
American, September 26, 1891 (Vol. 8, No. 84, pp 261-64)
offers a brief history of amateur journalism, but focuses on
NAPA's 1890s politics and the personalities involved.
- “Amateur Journalism,” The Inland
Printer, May 1899 (Vol. 23, No. 2, pp 179-81) describes the
hobby as practiced in the United States, England, and France,
and lists a number of prominent people who started as amateurs.
- “Amateur Journalism,” Papers Read Before
The Lancaster County Historical Society, May-June 1905
(Vol. 9, No. 9, pp 271-282) is a historical sketch with emphasis
on connections to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and papers
printed in the 1870s.
- “Amateur Journalists' Department,” Boys'
Life, March 15, 1911 (Vol. 1, No. 2, pp 11, 14-15) describes
the basics of amateur journalism.
- “Little Things,” St. Nicholas,
December 1920 (Vol. 48, No. 2, pp 110-118) tells the amazing
story of five young sisters whose paper’s circulation grew to
1,000 in the early 1870s and attracted the attention of author
Louisa M. Alcott.
- “In the Driftway,” The Nation, July
30, 1924 (Vol. 119, No. 3082, p. 122) describes The
Fossil as an example of "small, odd, and little-known
magazines."
HathiTrust Digital Library
- “The Typography of Amateur Journals,”
The Inland Printer, April 1901 (Vol, 27, No. 1, pp 35-37)
describes the work of several National Amateur Press Association
printers.
- “Amateur Journalism,” Bulletin of the
New York Public Library, June 1941 (Vol. 45, No. 6, pp
461-467) covers the beginning of the amateur journalism movement
in the 1870s and 1880s, including the brief involvement of the
author, Earnest Elmo Calkins.
The Internet Archive
Use this Internet Archive search link to find scanned books and periodicals
with "Amateur Press Association" in their text.
Some of the items:
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The Career and Reminiscences of an Amateur Journalist, and a History of Amateur Journalism,
Thos. G. Harrison, 1883, 330 pp
- History of the National Amateur Press Association,
John Travis Nixon, 1900, 347 pp
- The
Library of Congress "X" Collections includes images of the
first page from thousands of amateur journals.
- Lovecraft Studies 19/20 (10th
anniversary issue), Necronomicon Press, Fall 1989, 76 pp
- Issues of amateur journals:
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The California Lion, Walter D. Catton, Vol I, No II, Jun 1872, 8 pp
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The Chatham Chatter; Louis B. Gilbert; 38
issues from Vol 1, No 1 (Jun 29, 1937) to Vol 6, No 1
(Aug 1942)
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The Echo; Fred Cellarius, Edgar Leichter, and
Harold Manor; Issues:
Vol 1, No 1; Mar 15, 1894; 20 pp
Vol 1, No 5; May 18, 1894; 12 pp
Vol 1, No 7; Aug 13, 1894; 16 pp
Vol 1, No 9; Sep 17, 1894; 16 pp
Vol 1, No 12; Nov 1894; 14 pp
Vol 1, No 14; Feb 1895; 16 pp
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The Echo; Frank V. Battke; Vol 1, No 2, May 1897; 6 pp
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Fact & Fancy; Vol V, No 1, Whole No XXV; Jan 1885; 4 pp
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The Petaluma Bugle, Theo Jarvis; Four issues: Vol
I, No 1, Jun 1898; Vol I, No 3, Dec 1898; Vol I, No 4,
Jan 1899; and Vol I, No 7, Apr 1899; 48 pp
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The New Planet, Frank Thibault and Charles
B. Turrill, Oct 1872, 8 pp
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The Villa de Laura Times,
Linden D. Dey; Four issues: Vol VIII, No 4, Apr 1894; Vol
IX, No 4, Oct 1894; Vol IX, No 5, Nov 1894; and Vol IX, No 6, Dec 1894;
16 pp
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The
Zines collection has over 20,000 entries
National Amateur Press Association
The NAPA website includes a History section, including such information as
- Excerpts from the 1976 book The First 100 Years
- Preface by Edna Hyde McDonald
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In the Beginning by Burton J. Smith
- Flashbacks
- The First Volume of The National Amateur
- Excerpts from Accounts of the 1879 Convention
- In 1891 at Philadelphia
- NAPA's First Permanent Constitution
- Pillow Fight
- Almost Fatal Doldrums
- 1926 Marked The Semi-Centennial
- Little Remembered Giant (Paul Cook)
- The Torpedo (published by Frank A. Kendall)
- The Mailing Bureau
- Library of Amateur Journalism
- Ralph Babcock
- Presidents' Field
- Tryout Smith
- Thrift & Edkins
- Vondy
- Amateur Press Clubs
- Philadelphia Connections
- The Next Hundred by Harold Segal
- The Moving Finger (List of convention
location, president, and official editor by year)