Argosy

A popular men's magazine published in the United States from 1888 until 1979, Argosy was the first of the "pulp" magazines (see entry under 1930s—Print Culture in volume 2), so called because of the cheap, rough paper on which they were printed. It was also the first adult magazine to rely almost exclusively on fiction for its content, usually adventure, detective, science fiction, or western stories that were thought to appeal to a male readership.

Argosy traced its roots to Golden Argosy: Freighted with Treasures for Boys and Girls, a magazine created by Frank Munsey (1854–1925) in 1882 to appeal to young people. By 1886, Munsey was publishing adult stories in the magazine, whose name he changed to Argosy two years later. In 1896, he shifted to pulp paper and began publishing serial fiction (stories that were "serialized," or broken into sections across several issues) exclusively, with an emphasis on action, adventure, and mystery stories. By the time of Munsey's death in 1925, Argosy had helped popularize fictional characters like Tarzan (see entry under 1910s—Print Culture in volume 1), Zorro (see entry under 1910s—Print Culture in volume 1), The Shadow (see entry under 1930s—Print Culture in volume 2), and Sam Spade. It featured stories from some of the most noted authors of the day.

By 1907, Argosy had a circulation (the total number of copies sold) of five hundred thousand, but the magazine had a checkered history in the twentieth century. Circulation declined to forty thousand by 1940. The magazine was renamed New Argosy in 1942 but was banned from the mails for "obscenity." Sold to Popular Publications, a major publishing company, the magazine was renamed Argosy: The Complete Men's Magazine in 1946 and became a "slick" periodical with four-color layouts and better-quality adventure, sports, and humorous stories. By 1953, the circulation had increased to 1.25 million. Popular Publications was dissolved in 1972 and the magazine was sold to Blazing Publications, Inc. It finally folded in 1979, a victim of rising postal rates.

—Edward Moran

For More Information

"The Argosy & Related Magazines." Magazine Issues.http://www.pulp-gen.com/pulp/biglist/mags/argosy.html (accessed December 14, 2001).

Moonan, Willard. "Argosy." In American Mass-Market Magazine. Edited by Alan and Barbara Nourie. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1990.

Server, Lee. Danger Is My Business: An Illustrated History of the Fabulous Pulp Magazines, 1896–1953. New York: Chronicle, 1993.