What We Accept
A collection does not need to be rare, complete, or in perfect condition to deserve consideration.
The flagship collection
- Men’s magazines published before 1970 — glamour, pin-up, nightlife, adventure-leisure hybrids, and their many regional cousins
- Individual issues, partial runs, and complete collections alike
- American titles and their international counterparts, in any language
- Annuals, quarterlies, and special editions connected to qualifying titles
The wider archive
The specialty above is where our expertise runs deepest — it is not the boundary of what we preserve. We accept printed material broadly, and mixed lots are entirely normal.
- Books, including hardcover, paperback, and reference libraries
- Pulp magazines, comics, and popular-culture periodicals
- Aviation, automotive, railroad, and other enthusiast press
- Military, technical, service, and shop manuals
- Trade journals and industry publications
- Photography books and magazines; original photographs and negatives
- Mail-order and department-store catalogs, brochures, and printed advertising
- Newspapers, including hometown, special-edition, and commemorative issues
- Paper ephemera: timetables, programs, maps, broadsides, and correspondence
See what we collect for the subject areas we document in depth.
Related material we welcome
- Original photographs, negatives, and artwork connected to qualifying publications
- Publisher and dealer correspondence, catalogs, mailing lists, and order forms
- Promotional material, subscription premiums, and newsstand ephemera
- Collector documentation: indexes, checklists, receipts, and notes — these carry real research value
Condition, honestly
Fine copies delight us; worn copies still matter. Reference copies establish checklists, supply scanning sources, and document issues we may never see again. Please tell us about mold, water, pests, or smoke rather than hiding them — hazards mainly change how material must be handled, not necessarily whether it interests us.
Outside our scope
- Recent mass-market material with no historical or documentary interest
- Material whose ownership is unclear or in dispute
- Anything depicting minors unlawfully — reported where required by law, without exception
- Non-print household contents: furniture, textiles, electronics, and general estate goods
- Material too badly contaminated to handle safely — active mold or pest infestation is assessed case by case
Unsure where your material lands? Submit it anyway — assessment is what we are for.