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Time Inc. Time Publishing and Business Records

Call Number

MS 3009-RG 24

Date

1927-1999, inclusive

Creator

Time, inc.

Extent

195.25 Linear feet in 199 record cartons including 21 reels of microfilm, 1 document case, and 3 flat boxes

Language of Materials

The materials in the collection are in English.

Abstract

The Time Publishing and Business Records contain materials from the offices and staff of the business and publishing side of the magazine's operation. The majority of materials come from the office of the business manager; departments in charge of advertisements in the magazine; an educational materials subscription program; and public affairs.

Historical Note

Time is the first magazine created by Time Inc. with the first issue published on March 3, 1923. Time Inc. cofounders Henry R. Luce and Briton Hadden shared the masthead as Editors until Hadden's death in 1929. At this time, John S. Martin became the first Managing Editor of Time with Luce still over him as Editor. According to the Ownership Statements in the General Administrative Files, the earliest publisher of Time was Time Inc., not an individual.

According to Time Inc., Time pioneered the news magazine, at least the modern news magazine. Time's format of short articles summarizing news events and other items of interest and importance became the standard for later news magazines. Magazine sections included national and international affairs, business, education, science, medicine, law, religion, sports, books, and the arts.

Time published several foreign-language editions, the first launched in 1941 delivered by air service to Latin America; special issues including the popular Time Person of the Year (formerly Man of the Year); and Time for Kids, a children's magazine.

For the majority of Time Inc.'s existence, the company maintained a strict separation of editorial from the publishing and business side of each magazine, colloquially called the separation of "church" (editorial) and "state" (publishing). Publishing and Business Management includes the publisher, general manager, business manager, advertising sales, marketing services, letters, circulation, and public relations. Cofounder Henry Luce structured Time Inc. this way so that the business side could not (in theory) influence the editorial content of the publications. For example, the advertising sales people could not interfere with a magazine's decision to run an article on the dangers of cigarette smoking, even though it might mean losing millions of dollars in tobacco ads.

Citations:

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Time," Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 2018. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Time-American-magazine.

Elson, Robert T. 1968. Time Inc.: The Intimate History of a Publishing Enterprise, 1923-1941. New York: Atheneum.

Hooper, Bill. Email to Holly Deakyne, 10 June 2016.

Arrangement

Organized into eight series:

Series I. Publisher Henry Luce III Files

Series II. Office of the Business Manager Files

Series III. Advertising Promotion Department Records

Series IV. Promotion and Public Affairs Department Records

Series V. Advertising Sales Department Records

Series VI. Circulation Department Records

Series VII. Production and Ad Records Department Records

Series VIII. Time Education Program Files

Scope and Contents

The Time Publishing and Business Records contain records from offices and staff from the publishing and business side of the magazine, not the editorial side. This includes the publisher, the office of the business manager, departments in charge of advertisement promotion, advertising sales, advertising placement, circulation, an educational materials subscription program, and public affairs.

Conditions Governing Access

Open to qualified researchers with the exception of restricted materials. Restricted materials include contracts, medical records, student records, and records with personally identifiable information. Restricted materials are located in boxes R26 and R56. Materials in box R28 are restricted due to mold. Unreformatted audiovisual material and digital material in the collection is not accessible. Materials are stored offsite and advance notice is required for use.

Conditions Governing Use

Taking images of documents from the library collections for reference purposes by using hand-held cameras and in accordance with the library's photography guidelines is encouraged. As an alternative, patrons may request up to 20 images per day from staff.

Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282.

Copyrights and other proprietary rights may subsist in individuals and entities other than the New-York Historical Society, in which case the patron is responsible for securing permission from those parties. For fuller information about rights and reproductions from N-YHS visit: https://www.nyhistory.org/about/rights-reproductions.

Preferred Citation

This record group should be cited as Time Inc. Time Publishing and Business Records, MS 3009-RG 24, New-York Historical Society.

Location of Materials

Materials in this collection are stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Time Inc. in 2015.

Related Materials

This finding aid relates to just one record group of the Time Inc. Records. For information about the other record groups and for overall information about the archives, please see the Guide to the Time Inc. Records (MS 3009). The Henry Luce Papers (MS 3014) were acquired with the Time Inc. Records. The collection of books acquired with the records are cataloged as the Time Inc. Reference Library.

Information about the history of Time and additional records from the publishing and business offices can be found in the Time Inc. Subject Files (MS 3009-RG 1) and the Time Inc. Annex Files (MS 3009-RG 39). Records from the editorial offices are in the Time Inc. Time Editorial Records (MS 3009-RG 7).

Collection processed by

Holly Deakyne and Melanie Rinehart

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 15:48:10 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Description is in English

Processing Information

Publisher Henry Luce III Files were processed by Holly Deakyne in 2021. The original folders were retained. Arrangement was imposed. Deakyne created the inventory and other descriptive notes for this series.

Office of the Business Manager Files were processed by Deakyne in 2017. The original folders were retained although some documents were transferred to archival containers in instances of overcrowding. Arrangement was imposed. Deakyne and Melanie Rinehart created the inventory, and Deakyne created other descriptive notes for this series.

Advertising Promotion Department Records were processed by Deakyne in 2018. The original folders were retained although some documents were transferred to archival containers in instances of overcrowding. Arrangement was imposed. Deakyne created the inventory and the other descriptive notes for this series.

Promotion and Public Affairs Department Records: Director Robert Sweeney Files were processed by Deakyne in 2018 and 2019. The original folders were retained although some documents were transferred to archival containers in instances of overcrowding. Arrangement was imposed. Deakyne created the inventory and the other descriptive notes for this series.

Promotion and Public Affairs Department Records: Public Affairs Manager Irina Bagration Files was processed by Deakyne in 2019. The original folders were retained although some documents were transferred to archival containers in instances of overcrowding. Arrangement was imposed. Deakyne created the inventory and the other descriptive notes for this series.

Promotion and Public Affairs Department Records: Public Affairs Manager Anne Janas Files was processed by Deakyne in 2019. The original folders were retained although some documents were transferred to archival containers in instances of overcrowding. Arrangement was imposed. Deakyne created the inventory and the other descriptive notes for this series.

Promotion and Public Affairs Department Records: Publicity Manager Files was processed by Deakyne in 2019. The original folders were retained although some documents were transferred to archival containers in instances of overcrowding. Arrangement was imposed. Deakyne created the inventory and the other descriptive notes for this series.

Promotion and Public Affairs Department Records: Special Events Manager Jean C. Gussenhoven Files was processed by Deakyne in 2019. The original folders were retained although some documents were transferred to archival containers in instances of overcrowding. Arrangement was imposed. Deakyne created the inventory and the other descriptive notes for this series.

Promotion and Public Affairs Department Records: Promotion Manager Nancy Hall Megan Files were processed by Deakyne in 2018. The original folders were retained although some documents were transferred to archival containers in instances of overcrowding. Arrangement was imposed. Deakyne created the inventory and the other descriptive notes for this series.

Promotion and Public Affairs Department Records: Public Affairs Coordinator Jelmir Lucas Files were processed by Deakyne in 2019. The original folders were retained although some documents were transferred to archival containers in instances of overcrowding. Arrangement was imposed. Deakyne created the inventory and the other descriptive notes for this series.

Promotion and Public Affairs Department Records: Advertising Campaign was processed by Deakyne in 2018. All material is audiovisual and remains in the original housing. Arrangement was imposed. Deakyne created the inventory and the other descriptive notes for this series.

Promotion and Public Affairs Department Records: Bio Files were processed by Deakyne in 2019. The original folders were retained. Deakyne created the inventory and the other descriptive notes for this series.

Promotion and Public Affairs Department Records: Event Files were processed by Deakyne in 2018 and 2019. The original folders were retained although some documents were transferred to archival containers in instances of overcrowding. Arrangement was imposed. Deakyne created the inventory and the other descriptive notes for this series.

Promotion and Public Affairs Department Records: Exhibition Files were processed by Deakyne in 2018. The original folders were retained although some documents were transferred to archival containers in instances of overcrowding. Arrangement was imposed. Deakyne created the inventory and the other descriptive notes for this series.

Promotion and Public Affairs Department Records: Newstour Files were processed by Deakyne and Rinehart in 2018. Rinehart wrote the historical note and Deakyne wrote the scope and content for the series. The Administrative Files subseries was processed by Deakyne in 2018. Unhoused materials were foldered. Arrangement was imposed. Deakyne created the inventory and other descriptive notes for Administrative Files. The Books and Binders subseries was processed by Rinehart in 2018. Unhoused materials were foldered. Oversized binder covers were separated from their materials and rehoused in separate boxes for preservation purposes. Arrangement was imposed. Rinehart created the inventory and other descriptive notes for Books and Binders.

Promotion and Public Affairs Department Records: Press Clippings, Kits, and Releases were processed by Deakyne in 2019. Unhoused materials were foldered. The original folders were retained although some documents were transferred to archival containers in instances of overcrowding, and unfoldered materials were housed. Deakyne created the inventory and other descriptive notes for this series.

Promotion and Public Affairs Department Records: Press Releases was processed by Rinehart in 2018 with additions processed by Deakyne in 2019. Unhoused materials were foldered. The original folders were retained although some documents were transferred to archival containers in instances of overcrowding, and unfoldered materials were housed. Rinehart and Deakyne created the inventory and other descriptive notes for this series.

Promotion and Public Affairs Department Records: Project Files were processed by Deakyne in 2019. Unhoused materials were foldered. The original folders were retained although some documents were transferred to archival containers in instances of overcrowding, and unfoldered materials were housed. Deakyne created the inventory and other descriptive notes for this series.

Promotion and Public Affairs Department Records: Promotion Realia was processed by Deakyne in 2019. Materials remain in the original packaging housed in an archival carton. Deakyne created the inventory and other descriptive notes for this series. Promotion and Public Affairs Department Records: General Office Files were processed by Deakyne in 2018. The original folders were retained although some documents were transferred to archival containers in instances of overcrowding. Arrangement was imposed. Deakyne created the inventory and the other descriptive notes for this series.

Advertising Sales Department Records: Assistant Director Files were processed by Deakyne in 2019. The original folders were retained although some documents were transferred to archival containers in instances of overcrowding, and unfoldered materials were housed. Arrangement was imposed. Deakyne created the inventory and the other descriptive notes for this series.

Circulation Department Records were processed by Deakyne in 2019. The original folders were retained although some documents were transferred to archival containers in instances of overcrowding, and unfoldered materials were housed. Arrangement was imposed. Deakyne created the inventory and the other descriptive notes for this series.

Production and Ad Records Department Records were processed by Deakyne in 2019. The original folders were retained although some documents were transferred to archival containers in instances of overcrowding, and unfoldered materials were housed. Arrangement was imposed. Deakyne created the inventory and the other descriptive notes for this series.

Time Education Program Files were processed by Deakyne in 2019. The original folders were retained although some documents were transferred to archival containers in instances of overcrowding, and unfoldered materials were housed. Arrangement was imposed. Deakyne created the inventory and the other descriptive notes for this series.

Repository

New-York Historical Society
New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024