YesterYacht
My name is Scott and I'm a bit obsessed with nautical publications.
It started innocently enough when I was a teenager. A few old copies of Motor Boating & Sailing. A copy of Yachting left in a waiting room. Issues of The Rudder that had gone a bit moldy.
Then it got worse. I'd go to magazine stores (remember them?) "just to browse", and I'd walk out with Small Boat Journal, Cruising World, WoodenBoat, even a few sexy Europeans like Boats for Sale.
I mean, I could quit any time. I was just doing it for fun.
But then I met this guy down on the corner named "eBay", and I spiraled out of control. Suddenly, I became a completist. It was not enough to have a few issues from 1942. I needed them all!! And not just 1942! I needed all the war years! For all the magazines!
Until I had (and I am not exaggerating) several tons of old yachting magazines, spanning the years 1925 through 1975. Which, just sayin', was not met with universal joy from She Who Must Be Obeyed. And she also pointed out that I, um, well, how can I put this....
I DID NOT ACTUALLY EVER READ MY MAGAZINES.
There. I admit it. I am a bad person. I had this collection, but it was such a hassle to deal with that I never actually read them.
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So a few years ago I decided that I was going to digitize my collection. Not everything. I was mostly interested in the designs. So I decided that I would strip the designs out of the issues, and scan them at archival quality. It took a bit of experimentation, but eventually I got it pretty automated, and I scanned about 7500 pages of designs.
But as I did so, I was struck again by the art of these vintage periodicals. The covers, the advertising, the photography. So I decided, in for a penny, in for a pound. I'll scan those too, also at archival quality. Just saying, that is much more complex, because they were in color and cover stock does not autofeed very well. But a few months after that, I had another 2000 pages of archival quality scans of covers, advertisements, and photographs.
And, I have to admit, it's fun to have. I've spent a lot more time looking at my stuff now than I ever did when it was sitting on a shelf in the basement. And most importantly, I have found groups of people who like the same stuff I do, like "The art of vintage yachting covers" on Facebook, and I've had fun sharing there.
But those people have asked me for more, like copies of the images for screen backgrounds, and I can't share those in the group -- because after all, it's a group for magazine covers, not random images.
So, purely for fun, I have set up this mailing list. It's absolutely 100% free, and a way for me to share my passion with the world. If you sign up, the only thing I can guarantee is that you'll get cool stuff, that I like, delivered right to your mailbox, for free. My most popular covers, designs from that month's issue, damaged covers that I still think are cool, interesting ads, even content on a particular theme like covers from a particular artist, or month, or type of boat.
Enjoy!
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