This is Part 1 of “Treasure vs. Junk,” an occasional series that posits the dilemma of what to do with all the historical treasures I’ve accumulated that have now become burdens. The answer, apparently, is to write about them. This series has the potential to go on in perpetuity … or not, as the mood strikes.
I was a huge New York magazine fan from a year after its founding to the late 1970s. (Over the past half dozen years, I’ve renewed my subscription.) Part of its appeal to this twenty-something was the visual concoctions by Design Director Milton Glaser and Art Director Walter Bernard. There were always engaging stories, thematic issues, and just plain surprises. Compared to the then-stolid New Yorker, the magazine was dynamic, both from an art direction and editorial perspective. Remarkably, both publications have survived into the first quarter of the 21st century, and show no signs of losing relevance or appeal. In fact, they have risen as the tide of digital media has washed so many others out to sea.
I saved issues of New York, notably ones that I either wanted to copy, savor or retain for historical reference. Of course, even the most heroic hoarders cannot hold onto all their junk like the Collyer Brothers. But I saved the Dec. 29, 1975, issue because it was about my favorite New York theme: movies. And in particular the increase in filmmaking throughout the city. Watching the craftspeople build on New York streets was a big thrill, as I wrote in 2015.
This special end-of-year number was right for the time and for now. The issue was flooded with stories that extolled the virtue of using New York as both setting and character. And as the years have flown by, the city has grown as a movie capital, with studios in Queens and Brooklyn, as well as countless location shots.
I recall with contempt the movies and TV shows that invoked New York but were filmed in Toronto. It may have fooled some, but despite the garbage cans, police cars, and characters with Brooklyn accents, shows like “Kojak” (and others I’ve blocked from memory) always faltered on the details, especially the street signs.
This issue of the magazine was devoted to classic, contemporary and futuristic films that physically used the city. Jim Hoberman regaled the reader with a guide to the once-ubiquitous revival houses that have since greatly decreased in number, owing to physical media and the streaming wave.
There was also a new feature by Edward Sorel of satiric film posters: David Rockefeller’s failing mammoth development scheme, the World Trade Center, which in light of Sept. 11, is rather haunting today. Most contemporary readers will not remember the saga of Rabbi Bernard Bergman, whose temple was devoted to Mammon, and who triggered a nursing home scandal fueled by greed. And the acerbic Gentlemen Prefer Bonds, starring Nixon’s attorney general and Nelson Rockefeller, both in caper-coms as rapacious developers.
New York in its current incarnation continues the legacy begun by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser, and I save the print versions for about six months, but my stack from the golden years cannot be sustained. So, with the untouchable exceptions of the first issues, these publishing treasures have been relegated to junk and torn asunder.
