'Exciting Adventures'

I mentioned a couple of months ago that I'd obtained some copies of the US Argosy magazine via eBay.  They are from its men's magazine period in the late fifties and early sixties, rather than from its pulp heyday, of which the above cover, from 1937, is pretty representative, when it was published weekly.  Back then it was an all-fiction publication, with a focus on action-orientated stories of any imaginable genre.  From pirates to cowboys, adventure on the high seas to tales of the legion, from Viking epics to science fiction, the magazine had it all, with its covers promising two-fisted adventures in exotic locales. Of course, this was an era when exotic locales still existed, before, it seemed, that every corner of our  planet, no matter how remote, had been touched by tourism.  An era before TV had brought even the furthest, most inaccessible parts of the world into our living rooms.  It seemed entirely possible that a mam might be able to escape his mundane life and go somewhere unexplored or unfettered by 'civilisation' and its laws in order to seek adventure. 

World War Two and paper shortages put paid to the weekly schedule, with Argosy instead adopting the monthly schedule more characteristic of contemporary pulps.  While the exotic adventures continued, they were joined by patriotic flag waving tales of men at war.  Sometimes these happily crossed genre, with cautionary, future set, tales of the consequeces of failing to defeat the Axis:

Post-war, the venerable publication settled back into its regular role as a purveyor of cheap thrills, albeit still on a monthly schedule, serving readers stories of adventure.  But the world was changing and traditional pulps found radio and TV increasingly pushing them out of  the mass entertainment market.  While many established titles died, Argosy adapted, switching to slick paper and moving into the men;s magazine genre.  No longer an all-fiction publication, its pages were increasingly filled with supposed 'true tales of adventure' and sports orientated articles.  Certainly, the issues I've obtained have a significant focus on outdoor pursuits such as hunting and fishing, not to mention cars, poker and firearms.  In this format, the magazine struggled into the early seventies, but was well past its prime.

There's no denying the attraction of the earlier covers, full of pirates on the High Seas, cowboys riding the range and intrepid jungle explorers being menaced by tigers and discovering lost cities.  They certainly appeal to me, perhaps more as I grow older and realise that the modern world offers none of these fantasies any more - the possibility of such adventures becomes less and less as time goes on.  Not that the sort of things that went on in the pages of classic Argosy were ever that likely, but at least there was enough possibility to allow the fantasies to fly.