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by Jessica Kosinski
ANTIQUES PEEK
ANTIQUES PEEK

I Saw it in the National Geographic Magazine!

he National Geographic Society was
founded in 1888. Today it is among National Geographic Magazines
Tone of the largest organizations devoted by Popular Topics
to naturalist education and science world- For most collectors, a more sensible option is
wide. The first issue of its official magazine, to collect the most popular issues, determined by
called National Geographic Magazine back their stories or, more often than not, their covers.
then, was also published that year. Today, For example, “The Gorilla with a Camera”
it’s known simply as NAT GEO or National featuring the famous gorilla Coco was the cover
Geographic. Whatever you call it, National image of a National Geographic issued in October,
Geographic has consistently published 1978. It was one of the most popular covers.
high-quality magazines about the world The June 1985 cover was a portrait of a
around us for well over 125 years. Let’s presumed-to-be 12-year-old Afghan girl Sharbat
take a peek at why collecting National Gula, shot by photographer Steve McCurry, and
Geographic is a pastime that endures, even became one of the magazine’s most recognizable
in this age of online articles. We’ll also images. A follow up to it was “The Afghan Girl:
delve into which National Geographics are Found,” which was not published until 2002.
most collectible today.

How the Digital Era
Impacts National
Geographic Collection
Let’s face it, having stacks upon
stacks of magazines sitting around can
take up a lot of space, so National
Geographic collecting isn’t practical for
everyone. The invention of the Internet made such collections
National Geographic “Gorilla obsolete in some ways. Today it is simply not necessary to save
with a Camera” issue 1978
a paper magazine forever so you can refer back to your favorite
articles. In fact, National Geographic has published a digital copy of every issue ever produced
that fans of the magazine can access online. That is why some people have stopped collecting
National Geographic, as well as other magazines. Even so, some people still prefer the feel of
a real magazine in their hands, and there are still many collectors who prefer the paper copies
for specific reasons – such as being able to display the cover artwork.

National Geographic as a Complete
or Nearly Complete Group
The value of National Geographic issues to a collector
depends on that collector’s reason for collecting. One
reason to collect is to amass a complete set of something.
For that reason, a complete or nearly complete set of
National Geographic magazines can have a very high
value. However, trying to find and afford the cost of The most famous cover of
a complete set all at once is an unattainable goal for National Geographic featuring
most collectors. a 12 year old Afghan girl
One reason it is so hard to find anything close to a At right: A photo from the article
complete set of National Geographic today is that there “The Afghan Girl: Found” which
have simply been so many published issues. In these past was published in 2002
132 years, monthly magazines were printed, amounting The nice thing about
to over 1,580 volumes. Collectors looking to define their popular issues is they were
own collection also have to consider how the magazine often produced in larger
has expanded with the changing times. For instance, quantities. They were also coveted and preserved
Japanese issues have been produced since 1995, and issues by people at the time of issue, and are still fairly
produced in Estonian just started up in 2011. Another easy to find. The downside is many of them have
problem is a full set of National Geographic stored in a low monetary value because of that high produc-
safe and properly displayed way takes up more physical First issue of tion volume. That makes them easy to collect for
space than many people have in their homes. National Geographic Magazine fun, but not very easy to resell at a profit.
Continued on page 36
Jessica Kosinski has been a freelance writer specializing in writing short articles for 15 years. She is also an avid collector of both antique books and Star Wars memorabilia. Although she is not in the
antiques industry professionally, she has learned a lot about antiques over the years by periodically helping out at her mom’s antiques shop in Greenville, NH. She currently balances maintaining the
antiques shop’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/MallofNE, and working on various freelance writing assignments. She can be reached at dementorskiss77@yahoo.com.
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