Vintage Popular Science Magazine, 9 DVD Complete Set, 1872-1963, 1086 issue

Vintage Popular Science Magazine Collection
9 DVD SET
1872-1963
1086 total issues, 35 GB of data!

Popular Science (PopSci) is an American monthly magazine carrying popular science content, that is, articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. Popular Science has won over 58 awards, including the American Society of Magazine Editors awards for its journalistic excellence in both 2003 (for General Excellence) and 2004 (for Best Magazine Section). With roots beginning in 1872, PopSci has been translated into over 30 languages and goes out to at least 45 countries.

Popular Science Monthly was founded in May 1872 by Edward L. Youmans to disseminate scientific knowledge to the educated layman. Youmans had previously worked as an editor for the weekly Appleton's Journal and persuaded them to publish his new journal. Early issues were mostly reprints of English periodicals. The journal became an outlet for writings and ideas of Charles Darwin, Thomas Henry Huxley, Louis Pasteur, Henry Ward Beecher, Charles Sanders Peirce, William James, Thomas Edison, John Dewey and James McKeen Cattell. William Jay Youmans, Edward's brother, helped found Popular Science Monthly in 1872 and was an editor as well. He became editor-in-chief on Edward's death in 1887. The publisher, D. Appleton & Company, was forced for economic reasons to sell the journal in 1900.

James McKeen Cattell became the editor in 1900 and the publisher in 1901. Cattell had a background in academics and continued publishing articles for educated readers. By 1915 the readership was declining and publishing a science journal was a financial challenge. In a September 1915 editorial, Cattell related these difficulties to his readers and announced that the "Popular Science Monthly" name had been "transferred" to a group that wanted the name for a general audience magazine, a publication which fit the name better. The existing journal would continue the academic tradition as Scientific Monthly. Existing subscribers would remain subscribed under the new name. Scientific Monthly was published until 1958 when it was absorbed into Science.

The Modern Publishing Company acquired the Popular Science Monthly name. This company had purchased Electrician and Mechanic magazine in 1914 and over the next two years merged several magazines together into a science magazine for a general audience. The magazine had a series of name changes: Modern Electrics and Mechanics, Popular Electricity and Modern Mechanics, Modern Mechanics and finally World's Advance, before the publishers purchased the name Popular Science Monthly. The October 1915 issue was titled Popular Science Monthly and World's Advance.

The change in Popular Science Monthly was dramatic. The old version was a scholarly journal that had eight to ten articles in a 100 page issue. There would be ten to twenty photographs or illustrations. The new version had hundreds of short, easy to read articles with hundreds of illustrations.

This collection on DVD provides the monthly issues shown in high quality PDF format.  Each issue is a high resolution PDF file, hence why our complete set takes up a whopping 9 DVD's for a whopping total of 35 Gigabytes of old vintage magazines.  You need the latest copy of Adobe Reader to view these files. This collection really exemplifies classic Americana.  Equally as interesting as the old articles are the old advertisements that are included in these.  Perfect for someone doing research or is interested in reading some of these old articles.

 Sample images shown in low resolution