About Premiere Issues

The story behind Premiere Issues is simple. Over the years I've amassed a small, but steady collection of premiere issues that I want to display, and develop into a project. It started with a copy of Ray Gun that I picked up in a bookstore in Monterey, California. That particular magazine became an important design and cultural reference and set the tone for a number of magazines that followed. When I moved to New York in 1995, I would spend an afternoon visiting my favourite newstands and read through magazines. Foreign. Fashion. Culture. Art. There were loads to choose from. But I often thought of this first issue I had, stored under my bed somewhere, and started to pick up copies of premieres whenever I spotted them. Suddenly it seemed there was a new one hitting the stands each week. New magazine publishing was exploding. It began to get interesting, and I began collecting.

Premiere Issues is a way of documenting these first issues, and providing an index and reference guide to some of the magazines we love, collect, subscribe to and read. Since magazines are about individual tastes, my concentration is mostly on fashion, design, art, culture, film, or related topics.

In the collection, you will find for each publication a 'stat' sheet; it is essentially a list of who the creators are; the founders, publishers, designers, editors as well as what the magazine is; its physical attributes, frequency, and opening statement. The message, if there is one, usually defines the tone of the new publication. While each statement is thoughtfully written and unique, seen altogether they compose a greater magazine landscape; one that is continually shifting, generating new ideas, recording current trends and capturing a part of our identities and imaginations.

In the meantime hopefully, the collection will grow. This is a personal project, lead by curiousity and the desire to document, but also subject to the everyday whims and fancies. Aside from the help and comments of friends, assistance from the creators and editors of these publications will be vital to the success of this project, and greatly appreciated! If you wish to contribute, please send across a message. Ultimately the goal is to provide a neat, respectful and insightful resource for magazine lovers, readers and creators.

Thanks for your interest!
Danielle H