My favorite in this group is the only known complete run of Celebrities Monthly (see p. 31)
I first learned about this magazine when I supplied a group of magazines for a 1999 exhibition at MOMA (Museum of Modern Art, NYC) entitled "Fame After Photography". http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/1999/fameafterphotography/
(The extremely scarce Film Fun images of Charles Chaplin were the most popular of the ones I supplied)
The organizers of the exhibition told me that Celebrities Monthly was the most important magazine that they were seeking but they didn't have a copy to inspect- nor did I. A challenge to a maniac collector.
Shortly afterwards (too late for the exhibition), I found one issue on eBay for $65 and when I contacted the dealer, I learned to my great glee that he had the entire run, which I proceeded to buy. Further research indicated that the last issue was previously unknown.
I have never seen another issue since. Each magazine contains original photographs, from prime photographic studios (Pach Brothers, for instance) tipped in of each celebrity, all of which are unique to this very rare magazine, a veritable who's who of the end of the 19th Century. Each individual photograph is worth $100 and up- not a bad find for under $800!
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