Cliff Aliperti

Wisdom – The Magazine of Knowledge and Education

August 6, 2009 By Cliff Aliperti 33 Comments

I really love what I’ve seen of this old over-sized picture magazine which touts itself as “The Magazine of Knowledge and Education.” A large format title, similar in size to LIFE Magazine, Wisdom first appeared in 1956, typically featuring Yousuf Karsh photos of famed intellectuals and artists on both covers and on the main inside feature.

An example of the subjects of Wisdom can be found in this checklist, found on the inside covers of issue #25:

#1 Albert Einstein
#2 Albert Schweitzer
#3 Bernard Baruch
#4 Winston Churchill
#5 Abraham Lincoln
#6 Jascha Heifetz
#7 Laurence Oliver
#8 Dr. Jonas E. Salk
#9 George Bernard Shaw
#10 Cecil B. De Mille
#11 Helen Keller
#12 Jesus
#13 The Thinker by Rodin
#14 Bertrand Russell
#15 Artur Rubinstein
#16 Somerset Maugham
#17 Jung, Adler, Freud
#18 Dwight D. Eisenhower
#19 Eleanor Roosevelt
#20 Will Durant
#21 Pope Pius XII
#22 David Sarnoff
#23 Benjamin Franklin
#24 Yousuf Karsh
#25 Pablo Picasso

And since I’ve had #26 I can tell you that was Ernest Hemingway. But how long did the title continue being published, that I did not know. All I knew is I liked it and wanted to know more.

In what was one of the last sources I found about Wisdom, Albert R. Vogeler writes eloquently about the title, and some of the unfortunate events which are covered on this page below. I’ll link to Mr. Vogeler’s document at the bottom of this page when I return to it, but for now we’ll let his eloquent words describe what was Wisdom the magazine:

“An elitist publication (hard covers, opulent large format, semi-annual issues in limited numbers), it nevertheless embodied a populist message (everyone can aspire to wisdom, the great minds of the past speak directly to our generation through their books, and they can make our lives better if we learn how to read them).”

I ran into a bit of a problem trying to determine when Wisdom Magazine died before finally discovering the date was 1964. After coming up empty searching for a tight little history of the title both on my book shelves and online, I decided to Google the publisher Leon Gutterman. To my surprise it appears at least possible that Mr. Gutterman is still going strong as the Director of what is now called The Wisdom Society For The Advancement Of Knowledge, Learning & Research In Education (Wisdom Hall Of Fame). Of course, the business directory page I found is far from official, but adding the 52 years it claims this company has been in business to the 1956 date of Volume 1, Number 1 of Wisdom Magazine we do come out at 2008, which is pretty close. The manta.com directory also tells us that the business is located in Beverly Hills, CA and currently has 2 employees with estimated revenues of $100,000/yr. There’s even a phone number.

But I didn’t find the 1964 date there and I was pretty sure Wisdom Magazine had long ceased publication. The issue I had pulled out to create this post did include the information that “Wisdom Magazine is published monthly by The Wisdom Society for the Advancement of Knowledge, Learning and Research in Education, a non-profit educational and literary organization” (May 1958 issue), and so obviously The Wisdom Society would live on after the magazine ceased publication.

May 1958 Wisdom Magazine, Pablo Picasso front cover

Continuing my search for anything Wisdom or Gutterman I came upon TIME Magazine’s announcement of Volume 1, Number 1 of Wisdom Magazine in the Press section of their December 26, 1955 issue. Wisdom is referred to as a “glossy ‘class magazine for the masses'” and notes Gutterman, age 39 (which would make him 93 today), as an ex-movie press-agent claiming 150,000 subscribers for his new monthly. TIME also reports that Gutterman says he has approximately 100 backers investing $1 million in Wisdom.

What’s funny is that two issues later, January 9, 1956, TIME publishes a letter from Mr. Gutterman complaining about the previous coverage. In all caps, Gutterman writes that he’s “deeply disappointed that TIME’s Dec. 26 story on “Wisdom” Magazine was presented to your readers with such inaccuracy and indifference. Gutterman states that he is not an ex-movie press-agent but was a screenwriter and nationally syndicated columnist. TIME’s editorial team replies that “Gutterman’s own biographical sketch in the Motion Picture Almanac notes: ‘Paramount publicity writer 1941-42. June 1942 appointed publicity director Warner Brothers Radio Division.'”

Hey, you can’t fault the guy for creating another little mention in TIME Magazine at the launch of his own title, well done, I say.

Actually, the IMDb does list a Leo Gutterman as the original author of a 1948 film titled “Smart Women” starring Brian Aherne and Constance Bennett. Note this Gutterman wrote the source material that the script, written by others, was based on. Even with the missing “n” (this is Leo, not Leon), this is the only credit for Gutterman on the comprehensive, though admittedly not perfect, IMDb site.

From there I thought I’d hit a dead end. TIME does not choose to cover the death of Wisdom, and so I thought I’d have to do a little guess work. But I did find a couple of more relevant sources.

Next stop was Oregon State University’s site where they showed off a “Wisdom Award of Honor” made out to Linus Pauling and signed by Gutterman. The library dates this item as 1965. Interesting.

From there it gets more interesting, with this March 12, 1974 Free-Lance Star article “Post Office Frowns on Hall of Wisdom” in which we discover at least 30,000 people have received letters from Leon Gutterson of the Wisdom of Hall of Fame through the mail proclaiming:

“It is a pleasure and privilege to personally notify you that you have been judged worthy of highest honor”

“Based on our evaluation of your impressive accomplishments, you are, to the best of our knowledge, a man of superior intelligence, intellectual attainment, high idealism, personal integrity, excellent reputation.”

“You have been nominated by the Board of Editors and deemed worth of the highest status, highest prestige award of education in America: The Wisdom Award of Honor.”

All you had to do to have your name added to a list featuring the likes of Walt Disney, Cecil B. DeMille, Walter Cronkite and others was send a $100 gift to the Educators and Editors of Wisdom.

The USPS estimated just a 1-5% response rate. The Star writes “In a recently concluded case postal officials found that the so-called Wisdom Board of Editors consisted essentially of Gutterman and one female assistant who combed lists from Who’s Who publications and submitted them to each other for promotional purposes.”

Actually, 2 employees rings a bell from up above.

We also get our end date of 1964 when the Star notes “the magazine actually ceased publication in 1964, only one Wisdom book has appeared, and the encyclopedia is still far from completion.”

The USPS decided against Wisdom and stopped their incoming mail. This document appears to be the USPS’s findings at Wisdom’s appeal.

Of Wisdom Magazine’s death, Albert R. Vogeler, who is also quoted above, had this to say in his document, “Wisdom, Inc.”:

“This glossy “class magazine for the masses” seemed briefly to prosper after its much-publicized founding in 1956, then stagnated, and staggered into financial failure in 1964. It remains to this day on library shelves, an unread relic of a purportedly idealistic publishing venture that was deeply tainted with hubris.”

The Vogeler piece does a great job in explaining how Gutterman’s Hollywood background brought less intellectual subjects such as Cecil B. DeMille and Walt Disney into Wisdom’s mix.

Frankly, I think Wisdom’s past could be called checkered at best, but at the same time I’m all the more intrigued by the title and look forward to handling more in the future.

Free France – A Fortnightly Bulletin Published in NY During WWII

July 6, 2009 By Cliff Aliperti Leave a Comment

I’m having a hard time finding actual information about the title Free France, other than sales listings and observations about the issues I’ve come into possession of myself.

The earliest issue I had was Volume 1, Number 2, dated April 15, 1942. The bulletin consisted of 20 pages plus covers measuring 8-1/2″ X 11″ issued with 3-holes punched near the left edge for placement in a binder. There was a gap in the issues I’d acquired jumping from New Year’s 1943 to Summer 1945. By comparison, Volume 8, Number 5 of Free France, dated September 1, 1945, while also just 20 pages plus covers, more closely resembles a traditional magazine with photos throughout and standard binding. The earlier issues almost looked as though someone had photocopied the pages and when photos did finally come about they were all found at the back of the issue (and on inside front cover).

Free France Magazine April 15 1942 — Volume 1, Number 2 - April 15, 1942

Free France was “Published by the French Press and Information Service – An Agency of the the Provisional Government of the French Republic.” It’s offices were at 510 Madison Avenue in New York. Yes, Free France was an English language bulletin/magazine with most of the articles reprinted from other sources plus transcriptions of speeches and reprints of actual Underground Newspapers (in English). As noted by mention of the September ’45 issue above, Free France continued publication for a period after General de Gaulle reclaimed France from the Vichy regime in 1944.

To give a taste, we page through the November 1, 1942 issue (Volume 2, Number 9) and note the following items.

From London, October 20, 1942, “General de Gaulle Orders Resistance.”

A few hours after Laval’s appeal, General de Gaulle over the air waves urged the French nation to resist. Below we give the text of his broadcast.

“Treason — in other words, Vichy — is doubling its efforts in order to paralyze France in her struggle for life and greatness. Treason — in other words, Vichy — is hurrying, multiplying its activities in order to wrench labor, material, victims from France and to furnish them to the Reich…

Free France Magazine September 1 1945 — September 1, 1945

Further into the issue and item of interest from the La Marseillaise, September 20, 1942:

The Cross of Lorraine Floats at Saint Helena

The French flag and teh Croix de Lorraine are now flying over Napoleon’s tomb at Saint Helena. It is the French National Committee which is now responsible for the maintenance of this piece of land which has been French territory since Queen Victoria presented it to France in 1858.

Georges Collin, guardian of this historic site, has believed since June 1940 that he could not at the same time remain faithful to the memory of Napoleon and loyal to the Vichy government. He wrote to General de Gaulle, and recently a ship of the Free French Navy dropped anchor at Saint Helena to hoise the colors of Fighting France over the Emperor’s tomb.

From French Underground paper, Liberation, September 15, 1942:

“Behind this newspaper …. action is hidden … go onward; the secret militia of Liberation will multiply your actions, will protect them, will cover you. There on the fateful day you will find leaders, arms. You will know again the savage joy or erasing a shameful deed. And you will see that there will be among us no man, however star-bedecked, however ready to fly towards victory in these last hours, who has smirched himself with the National Revolution of slaves. Such men may be useful! They are certainly utilized. Any method is good, if it leads to victory. But at our victory feast: no! Fighting France alone will sit there.”

What Sank the Lusitania? from The Scientific American May 29, 1915

May 29, 2009 By Cliff Aliperti Leave a Comment

What Sank the “Lusitania”?

Reproduced in its entirety from The Scientific American, May 29, 1915

Cover of The Scientific American May 29 1915 — Front cover of the Scientific American, May 29, 1915 - Loading a Torpedo into one of the Four Forward Tubes of a Submarine

In its endeavor to becloud the issue, official Germany has claimed that the ammunition carried by the “Lusitania” contributed largely to the swift sinking of that great ship.

Now this is a technical question, and to anyone who is technically qualified to judge the matter, the explanation offered is, on the face of it, absurd.

This war has proved over and over again that one submarine torpedo of the German type, carrying 420 pounds of high explosive, is sufficient to sink a warship–even a battleship which, exclusive of the double bottom deck, is divided into no less than two hundred and fifty separate watertight compartments, big and small.

Lusitania arrives in New York — September 13, 1907: Lusitania arriving in New York on her maiden voyage. Public domain photo from Wikipedia.

The question of the length of time a ship fully subdivided will remain afloat after being torpedoed, depends largely upon where the blow gets home. In the case of a battleship, especially a thoroughly modern ship like the “Audacious,” the blow of a mine ofr a torpedo, in addiiton to the local damage, may so badly shake up and loosen her internal structure, that gradual seepage of water will occur through the bulkheads, and she will eventually sink several hours after the attack. But should the blow strike in the region of a magazine, as in the case of the Russian “Petropavlovsk” and the Japanese “Hatsuse,” the explosion of the torpedo warhead may instantly be succeeded by the far greater explosion of the whole magazine, and the ship, no matter what her size, will go down in two or three minutes’ time.

Now the fact that the “Lusitania” remained afloat eighteen or twenty minutes after being torpedoed completely disproves the assertion of the Germans that her cargo of ammunition exploded–and nobody knows this so perfectly well as Admiral von Tirpitz himself and the subordinate in command of the submarine which sank the ship.

To be convinced of this, let us consider the case of two warships in which the ammunition exploded, and see what happened. In the case of the U.S.S. “Maine,” when the flame and shock of the mine which contributed to her swift sinking reached the forward magazine, they exploded and the enormous force of the gases lifted her forward deck and rolled it back upon the after part of the ship just as one would turn the leaf of a book. Again, take the case of the French battleship “Liberte,” whose forward magazine exploded through deterioration of her smokeless powder. Exactly the same thing happened as in the case of the “Maine,” but on a larger and more destructive scale. The decks of this great ship lying above her magazine were torn loose from the hull, lifted high in air and rolled back, upside down, upon the after part of the ship.

The Maine Sinking 1898 Leslies Weekly — From Leslie's Weekly, February 24, 1898, THE UNITED STATES BATTLESHIP "MAINE" BLOWN UP AND SUNK IN HAVANA HARBOR, FEBRUARY 15 - Illustrated by Howard F. Sprague

If the cargo of the ammunition carried by the “Lusitania” had been set off by the torpedo which struck her, similar results would have followed. The enormous expansive force of the gases of the explosion would have blown out the sides of the ship above the waterline and torn open her decks above, folding them back upon themselves. Did any such destruction occur? Was there any evidence whatsoever of such an explosion? The very fact that the ship remained afloat as long as she did proves that nothing of the kind happened, and that the ammunition in her hold had no part in the sinking of the ship.

So enormous is the charge of explosive carried by the submarine torpedo of the Germans that the single torpedo which struck her not only tore a vast opening in the outer skin of the ship, but the disruptive effects of the gases let loose under high pressure within her hull structure were sufficient to wreck the inner wall of the side bunkers and produce an immediate and enormous inrush of water, besides loosening up in the frames and bulkheading in the neighborhood of the explosion to such an extent that less than a half an hour was sufficient to put the great ship below the surface.

A battleship not only carries a heavy watertight protective deck, but the underwater portion of the ship below this deck is divided and subdivided transversely and longitudintally until she contains, as we have said, over two hundred and fifty separate watertight compartments, bit and little.

Sinking of the Lusitania 1915 — 1915 painting depicting the sinking of the Lusitania by the German U-Boat U 20 - From the Wikipedia Commons via Deutsches Bundesarchiv (German Federal Archive)

The “Lusitania” contained below the waterline only thirty-four such compartments–and this was all that could be conveniently accommodated within a ship whose primary purpose was for the uses of commerce and not to face the perils of modern submarine warfare. Since she was designed the explosive charge in the warheads of torpedoes, at least of those used on submarines, has been more than doubled. The commander of the German submarine, when he discharged his torpedo at point-blank range and saw it strike home, knew that the “Lusitania” would probably go down fast and long before her helpless passengers could take to the boats. This was expected and so intended by the Imperial German Admiralty.

Note: Other than the front cover none of these illustrations are from this specific magazine. The article itself has no illustration or accompanying photographs.

Mark Twain as a Buffalo Editor – The Globe, April 1873

May 7, 2009 By Cliff Aliperti 3 Comments

Mark Twain was 37 at the time this article was published, early enough into his career that the world had yet to be introduced to Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn, but literate folk would have been familiar with The Innocents Abroad, published 1869. Twain was editor of the Buffalo Express for 18 months during 1869-71.

The April 1873 issue of The Globe, issued out of Buffalo itself, is Volume 1, Number 1 of a publication which would survive in 1877. The following text of “Mark Twain as a Buffalo Editor” is complete as it originally appeared in that first issue:

Mark Twain as a Buffalo Editor
The Globe, April 1873

The social characteristics of a person of any public prominence have a certain, unspeakable interest. Especially in the case of a noted or popular member of the literati. That which is written in an essay, lecture or magazine article or printed in a book has, of course, its mission to fulfill–an idea to illustrate or sustain, a sentiment to encourage or a theory to advance, or, perhaps, merely the amusement of the mind, but whatever that mission may be its fulfillment entails most impertinent consequences upon the author. Common curiosity is ever rapacious for some knowledge of the inner life of the author whose pen has cheered, interested, amused or offended. Then it is urged that the popular author is the property as well as the pride of his community and no domestic privacy can be tolerated in a man upon whom the great public has set its seal of approval and claimed for its own.

Mark Twain from his writing and his lectures has naturally placed himself most prominently in public view. His brief residence in Buffalo allowed the curious of this vicinity just the least morsel of satisfaction. A quiet, reserved and irritable man, he gave his fellow citizens little opportunity to annoy him with their attentions or questions. Although courteous upon all occasions he was wont to turn a cold shoulder to the staring Paul Prys. The writer has often seen some luckless offending individual scourged beneath the stinging lash of his sarcasm. Mr. Clemens is a bitterly sarcastic man–humorists, as a rule are so–and his uncurbed independence of expression often leads him into unpleasant encounters. His editorial career, when he was one of the proprietors of the Buffalo Express illustrated this quality to a very noticeable extent. The manner in which he wielded the journalistic sceptre was more that of an impatient autocrat than an humble American citizen. His convictions were launched upon the reading public without modification or concessions. Bold and sweeping were the utterances and irreverent the criticisms that he contributed to the columns of the paper. Many there were, too, for when in his working mood Mark Twain’s rapid pen knew little idleness and less constraint. The humorist writes with great ease and accuracy and sends a clean first manuscript to the compositor’s case. Although personally a great stickler for plain Saxon in writing and speaking, it will be noticed that many of his most effective “points” in his humorous sketches are made by his extravagant and reckless mixing up of Queen’s English.

Mr. Clemens, as an Editor of the Express, ever maintained the most rigid views of the power and importance of the Press and was scrupulous of its purity and dignity. He seldom put a word into an article without first knowing and meaning just what that word expressed. And the readers wee also certain of getting his honest convictions most plainly worded. In his spicy salutatory which appeared in the Express on the morning of the 21st of August, 1869, was the following, which when divested of its careless jesting, indicates as clearly as possible Mark Twain’s journalistic platform. We quote:

“I only wish to assure parties having a friendly interest in the prosperity of the journal that I am not going to hurt the paper deliberately and interntionally at any time. I am not going to introduce any startling reforms or in any way attempt to make trouble. I am simply going to do my plain, unpretending duty,–when I cannot get out of it. I shall work diligently and honestly and faithfully at all times and upon all occasions, when privation and want shall compel me to do it. In writing I shall always confine myself strictly to the truth, except when it is attended with inconvenience. I shall witheringly rebuke all forms of crime and misconduct except when committed by the party inhabiting my own vest. I shall not make use of slang or vulgarity upon any occasion or circumstance, and shall never use profanity except in discussing house rent and taxes. Indeed, upon second though I will not even use it then for it is unchristian, inelegant and degrading. I shall not often meddle with politics, because we have a political editor who is already excellent and only needs a term in the penitentiary in order to be perfect. I shall not write any poetry unless I conceive a spite against the subscribers.”

The first two months of Mr. Clemens editorial career in Buffalo were indeed busy ones. From eight o’clock in the morning until ten, eleven and sometimes twelve o’clock at night he sat at his desk poring over exchanges, penning witty paragraphs, exchanging frequent remarks with his associate and writing brief editorials. This was in the summer, be it remembered, and the humorist editor was a picture and a study in himself. Coatless, sometimes vestless, he lolled in his chair with one shoeless foot on the table and the other in the wastebasket. His collar, cuffs and tie were strewn on the floor with the papers, and his hat lay just where it happened to fall when brushed off the back of his head. But he was a worker, and doubtless at the present time the subscribers of the Express bear in delightful remembrance the fresh, agreeable editorial paragraphs that bore, so unmistakably, the stamp of Twain’s matchless sarcasm and humor.

No man detested loafers more than Mr. Clemens, and assuredly no man could be more pitiless in his treatment of bores. He was vigorous in his denunciation of that class of people who aimlessly and impudently intrude their constant presence in an editorial room. One incident will, perhaps, bear relating, showing how he once rebuked a party of undesired visitors. Arriving at his office one evening about half past eight o’clock he found it full of men–all strangers to him. They had apparently taken full possession of the room. Some were smoking and some had their feet upon the table and every chair in the room was occupied. With a look of disgust Mr. Clemens hesitated for a moment in the doorway and then in his peculiar drawling way, said:

“Is this the editorial room of the Express?”
“Yes sir!” promptly chorused the assemblage.
“H–m! is it customary for the editors to sit down?” questioned the humorist.
“Yes,” “certainly,” “to be sure,” were the replies returned by the puzzled smokers. “Why do you ask?” said one of them.
“Because,” slowly enunciated Mr. Clemens, “I am one of the editors of the Express, an it occured to me that I ought to have a seat!”

In an instant every chair was vacated and the men, somewhat abashed, attemtped to laugh the matter off by saying “Ah! Mr. Clemens that was neat,” “witty as ever.” etc., etc., but there was something in the joker’s eye that quickly told them he was in no joking frame of mind at that moment. After that, loungers were rather shy of Mark Twain.

Displaying Your Collection – A Magazine Idea Out of a Magazine

May 4, 2009 By Cliff Aliperti Leave a Comment

I’m looking to put together a post sometime in the near future about how collectors are storing and/or displaying their collections. If you’d care to share, please feel free to reply with any info.

Tracy Lilly bought several issues of The New Yorker from me spread out over a variety of years and was kind enough to take the time to answer the question above. Not only that, she provided the genesis for her idea and an image from the actual magazine article where it appeared!

New Yorker December 7 1987 — One of several soon to be on display by Tracy

In Tracy’s own words:

I am going to use them to decorate a wall in my house, I saw a great idea about framing these magazines and fell in love with it so I will frame them all alike and hang them 3 wide in a row of 4

And the image that served as her inspiration appeared on page 87 of the Spring 2009 issue of Decorating Magazine from Better Homes and Gardens: