The spark for this page came when I was paging through a recent batch of Look Magazines that I was going to list on eBay. I had so much fun going through the contents that I thought others might enjoy being able to glance through them as well. I didn’t want to look at these with the same detail that I give to our Random Issues, as this would then become a six-month project, yet at the same time I wanted to at least capture the essence of this grouping of old magazines.
I thought I could preserve my own enjoyment of this grouping by bringing the cover images and contents listings over to this site. I think the titles of the articles with a few supporting comments give anybody who happens to be interested a great primary source to the world of 1942 from Look’s unique perspective. At the same time, I did a lot of work creating these listings and the prices realized were a little bit better than usual, so why not spice the page up with some selling tips as well?
You can read my detailed process describing how to list magazine back issues for sale here.
The magazines are listed below. I give you the date, the price the item sold for if it sold, a cover image, the contents page along with any additional comments when I felt that they were warranted, and the grade (though I do spare the details. If curious please check my Grading Guide on this site). All items started at minimum bids between $4.99-$9.99 and the bidding closed on January 13, 2006. This is not a “Price Guide” but rather a guide to potential prices. Enjoy!
LOOK Magazine January 13 1942
Grades VG or 4/10 – Sold for $7.99
Cover photo of US Army Air Force member by Rudy Arnold.
Contents: NATIONAL DEFENSE: War With Japan by Maj. George Fielding Eliot — Swing Shift — NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: Is John L. Lewis Washed Up? by Raymond Clapper — WORLD SPOTLIGHT: Rescue and Death in the War at Sea — Spitfire — PEOPLE: Duke and Duchess of Windsor by Helen Worden — LOOK Calls On Canada’s War Chief — Carmen Miranda — SPORTS: Flying Dutchman by Paul Zimmerman (Cornelius Warmerdam) — How to Improve Your Bowling by Ned Day — MOVIES: LOOK’s New Movie Reviews by James Francis Crow (w/pic & review for Monty Woolley & Bette Davis in “The Man Who Came to Dinner”, “H.M. Pulliam, Esq.”, and Gary Cooper & Barbara Stanwyck in “Ball of Fire”) — HOLIDAYS: Hollywood Farmers (Newlyweds Alan Curtis & Ilona Massey) — STYLE, HEALTH AND BEAUTY: New Painless Eight-Day Diet by Don Wharton — Spotlight of Fashion — TEST YOURSELF: Photoquiz — Photocrime — LETTERS and Pictures From LOOK Readers
LOOK Magazine February 10 1942
Grades VG or 4/10 – DID NOT SELL
Cover photo of Elyse Knox is by Paul Hesse.
Contents: AMERICA AT WAR: The Inside Story of Colin Kelly’s Exploit — Why America Can’t Lose by Raymond Clapper — The War in the Pacific — NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: Careers for Youth Today Part 1: Radio Calls for Youth by Walter Walker — Camera School Holds a Session by the Sea — WORLD SPOTLIGHT: Battle Between Planes and Ships by Paul Schubert — Mussolini: Hitler’s No. 1 Prisoner of War — PEOPLE: Girl Test Pilot — SPORTS: High School Hero by Tom Meany — How to Improve Your Skiing by Otto Lang — LOOK’s New Movie Reviews by James Francis Crow (w/a pic & review of “Johnny Eager” with Robert Taylor & Lana Turner and Gene Tierney in “The Shanghai Gesture”) — HOLIDAYS: “Date Leaves” in Hollywood (at Gene Raymond & Jeanette MacDonald’s home) — ANIMALS: William Debetaz Trains Seeing Eye Dogs — STYLE, HEALTH AND BEAUTY: What You Can Do About That Cold — Spotlight of Fashion — TEST YOURSELF: Photoquiz — Photocrime — LETTERS and Pictures From LOOK Readers
LOOK Magazine February 24 1942
Grades VG or 4/10 – DID NOT SELL
Cover photo of Elyse Knox at a Naval Base is by Paul Hesse.
Contents: AMERICA AT WAR: The New War of Hide and Seek — After This War, What? by Vincent Sheean — Testing for War in the Troposphere — NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: Permanent Solution for America’s “Labor Problems” by Phillip Murray — 12 Do’s and Don’ts for College Girls by George N. Shuster — Careers for Youth Today No. 2: Department Stores by Walter Walker — WORLD SPOTLIGHT: Hitler’s New Scapegoat by Ernest R. Pope (referring to The Catholics) — PEOPLE: Gloria Vanderbilt: Hollywood Bride — A Censor Who Fights for Freedom of the Press by Carlisle Bargeron — SPORTS: The First Skiing Family of Vermont — MOVIES: LOOK’s New Movie Reviews by James Francis Crow (includes a pic & review for “Joe Smith, American”, “Joan of Paris”, and “Ride ‘Em Cowboy” with Abbott and Costello) — Jungle Book — STYLE AND BEAUTY: 1942 Swim Suits Are Giddy and Gaudy — Good Neighbor Shopping Tour — Spotlight of Fashion — TEST YOURSELF: Photoquiz — Photocrime — LETTERS and Pictures From LOOK Readers
LOOK Magazine March 10 1942
Grades VG or 4/10 – Sold for $12.50
Cover photo of Joan Fontaine is by Frank Pawolny.
Contents: AMERICA AT WAR: ABC’s of Our Army by Don Wharton — How America is Escaping War Nerves — NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: Meet the Mormons by Maurine Whipple — Donald Duck Pays His Income Tax (A 67-panelled black & white comic strip covering 4 pages by Walt Disney.) — Careers for Youth Today III: Government Needs Workers by Walter Walker — WORLD SPOTLIGHT: What We Owe to the Russian Army by Major George Fielding Eliot — Venezuela: One of Our Best Neighbors — Hitler’s Next Move by Leigh White — PEOPLE: Born Lucky by Avery Strakosch (About Paul Robeson including a full page b&w photo of Robeson) — SPORTS: Whirlaway’s Million Dollar Home by Jack Guenther — MOVIES: LOOK’s New Movie Reviews by James Francis Crow (w./pics & reviews of Spencer Tracy & Katharine Hepburn in “Woman of the Year”, James Cagney in “Captains of the Clouds”) — HOLIDAYS: Playground in the Desert (Palm Springs, CA) — STYLE, HEALTH AND BEAUTY: Hollywood’s Newest Cinderella Story (Kay Medford) — Spotlight of Fashion (Una Merkel) — TEST YOURSELF: Photoquiz –Photocrime — LETTERS and Pictures From LOOK Readers
LOOK Magazine May 19 1942
Grades G-VG or 3.5/10 – Sold for $7.99
Cover photo of Sergeant Otto Nuske of the US Marine Corps is by Leon De Vos.
Contents: AMERICA AT WAR: An Open Letter to Hoarders by Leon Henderson — A Plan for Attacking Japan by Major George Fielding Eliot — NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: The World’s Biggest Butter and Egg Man — Babies Are Big Business — WORLD SPOTLIGHT: India’s Threatened Millions by Ernest O. Hauser — Stalin Wants No Peace With Hitler by Ex-Ambassador Joseph E. Davies — The Japanese Army of 1905 — PEOPLE: FDR Commander in Chief by Marquis W. Childs — The Mighty Allen by Avery Strakosch (Fred Allen) — SPORTS: Boy Wonder Becomes Boss by Jack Singer (About Mel Ott taking over as manager for New York Giants) — MOVIES AND STAGE: LOOK’s New Movie Reviews by James Francis Crow (includes a picture and review for Ronald Reagan & Ann Sheridan in “Juke Girl”, Bette Davis & George Brent in :In This Our Life”, Bob Hope with Madeleine Carroll in “My Favorite Blonde”, Abbott & Costello in “Rio Rita” and Spencer Tracy, Hedy Lamarr & John Garfield in “Tortilla Flat”) — They Work When They Play — HOLIDAYS: Gene Tierney Bicycles to the Beach — RAF Flyer Has 10 New York Adventures –STYLE AND BEAUTY: The Spotlight of Fashion — TEST YOURSELF: Photoquiz — Photocrime — LETTERS and Pictures From LOOK Readers
LOOK Magazine July 14 1942
Grades G-VG or 3.5/10 – DID NOT SELL
“America We Stand” cover painting done by John Atherton.
This is from the week/month that practically every US publication banded together to show US solidarity by incorporating the image of the American Flag into their cover in some way. Very collectible.
Contents: AMERICA AT WAR: Report to the Nation at War: Archibald MacLeish Answers 15 Vital Questions by Marquis W. Childs — An Open letter to American Women by Dorothy Thompson — Let’s Face the Facts About Man Power by Paul V. McNutt — Labor Fights to Win the War by Philip Murray — Industry Meets the Challenge by William P. Witherow — America Is the Hope of the World by Vincent Sheean — American Heroes: Don Mason: Sighted Subs Sank Same by Don Wharton with drawings by Robert Fawcett — Fighting Seamen for America’s Mighty Navy — Schoolboys Are Helping to Win the War — NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: Parenthood USA The Story of the Medical Profession — SPORTS: Champions Are Dean Cromwell’s Habit by Paul Zimmerman — MOVIES: Anne Gwynne Tours Deep in the Heart of Texas — LOOK’s Movie Guide — HOLIDAYS: Steamboat Down the Mississippi — STYLE, BEAUTY AND HOMEMAKING: American Housewife: 20-Job Women — The Spotlight on Fashion: What to Wear at the Beach — TEST YOURSELF: Photoquiz –Photocrime — LETTERS and Pictures From LOOK Readers
LOOK Magazine July 28 1942
Grades VG or 4/10 – Sold for $22.72
Cover photo of Gary Cooper as Lou Gehrig in “The Pride of the Yankees”.
Contents: AMERICA AT WAR: West Point At War — American Heroes. John Bulkeley: Seagoing Guerrilla by Don Wharton w/drawings by Fred Freeman — Nobody’s Too Old for This War by “Sergeant” Alvin C. York — WORLD SPOTLIGHT: The Truth About Our English Allies, as told by: 1. An Englishman: C.S. Forester 2. An AmericanL Vincent Sheean — Britain Declares War on Careless Tattlers — PEOPLE: M.F.K. Fisher: Career Woman 1942 Style — SPORTS: Joe Gordon King of Second Basemen by George Kirksey — MOVIES: The Pride of the Yankees LOOK’s New Movie Review (Several pics of Gary Cooper as Lou Gehrig and even one of Babe Ruth swinging a bat as himself) — LOOK’s Movie Guide — Kay Aldridge. Serial Queen — HOLIDAYS: A Family Goes Abroad for a Day — Holiday Trip to Mt. Rainier — STYLE, BEAUTY AND HOMEMAKING: Save Your Time Yet Eat What You Like — Richie Gets a Bath — The Spotlight of Fashion. It’s “Shorties” For the Duration — SCIENCE: Hypnosis Comes of Age — TEST YOURSELF: Photoquiz — Photocrime — LETTERS and Pictures From LOOK Readers
LOOK Magazine August 11 1942
Grades VG or 4/10 – Sold for $7.99
Cover photo of Brig. Gen. James H. Doolittle by Sherwood Mark.
Contents: AMERICA AT WAR: When Your Husband Goes to War by Ethel Gorham — Annapolis at War — Jimmie Doolittle He Bombed Tokyo by Don Wharton w/drawings by James Williamson — America’s Unsung Battle Heroes — NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: What Will Inflation Do To You? by Henry Morganthau — What You Can Do About Inflation by Leon Henderson and Marriner S. Eccles — WORLD SPOTLIGHT: How Russia Will Defeat Hitler in 1942 by Pierre Van Paassen — Five Men Who Rule Japan by Mark J. Gayn (They are: Tojo, Yamamoto, Sugiyama, Suetsugu, Toyama and each is pictured including a full page shot of Tojo) — PEOPLE: Office Girl — Toots Shor by Henry McLemore — MOVIES AND STAGE: The People’s War (About “Mrs. Miniver”) — Actor’s College — LOOK’s Movie Guide — STYLE, BEAUTY AND HOMEMAKING: Save Your Money Yet Eat What You Like — The Spotlight of Fashion. Investing in Furs This Year? — TEST YOURSELF: Photoquiz — Photocrime — LETTERS and Pictures From LOOK Readers
LOOK Magazine September 8 1942
Grades VG or 4/10 – Sold for $7.99
Cover photo of Apprentice Seaman is by Bob Hansen.
Contents: AMERICA AT WAR: What Kind of American Are You? by Albert Carr — Hitler Can Invade America by Air by Paul Corey — Arthur Robinson: He Saved His Ship by Don Wharton w/drawings by Fred Freeman — NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: “My Mummy Is Making Guns!” — Ministers for Tomorrow — WORLD SPOTLIGHT: Victory Through Teamwork by Major George Fielding Eliot — Hitler’s Butchers by Pierre Van Paassen w/illustration of Hitler, Goering, Himmler, and Goebbels by Arthur Szyk shown in scan below– OUR FAMILY: Mrs. Hoch Takes a War Job — PEOPLE: Ike Eisenhower: The One-Man General Staff — Ilka Chase: Past Imperfect, Future Promising by Gretta Palmer — SPORTS: 42 Colleges Wanted Tom Phillips by Jack Clowser — MOVIES: Jane Russell Publicity Star — Holiday Inn LOOK’s New Movie Review (w/pics of Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby & Marjorie Reynolds) — LOOK’s Movie Guide — HOLIDAYS: Great Lakes Honeymoon Cruise — Coney Island — STYLE, HEALTH AND BEAUTY: Three New Reducing Diets — The Spotlight of Fashion: Joan Bennett in “New Shoes for Milady” — TEST YOURSELF: Photoquiz — Photocrime — LETTERS and Pictures From LOOK Readers
LOOK Magazine September 22 1942
Grades VG or 4/10 – Sold for $7.99
Cover photo of Sheila Johnson is by Leon De Vos.
Contents: AMERICA AT WAR: Why We Have a Women’s Army — The American Farmer at War — Are We Too Human to Win the War? by Marquis W. Childs — Wake Island by Dan Wharton. Drawings by Harold Von Schmidt — NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: Is Congress Hindering the War Effort? — How to Fire a Rifle — TVA Workers — WORLD SPOTLIGHT: These Are Hitler’s 20 Biggest Lies by Luther Conant, Jr. — Argentina Is Not Pro-Axis by Hartzell Spence — How to Bomb Japan by Albion Ross — OUR FAMILY: Mr. Hoch Changes Shifts — PEOPLE: H.T. Webster — LOOK’s Cover Girl — SPORTS: Bill Meyer: Baseball’s Busiest Farmer by Tom Meany (About the Yankees farm system) — Billy Hillenbrand, the Evansville Express — MOVIES: The Talk of the Town. LOOK’s New Movie Review (w/pics of stars Ronald Colman, Jean Arthur, Cary Grant) — LOOK’s Movie Guide — HOLIDAYS: Parlor Picnic — War Dates, Limited — STYLE AND BEAUTY: The Spotlight of Fashion, Who’s Afraid of Old L-85? — ANIMALS: Two Animal Portraits — TEST YOURSELF: Photoquiz — Photocrime — LETTERS and Pictures From LOOK Readers —
LOOK Magazine October 20 1942
Grades VG or 4/10 – Sold for $20.50
Cover photo of Army Nurse Mildred Minns by Paul Hesse.
Contents: AMERICA AT WAR: Women of the First Fighter Comman — University at War — These Truths We Hold by Rollin Kirby — How to Fire a Pistol — Charlie Kegelman, Hit and Run Raider by Don Wharton w/drawings by Fred Freeman — NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: The Truth About Rubber by S. Burton Heath — The Creator of Flash Gordon Envisions the War’s End (I’ve scanned portions of each page in this article about Flash Gordon creator Alex Raymond and his drawings of how he thinks super-science will win the war) — Leo Crowley: He Has a Seven-Billion-Dollar Headache — WORLD SPOTLIGHT: The War’s Greatest Generals by Maj. George Fielding Eliot (with pics of MacArthur, Rommell, Timoshenko, Yamashita, von Rundstedt, Wavell and small maps of some of their exploits) — A Concrete Plan to Shorten the War by Maj. Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson — OUR FAMILY: War Workers’ Holiday — PEOPLE: Meet the People — Whitney Darrow Jr — The Cohans and the Cagneys (James Cagney in “Yankee Doodle Dandy”) — SPORTS: Football Goes to War by Stanley Woodward — Gundar Hagg Worlds Fastest Human — MOVIES: The Moon and Sixpence LOOK’s New Movie Review — LOOK’s Movie Guide — HOLIDAYS: South Sea Party — STYLE, HEALTH AND BEAUTY: Food for Soldiers of Production — Eat and Grow Glamorous — The Spotlight of Fashion. Eight Hours for Fun — TEST YOURSELF: Photoquiz — Photocrime — LETTERS and Pictures From LOOK Readers —
LOOK Magazine November 3 1942
Grades G or 3/10 – Sold for $8.00
Cover photo of US Paratrooper by Leo Aarons.
Contents: AMERICA AT WAR: US Paratroopers — How to Fire a Machine Gun — Dick Parunak: Arctic Rescue Ace by Don Wharton w/drawing by Fred Ludekens — NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: What’s Wrong With the Draft? by Marquis W. Childs — Wallace: Roosevelt’s Choice for President by Donald Grant — The People’s War by Rollin Kirby — America’s Kitchen Soldiers — OUR FAMILY: The Story of Jackie’s Tooth — PEOPLE: Meet the People — Arthur Krock: He Writes From Washington — Harold Stassen, a Farmer Boy With a Future — Paul Webb — SPORTS: Tami Mauriello the Fighter Who Can’t Back Up by Barney Nagler — Lou Little: All His Boys Are Men — MOVIES: Gregory Ratoff — It’s Not Dancing But It’s Fun (w/pics of Fred Astaire & Rita Hayworth) — Now, Voyager LOOK’s Movie Review (Bette Davis) — LOOK’s Movie Guide — HOLIDAYS: Hen Party — STYLE AND BEAUTY: The Spotlight of Fashion Jewelry to Brighten Your Wartime Clothes — TEST YOURSELF: Photoquiz –Photocrime — LETTERS and Pictures From LOOK Readers
LOOK Magazine November 17 1942
Grades G-VG or 3.5/10 – Sold for $7.99
Cover photo of Corp. John Kornoff by Leo Aarons.
Contents: AMERICA AT WAR: Army Nurse — Marine Raiders Are Killers — The Mighty Jeep (2 page color centerspread in celebration of America’s 2-year old contribution to WWII) — How to Fire a Mortar — George Gay: He Made His Run-In by Don Wharton w/drawings by Hardie Gramatsky — NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: Must We Draft Women? — Lest We Forget by Rollin Kirby — How to Cope With Meat Rationing — Their Boys Are Fighting by Carl Sandburg — WORLD SPOTLIGHT: Hitler’s Coming Winter in Russia by Maj. George Fielding Eliot — OUR FAMILY: Slim is 1A — PEOPLE: John G. Winant: The People’s Ambassador by Maxine Davis — Richard Taylor — SPORTS: EL McKenzie the California Catapult — Don Faurot Pays Off the Mortgage — MOVIES: Walter Pidgeon by Henry McLemore — Peggy Lee — Once Upon a Honeymoon LOOK’s New Movie Review (w/ Cary Grant & Ginger Rogers) — LOOK’s Movie Guide — HOLIDAYS: Punchboard Party — STYLE AND BEAUTY: Make Yourself Lovely by Joan Bennett — The Spotlight of Fashion. Warming Up for Winter — ANIMALS: Shoot on Sight in Case of Air Raid (includes the London Zoo’s list of which animals should be killed and which recaptured if an attack frees them) — TEST YOURSELF: Photoquiz — Photocrime — LETTERS and Pictures From LOOK Readers
LOOK Magazine December 29 1942
Grades G-VG or 3.5/10 – DID NOT SELL
Cover photo of Universal starlet Elyse Knox is by Paul Hesse.
Contents: AMERICA AT WAR: Medical Miracles: Dr. Moorhead’s Secret Weapon by Albert Q. Maisel w/drawings by Fred Freeman — War in Africa: Painting by Albert Dorne — Presidents’ Wives: Former First Ladies Make War Bond Appeal (w/pics of the wives & widows of Hoover, Coolidge, Wilson, Teddy Roosevelt, Cleveland, Taft) — Eddie Armes Naval Veteran at 19 by Don Wharton w/drawings by Austin Briggs — WORLD SPOTLIGHT: Wendell Wilkie Calls on Madame Chiang Kai-Shek — Hitler’s War Against the Catholic Church — It’s Later Than You Think, Adolf by Rollin Kirby — OUR FAMILY: The Boys and the Christmas Trees — PEOPLE: Bernard Baruch Washington Wise Man by Marquis W. Childs — Meet the People — SPORTS: Dixie’s Finest Athlete: Bob Gantt by Dick Herbert — MOVIES: Random Harvest. LOOK’s New Movie Review (w/pics of stars Greer Garson & Ronald Colman) — LOOK’s Movie Guide — HOLIDAYS: Duration Party (Laraine Day) — For Men Only: They Warned You to Shop Early, But Did You? — STYLE AND BEAUTY: Slimmer Hips in 14 Days by Joan Bennett — TEST YOURSELF: Photoquiz –Photocrime — LETTERS and Pictures From LOOK Readers