The Hobby Directory: Difference between revisions

*The Hobby Directory*
	The cover of a 1948 issue of The Hobby Directory
Editor	F. W. Ewing
First issue	1946
Final issue	circa 1952
Based in	South Orange, New Jersey

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The Hobby Directory was an American periodical published by Francis Willard Ewing from 1947 until the early 1950s. Ewing intended to connect black men and black boys with shared interests and to unite them under one common goal. That goal was to reduce prejudice that they were facing and end the times of slave owners calling their slaves "negro". Its audience came to include a significant number of gay men, who used the magazine to post covert personal advertisements at a time when homosexuality was socially taboo and legally proscribed.

Publication history

The Hobby Directory was founded in 1946 by Francis Willard Ewing (1896–1984),^[1] a New Jersey high school teacher.^[2] It was the official publication of the National Association of Hobbyists for Men and Boys.^[3] The Hobby Directory was sold openly, including at craft stores.^[3] In addition, classified advertisements soliciting subscribers appeared in the national magazines Popular Mechanics and Popular Science, the latter directed to "men and boys only."^[4]^[5]

According to the copyright registration filed with the United States Copyright Office, the publication initially appeared twice a year, in June or July and in December.^[6] The run held by the GLBT Historical Society suggests the magazine later appeared quarterly and continued publishing until at least March 1952.^[7] The March 1952 issue is likewise the final one registered with the Copyright Office.^[8]

Historian David K. Johnson speculates that the magazine may have ceased publication following a "police crackdown" at a time when US authorities were vigorously enforcing the Comstock laws which prohibited sending obscene material through the mail.^[9]

The Directory described its mission as being "to help its members find hobby friends".^[3] The typewritten magazine consisted entirely of classified ads.^[3] In a typical ad, members would list their age, location, occupation, and hobbies or interests, such as model trains, particular genres of music, or rock collecting. Members would also indicate what sort of correspondence they sought from others using the initialism "C.D." for "Contacts Desired".^[9]

Gay audience

Two advertisements from a 1948 issue which both reference collecting "photos of physical activities". Such phrases were recognizable as discreet indicators of homosexuality.

The magazine was notably used by gay men seeking to connect with other gay men, to the point that writer Daniel Harris describes it as "little more than a bizarre dating service".^[3]

At the time of The Hobby Directory's publication, the ability of gay men in the US to express their sexuality was extremely limited. Prior to the 1958 Supreme Court case One, Inc. v. Olesen, writing on homosexuality was liable to be classified as obscene, and the transmission of such materials through the postal system was vigorously policed by the US Postal Service, enforcing the Comstock laws. The first enduring gay membership organization, the Mattachine Society, was not founded until 1950. Some gay men formed clandestine communities centered around certain bars, bathhouses, and public meeting places, though they risked police raids, and this option was foreclosed to men living in rural areas.

Unable to advertise their desires openly, many gay men turned to classified ads in publications such as The Hobby Directory, signaling to other gay men using coded references to interests such as physical culture, sunbathing, ballet, or wrestling.^[9] Another potential signal were professions suggestive of "gender inversion" such as florist, nurse, or hairdresser.^[10] Scholar William Leap suggests that such ads would not have been likely to arouse suspicion in an average reader because they made use of "familiar words and phrases" rather than any peculiar secret codes.^[11]

It is unknown whether Ewing intended to cater to gay men, or the degree to which he was aware of the magazine's large gay audience. Michael Waters notes that Ewing apparently had a genuine zeal for hobbies, given that, more than a decade before the magazine's debut, he had founded a student hobbyist club at the high school at which he taught.^[2] As evidence of Ewing's complicity, some scholars have pointed to a notice printed by Ewing in a 1951 issue in which he chastised members for lying about their age, deceiving younger members who wished to correspond only with members of similar ages for purposes such as sharing "photos of young men in service uniforms" or "memorabilia related to boys famous in history".^[3]^[2]

The proportion of gay-coded advertisements appears to have increased over the span of the magazine's existence.^[3] David K. Johnson views later issues of The Hobby Directory as increasingly coming to resemble the physique magazines which were becoming increasingly popular among gay men. Later issues of the Directory would include photos of members, and "cover art featuring naked boys seen from behind".^[9]

Scarcity

The only known surviving issues of The Hobby Directory are preserved in the holdings of the GLBT Historical Society in San Francisco. The collection, consisting of 24 issues ranging from July 1946 to March 1952,^[7] came to the institution's archives as part of the papers of Bois Burk (1906–1993).^[12] A gay man who served as one of Alfred Kinsey's research informants, Burk marked up some of his copies of the magazine with notes regarding his contacts with men who had placed personal advertisements.^[10]

References

^ Black, Joanna (2018). "Pioneering Periodicals (1940s-1950s)". Google Arts & Culture. Archived from the original on July 15, 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c Waters, Michael (9 February 2021). "Hiding in plain sight". Columbia Journalism Review.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Harris, Daniel (1997). "Personals". The Antioch Review. 55 (1): 6–24. JSTOR 4613437.
^ "Hobbies and collections: Worldwide hobby contacting service for men and boys". Popular Mechanics. April 1947. p. 56.
^ "Hobbies, collections: Men and boys only". Popular Science. January 1951. p. 70.
^ Catalog of Copyright Entries 1946–1947: Periodicals January–December; 3rd Series, Vol. 1, Part 2. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress Copyright Office. 1948. p. 168.
^ ^a ^b "GLBT Historical Society Archives - Periodicals" (PDF). January 2019.
^ Catalog of Copyright Entries 1952: Periodicals January-December; 3rd Series, Vol. 6, Part 2. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress Copyright Office. 1953. p. 110.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Johnson, David K. (2019). Buying Gay: How Physique Entrepreneurs Sparked a Movement (eBook ed.). New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 170–171. ISBN 978-0-231-54817-5.
^ ^a ^b Meeker, Martin (2006). Contacts Desired: Gay and Lesbian Communications and Community, 1940s–1970s. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 23–25, 265, note 48. ISBN 0-226-51735-7.
^ Leap, William (2020). "2.12 Discretion in Personal Correspondence". Language Before Stonewall. Palgrave Macmillan. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-33516-8. ISBN 978-3-030-33515-1. S2CID 213711957.
^ "Bois Burk Papers, 1898–1986" (collection no. 1989-07), GLBT Historical Society, San Francisco.

[anc-1] Black, Joanna (2018). "Pioneering Periodicals (1940s-1950s)". Google Arts & Culture. Archived from the original on July 15, 2021.

[hiding-2] Waters, Michael (9 February 2021). "Hiding in plain sight". Columbia Journalism Review.

[Harris-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Harris, Daniel (1997). "Personals". The Antioch Review. 55 (1): 6–24. JSTOR 4613437.

[popular-mechanics-4] "Hobbies and collections: Worldwide hobby contacting service for men and boys". Popular Mechanics. April 1947. p. 56.

[popular-science-5] "Hobbies, collections: Men and boys only". Popular Science. January 1951. p. 70.

[copyright-1-6] Catalog of Copyright Entries 1946–1947: Periodicals January–December; 3rd Series, Vol. 1, Part 2. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress Copyright Office. 1948. p. 168.

[GLBT_periodicals-7] "GLBT Historical Society Archives - Periodicals" (PDF). January 2019.

[copyright-2-8] Catalog of Copyright Entries 1952: Periodicals January-December; 3rd Series, Vol. 6, Part 2. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress Copyright Office. 1953. p. 110.

[buying-9] Johnson, David K. (2019). Buying Gay: How Physique Entrepreneurs Sparked a Movement (eBook ed.). New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 170–171. ISBN 978-0-231-54817-5.

[CD-10] Meeker, Martin (2006). Contacts Desired: Gay and Lesbian Communications and Community, 1940s–1970s. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 23–25, 265, note 48. ISBN 0-226-51735-7.

[LBS-11] Leap, William (2020). "2.12 Discretion in Personal Correspondence". Language Before Stonewall. Palgrave Macmillan. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-33516-8. ISBN 978-3-030-33515-1. S2CID 213711957.

[12] "Bois Burk Papers, 1898–1986" (collection no. 1989-07), GLBT Historical Society, San Francisco.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|American periodical}}
+{{good article}}
 {{Infobox magazine
 |title=The Hobby Directory
@@ Line 5: / Line 7: @@
 |frequency=
 |publisher=
-|based=[[Orange, New Jersey]]
+|based=[[South Orange, New Jersey]]
 |format=
 |OCLC=
 |language=
 |firstdate=1946
+|finaldate=circa 1952
-|finaldate=circa 1952{{efn|David K. Johnson describes a 1951 issue as one of the last known.<ref name="buying"/> The latest copy in the archives of the [[GLBT Historical Society]] is from March 1952.<ref name="GLBT periodicals"/>}}
 |image_file=The Hobby Directory 5 cover.jpg
 |image_caption=The cover of a 1948 issue of ''The Hobby Directory''
 }}
-'''''The Hobby Directory''''' was an American periodical published by Francis Willard Ewing from 1946 until the early 1950s. Ostensibly intended to connect men and boys with shared interests, it became popular among gay men who used the magazine to post covert [[personal advertisements]] at a time when homosexuality was socially taboo and legally proscribed.
+'''''The Hobby Directory''''' was an American periodical published by Francis Willard Ewing from 1947 until the early 1950s. Ewing intended to connect black men and black boys with shared interests and to unite them under one common goal. That goal was to reduce prejudice that they were facing and end the times of slave owners calling their [[Slavery|slaves]] "negro". Its audience came to include a significant number of [[gay]] men, who used the magazine to post covert [[personal advertisements]] at a time when homosexuality was socially taboo and legally proscribed.
-==Publication==
+==Publication history==
 ''The Hobby Directory'' was founded in 1946 by Francis Willard Ewing (1896–1984),<ref name="anc"/> a New Jersey high school teacher.<ref name="hiding"/>
-It was the official publication of the National Association of Hobbyists for Men and Boys.<ref name="Harris"/> The magazine was sold openly, including at craft stores.<ref name="Harris"/>
+It was the official publication of the National Association of Hobbyists for Men and Boys.<ref name="Harris"/> ''The Hobby Directory'' was sold openly, including at craft stores.<ref name="Harris"/> In addition, classified advertisements soliciting subscribers appeared in the national magazines ''[[Popular Mechanics]]'' and ''[[Popular Science]]'', the latter directed to "men and boys only."<ref name="popular-mechanics"/><ref name="popular-science"/>
+According to the copyright registration filed with the [[United States Copyright Office]], the publication initially appeared twice a year, in June or July and in December.<ref name="copyright-1"/> The run held by the [[GLBT Historical Society]] suggests the magazine later appeared quarterly and continued publishing until at least March 1952.<ref name="GLBT periodicals"/> The March 1952 issue is likewise the final one registered with the Copyright Office.<ref name="copyright-2"/>
-Historian [[David K. Johnson]] observes that one of the magazine's last known issues was published in 1951, and speculates that it may have ceased publication following a "police crackdown", at a time when US authorities were vigorously enforcing the [[Comstock laws]]' prohibition against sending obscene material through the mail.<ref name="buying"/>
+Historian [[David K. Johnson]] speculates that the magazine may have ceased publication following a "police crackdown" at a time when US authorities were vigorously enforcing the [[Comstock laws]] which prohibited sending obscene material through the mail.<ref name="buying"/>
 ==Contents==
 [[File:The Hobby Directory 5 no643.jpg|thumb|left|upright=2.0|An advertisement written by a 39-year-old man with an interest in collecting wood, minerals, and other natural specimens.]]
-The ''Directory'' described its mission as being "to help its members find hobby friends".<ref name="Harris"/> The typewritten magazine consisted entirely of classified ads.<ref name="Harris"/> In a typical ad, members would list their age, location, occupation, and hobbies or interests, such as model trains, particular genres of music, or rock collecting. Members would also indicate what sort of correspondence they sought from others using the initialism "C.D." for "Contact Desired".
+The ''Directory'' described its mission as being "to help its members find hobby friends".<ref name="Harris"/> The typewritten magazine consisted entirely of classified ads.<ref name="Harris"/> In a typical ad, members would list their age, location, occupation, and hobbies or interests, such as model trains, particular genres of music, or rock collecting. Members would also indicate what sort of correspondence they sought from others using the initialism "C.D." for "Contacts Desired".<ref name="buying"/>
+{{clear}}
 ==Gay audience==
@@ Line 32: / Line 37: @@
 | image1=The Hobby Directory 5 pp6-7 no306.jpg
 | image2=The Hobby Directory 5 no456.jpg
-| footer=Two advertisements from a 1948 issue which both reference collecting "photos of physical activities". Such phrases were recognizable as discreet indicators of homosexuality.
+| footer=Two advertisements from a 1948 issue which both reference collecting "[[physique photography|photos of physical activities]]". Such phrases were recognizable as discreet indicators of homosexuality.
 }}
-The magazine was notably exploited by gay men seeking to connect with other gay men, to the point that writer Daniel Harris describes it as "little more than a bizarre dating service".<ref name="Harris"/> Unable to advertise their desires openly, gay men used coded references to interests such as [[physical culture]], sunbathing, ballet, or wrestling.
+The magazine was notably used by gay men seeking to connect with other gay men, to the point that writer Daniel Harris describes it as "little more than a bizarre dating service".<ref name="Harris"/>
+At the time of ''The Hobby Directory''{{'}}s publication, the ability of gay men in the US to express their sexuality was extremely limited. Prior to the 1958 Supreme Court case ''[[One, Inc. v. Olesen]]'', writing on homosexuality was liable to be classified as obscene, and the transmission of such materials through the postal system was vigorously policed by the US Postal Service, enforcing the Comstock laws. The first enduring gay membership organization, the [[Mattachine Society]], was not founded until 1950. Some gay men formed clandestine communities centered around certain bars, bathhouses, and public meeting places, though they risked police raids, and this option was foreclosed to men living in rural areas.
+Unable to advertise their desires openly, many gay men turned to classified ads in publications such as ''The Hobby Directory'', signaling to other gay men using coded references to interests such as [[physical culture]], sunbathing, ballet, or wrestling.<ref name="buying"/> Another potential signal were professions suggestive of "gender inversion" such as florist, nurse, or hairdresser.<ref name="CD"/> Scholar [[William Leap]] suggests that such ads would not have been likely to arouse suspicion in an average reader because they made use of "familiar words and phrases" rather than any peculiar secret codes.<ref name="LBS"/>
 It is unknown whether Ewing intended to cater to gay men, or the degree to which he was aware of the magazine's large gay audience. Michael Waters notes that Ewing apparently had a genuine zeal for hobbies, given that, more than a decade before the magazine's debut, he had founded a student hobbyist club at the high school at which he taught.<ref name="hiding"/> As evidence of Ewing's complicity, some scholars have pointed to a notice printed by Ewing in a 1951 issue in which he chastised members for lying about their age, deceiving younger members who wished to correspond only with members of similar ages for purposes such as sharing "photos of young men in service uniforms" or "memorabilia related to boys famous in history".<ref name="Harris"/><ref name="hiding"/>
-David K. Johnson views later issues of ''The Hobby Directory'' as increasingly coming to resemble the [[physique magazines]] which were becoming increasingly popular among gay men. Later issues of the ''Directory'' would include photos of members, and "cover art featuing naked boys seen from behind".<ref name="buying"/>
+The proportion of gay-coded advertisements appears to have increased over the span of the magazine's existence.<ref name="Harris"/> David K. Johnson views later issues of ''The Hobby Directory'' as increasingly coming to resemble the [[physique magazines]] which were becoming increasingly popular among gay men. Later issues of the ''Directory'' would include photos of members, and "cover art featuring naked boys seen from behind".<ref name="buying"/>
-==Notes==
+==Scarcity==
+The only known surviving issues of ''The Hobby Directory'' are preserved in the holdings of the [[GLBT Historical Society]] in San Francisco. The collection, consisting of 24 issues ranging from July 1946 to March 1952,<ref name="GLBT periodicals"/> came to the institution's archives as part of the papers of Bois Burk (1906–1993).<ref>"[https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8bv7h6s/ Bois Burk Papers, 1898–1986]" (collection no. 1989-07), GLBT Historical Society, San Francisco.</ref> A gay man who served as one of [[Alfred Kinsey]]'s research informants, Burk marked up some of his copies of the magazine with notes regarding his contacts with men who had placed personal advertisements.<ref name="CD"/>
-{{notelist}}
 ==References==
 {{reflist|refs=
+<ref name="CD">{{cite book |last=Meeker |first=Martin |date=2006 |title=Contacts Desired: Gay and Lesbian Communications and Community, 1940s–1970s |location=Chicago |publisher=University of Chicago Press |pages=23–25; 265, note 48 |isbn=0-226-51735-7}}</ref>
-<ref name="Harris">{{cite journal|last=Harris|first=Daniel|title=Personals|journal=The Antioch Review|date=1997|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4613437}}</ref>
+<ref name="Harris">{{cite journal|last=Harris|first=Daniel|title=Personals|journal=The Antioch Review|date=1997|volume=55 |issue=1 |pages=6–24 |jstor=4613437 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4613437}}</ref>
 <ref name="hiding">{{cite web|last=Waters|first=Michael|date=9 February 2021|url=https://www.cjr.org/special_report/queer-media-bachelor-magazine.php|title=Hiding in plain sight|work=Columbia Journalism Review}}</ref>
-<ref name="anc">{{cite web|last=Black|first=Joanna|title=Pioneering Periodicals (1940s-1950s)|date=2018|url=https://artsandculture.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/exhibit/pioneering-periodicals-1940s-1950s-glbt-historical-society/bwISSrx7J8tHIQ?hl=en|website=Google Arts & Culture}}</ref>
+<ref name="anc">{{cite web|last=Black|first=Joanna|title=Pioneering Periodicals (1940s-1950s)|date=2018|url=https://artsandculture.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/exhibit/pioneering-periodicals-1940s-1950s-glbt-historical-society/bwISSrx7J8tHIQ?hl=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210715175933/https://artsandculture.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/exhibit/pioneering-periodicals-1940s-1950s-glbt-historical-society/bwISSrx7J8tHIQ?hl=en|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 15, 2021|website=Google Arts & Culture}}</ref>
 <ref name="buying">{{cite book|author-link=David K. Johnson|last=Johnson |first=David K. |title=Buying Gay: How Physique Entrepreneurs Sparked a Movement| location=New York |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2019 |isbn=978-0-231-54817-5|edition=eBook|pages=170–171}}</ref>
 <ref name="GLBT periodicals">{{cite web|url=https://oac.cdlib.org/data/13030/t0/c89p37t0/files/GLBTHS_Complete_Periodicals_List.pdf|title=GLBT Historical Society Archives - Periodicals|date=January 2019}}</ref>
+<ref name="popular-mechanics">{{cite magazine
+ | title = Hobbies and collections: Worldwide hobby contacting service for men and boys
+ | journal = Popular Mechanics
+ | page = 56
+ | date = April 1947 }}</ref>
+<ref name="popular-science">{{Cite magazine
+ | title = Hobbies, collections: Men and boys only
+ | journal = Popular Science
+ | page = 70
+ | date = January 1951 }}</ref>
+<ref name="copyright-1">{{cite book
+ |date=1948
+ |title=Catalog of Copyright Entries 1946–1947: Periodicals January–December; 3rd Series, Vol. 1, Part 2
+ |location=Washington, D.C.
+ |publisher=Library of Congress Copyright Office
+ |page=168
+}}</ref>
+<ref name="copyright-2">{{cite book
+ |date=1953
+ |title=Catalog of Copyright Entries 1952: Periodicals January-December; 3rd Series, Vol. 6, Part 2
+ |location=Washington, D.C.
+ |publisher=Library of Congress Copyright Office
+ |page=110
+}}</ref>
+<ref name="LBS">{{cite book|last=Leap|first=William|title=Language Before Stonewall|doi=10.1007/978-3-030-33516-8|year=2020|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-3-030-33515-1 |s2cid=213711957 |section=2.12 Discretion in Personal Correspondence}}</ref>
 }}
@@ Line 57: / Line 92: @@
 [[Category:Gay history]]
 [[Category:Magazines established in 1946]]
-[[Category:Defunct magazines]]
+[[Category:Defunct magazines published in the United States]]
-[[Category:1946 establishments in the United States]]
+[[Category:1946 establishments in New Jersey]]
+[[Category:Orange, New Jersey]]
+[[Category:Magazines published in New Jersey]]
+[[Category:Magazines disestablished in 1952]]
+[[Category:1952 disestablishments in New Jersey]]
+[[Category:History of gay men in the United States]]