Today In History

Robb and Trix Sagendorph founded Yankee Magazine in Dublin, New Hampshire, in 1935. Robb, a frustrated freelance writer believed that New England needed a magazine "for Yankee readers, by Yankee writers." The initial subscriber list totaled 614 names, of which 600 had been purchased from a fraudulent subscription agency that had simply picked names at random from the Boston telephone book. So it could be said that Yankee actually began with 14 subscribers. Fortunately, the couple was able to live off Trix's family money as the magazine developed. Trix was an accomplished artist, who contributed illustrations to the magazine and hundreds of Yankee covers, from the 1930s through the 1960s. In 1939 Sagendorph purchased the publishing rights to The Old Farmer's Almanac, and became its 11th editor since its first appearance in 1792. He immediately restored it to health, both financially and editorially. During World War II Robb Sagendorph continued to publish small editions of Yankee and to maintain the Yankee trademark. The scarcity of paper forced Yankee to trim its size to the unique 6 x 9-inch size for which the magazine became well known. In July 1945, Sagendorph published a slim, 10-page issue of Yankee with these opening words: "With this issue Yankee returns to the old stand. We are back because our faith in the simple, every day, honest things of life is as strong as ever." Soon, subscriptions reached 10,000. Circulation grew to more than 40,000 monthly during the late 1950s, but the principal money maker in those days still remained The Old Farmer's Almanac. For more information on Yankee Magazine – www.Yankeemagazine.com Image courtesy of Yankee Magazine