Electrician and Mechanic

Electrician and Mechanic was an American science and technology magazine published from 1890^[1] to January 1914 when it merged with Modern Electrics to become Modern Electrics & Mechanics.^[2] The new publisher, Modern Publishing, began a series of magazine mergers and title changes so numerous that librarians began to complain. In October 1915 the title became Popular Science Monthly and the magazine is still published under that name today.

Origin

Bubier's Popular Electrician (founded 1890) was acquired by Frank R. Fraprie and the newly formed Sampson Publishing Company in May 1906. The name was changed to Electrician & Mechanic with the July issue.^[3] The editors were Frank Fraprie, Arthur Eugene Watson and Mary Otis Sampson. Sampson was also the treasurer and director of the publishing company. (Fraprie and Sampson were married in 1911.^[4])

By 1912, Electrician and Mechanic had absorbed three other magazines; Amateur Work, Building Craft and Collins Wireless Bulletin. The magazine typically had about 100 pages and each issue covered a wide variety of topics in electricity, wireless radio, machining, mechanical drawing, wood working and chemistry. There were articles for radio technicians such as "The Calculation of Inductance" that details how to design and wind coils for a wireless telegraphy set. A skilled machinist might read about "The Production of Accurate Screw-Threads in a Lathe". There were also articles for the hobbyist readers. Woodworkers could find plans for an armchair or a simple letter box.^[5]

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Popular Science Monthly

Popular Science Monthly was founded in May 1872 by Edward L. Youmans. It was a science and technology magazine equivalent to Scientific American or Science .^[6] James McKeen Cattell became the editor in 1900 and the publisher in 1901. Cattell had a background in academics and continued publishing articles for educated readers. By 1915 the readership was declining and publishing a science journal was a financial challenge. In a September 1915 editorial, Cattell related these difficulties to his readers and that the journal had been "transferred" to a group that wanted the name for a general audience magazine. Next month the subscribers would be receive a new journal titled Scientific Monthly that would continue the academic tradition.^[7] Scientific Monthly was published until 1958 when it was absorbed into Science.

The new owners were Henry Fisher, Robert Wilson and Oliver Capen of Modern Publishing. The October 1915 issue was titled Popular Science Monthly and World's Advance. The volume number (Vol. 87, No. 4) was that of Popular Science but the content was that of World's Advance. The new editor was Waldemar Kaempffert, a former editor of Scientific American^[8] ^[9]

The change in Popular Science Monthly was dramatic. The old version was a scholarly journal that had eight to ten articles in a 100 page issue. There would be ten to twenty photographs or illustrations. The new version had hundreds of short, easy to read articles with hundreds of illustrations. Editor Kaembffert was writing for "the home craftsman and hobbyist who wanted to know something about the world of science." The circulation doubled in the first year.^[6]

Popular Science Monthly was two different magazines for during the last half of 1915 and this presented a dilemma for librarians who needed to have them bound into book volumes. The library journal, Bulletin of Bibliography, printed the conflicting recommendations received from the new and old publishers. The journal editor promised to publish a "list of librarians and book-binders who have gone to Battle Creek to recuperate."^[10]

Title changes

Dates	Title	Volume and Issue
1890 – Jun. 1906	Bubier's Popular Electrician	Vol. 1 No. 1 – Vol. 16 No. 6
Jul. 1906 – Dec. 1913	Electrician and Mechanic	Vol. 17 No. 1 – Vol. 27 No. 6
Jan. 1914 – Jun. 1914	Modern Electrics and Mechanics	Vol. 28 No. 1 – 6
Jul. 1914 – Dec. 1914	Popular Electricity and Modern Mechanics	Vol. 29 No. 1 – 6
Jan. 1915 – Mar. 1915	Modern Mechanics	Vol. 30 No. 1 – 3
Apr. 1915 – Sep. 1915	World's Advance	Vol. 30 No. 4 – Vol. 31 No 3
Oct. 1915 – Dec. 1915	Popular Science Monthly and World's Advance	Vol. 87 No. 4 – No. 6
Jan. 1916 – Current	Popular Science Monthly	Vol. 88 No. 1 –

Source for volume and issue numbers: Catalog of Copyright Entries, Volume 9 and 10. January 1914 to December 1915.^[11]

Covers and pages

1893 Ad for Bubier's Popular Electrician
Electrician and Mechanic February 1913 Contents
Electrician and Mechanic February 1913
Electrician and Mechanic February 1913 Arm Chair
Modern Electrics and Mechanics April 1914
Modern Electrics and Mechanics April 1914
Popular Science Monthly September 1915
World's Advance July 1915
World's Advance July 1915 Contents
World's Advance July 1915
World's Advance July 1915
World's Advance July 1915

References

^ Severance, Henry Ormal (1908). Guide to the Current Periodicals and Serials of the United States and Canada - 1909 (2nd edition ed.). pp. p. 115. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help); |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
^ Gates, Alice Jane (1915). Catalogue of Technical Periodicals, Libraries in the City of New York and Vicinity. Library board of the United engineering society. pp. p. 68. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help) "Modern electrics and mechanics. Month Vol 1–6 no 9; vol 28 nos 1–6. July 1908–June 1914. In 1914 combined with Electrician and mechanic and became Modern Electrics and Mechanics. The volume number is changed to 28. In July 1914 incorporated with Popular Electricity and the World's Advance and the title became Popular Electricity and Modern Mechanics."
^ Catalog of Copyright Entries. Part 2: Periodicals. Library of Congress, Copyright Office. July–December 1906. pp. pp. 25, 66. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help) Title was Bubier's Popular Electrician in June 1906 (Vol. 16, No. 6) and Electrician and Mechanic in July 1906 (Vol. 17, No. 1).
^ Harvard College Class of 1898: Quindecennial Report. 1913. pp. p. 113. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
^ "Table of Contents". Electrician and Mechanic. 26 (2). Sampson Publishing: p 69. February 1913. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
^ ^a ^b Nourie, Alan (1990). American Mass Market Magazines. pp. pp. 385–399. ISBN 0313252548. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
^ Cattell, James McKeen (September 1915). "The Scientific Monthly and the Popular Science Monthly". Popular Science Monthly. 87 (3). The Science Press: 307–310.
^ "September's Harvest Of Important Books". The New York Times. August 29, 1915. p. BR312. "The Popular Science Monthly has been bought by the Modern Publishing Company of New York City and consolidated with The World's Advance, formerly Popular Electricity. The two magazines will be merged under the title of The Popular Science Monthly, beginning with the November issue. Waldemar Kaembffert for a long time editor of the monthly will continue in that position."
^ Walter, Frank Keller (1918). Periodicals for the Small Library (2nd edition ed.). American Library Association. pp. p. 24. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help); |pages= has extra text (help) The new Popular Science Monthly is continued from World's Advance, old version in now Scientific Monthly.
^ Faxon, Frederick W (January 1916). "Editorial Comment: Magazine Notes". Bulletin of Bibliography and Dramatic Index. 9 (1). Boston Book Co: p. 2. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
^ Catalog of Copyright Entries. Part 2: Periodicals. Library of Congress, Copyright Office. January–December 1914. Volumes 9 is January–December 1914 and volume 10 is January–December 1915.

External links

[Current_Periodicals_1909-1] Severance, Henry Ormal (1908). Guide to the Current Periodicals and Serials of the United States and Canada - 1909 (2nd edition ed.). pp. p. 115. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help); |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

[NYC_Library-2] Gates, Alice Jane (1915). Catalogue of Technical Periodicals, Libraries in the City of New York and Vicinity. Library board of the United engineering society. pp. p. 68. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help) "Modern electrics and mechanics. Month Vol 1–6 no 9; vol 28 nos 1–6. July 1908–June 1914. In 1914 combined with Electrician and mechanic and became Modern Electrics and Mechanics. The volume number is changed to 28. In July 1914 incorporated with Popular Electricity and the World's Advance and the title became Popular Electricity and Modern Mechanics."

[Copyright_1906-3] Catalog of Copyright Entries. Part 2: Periodicals. Library of Congress, Copyright Office. July–December 1906. pp. pp. 25, 66. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help) Title was Bubier's Popular Electrician in June 1906 (Vol. 16, No. 6) and Electrician and Mechanic in July 1906 (Vol. 17, No. 1).

[Class_1898-4] Harvard College Class of 1898: Quindecennial Report. 1913. pp. p. 113. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

[EM_1913-5] "Table of Contents". Electrician and Mechanic. 26 (2). Sampson Publishing: p 69. February 1913. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help)

[Mass_Market-6] Nourie, Alan (1990). American Mass Market Magazines. pp. pp. 385–399. ISBN 0313252548. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

[PSM_Sep_1915-7] Cattell, James McKeen (September 1915). "The Scientific Monthly and the Popular Science Monthly". Popular Science Monthly. 87 (3). The Science Press: 307–310.

[NYTimes_Aug_29_1915-8] "September's Harvest Of Important Books". The New York Times. August 29, 1915. p. BR312. "The Popular Science Monthly has been bought by the Modern Publishing Company of New York City and consolidated with The World's Advance, formerly Popular Electricity. The two magazines will be merged under the title of The Popular Science Monthly, beginning with the November issue. Waldemar Kaembffert for a long time editor of the monthly will continue in that position."

[ALA_1918-9] Walter, Frank Keller (1918). Periodicals for the Small Library (2nd edition ed.). American Library Association. pp. p. 24. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help); |pages= has extra text (help) The new Popular Science Monthly is continued from World's Advance, old version in now Scientific Monthly.

[BB_1916-10] Faxon, Frederick W (January 1916). "Editorial Comment: Magazine Notes". Bulletin of Bibliography and Dramatic Index. 9 (1). Boston Book Co: p. 2. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help)

[Copyright_1914-11] Catalog of Copyright Entries. Part 2: Periodicals. Library of Congress, Copyright Office. January–December 1914. Volumes 9 is January–December 1914 and volume 10 is January–December 1915.

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