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A Guide to the Annual Index (1888 - 2010) {A work in progress}

This guide addresses the niche of “annual index” within the National Geographic Magazine (NGM) collection.

Background:

Not to be confused with the Cumulative Index reference books, first published in 1922 (@ 1923), the annual index was published (with some exceptions) in the last numbered issue of each volume beginning with Volume II, No 5 in 1891 and ending with the last issue of Volume XX, No 12, December 1909, and thereafter as a separately published paper supplement per volume until 2010 (@2011).

To clarify, there was actually more than just the index published in the last number of each volume. The other items included, all numbered with Roman numerals designed to be placed in the front of a bound volume: the title page, contents and illustrations. The actual index followed the last numbered page of the last article in the last issue of the volume and continued the Arabic numeral sequence of the volume.

In this manner, all four items could be used to bind the issues of a volume into a book format. Henceforth, I will simply use the word “index” to mean all four of these items and will specifically state when it is not so as some years did not include all four items or called them by a different name.

I include, for reference, the entire discussion and/or description of the inventory table of entries from perhaps the two best known collectors/dealers/authors of all things National Geographic. Though neither is with us any longer, the herculean effort at cataloguing what was then available remains pertinent today and is considered a marker by which any future effort of cataloguing will be measured.

Never-the-less, there are omissions by and discrepancies between the two authors, whether purposeful or by chance. Specifically, the “annual index” was little more than a footnote for both of these authors.

This is an attempt to sort out differences and add to their collective effort.

References:

Buxbaum, Edwin C., “Collector’s Guide to The National Geographic Magazine, 3rd Edition,” @ 1971, pgs. 96 – 97.

Buxbaum generally disliked the “annual index” and showed his disdain for the little paper supplement by virtually disregarding it in his four publications: a booklet first published in 1935; the first edition of this guide in 1956; 2nd edition in 1962 and the 3rd edition, reference here.

He writes in the chapter Binding and Preservation,”…In order to be complete, the volumes of the National Geographic Magazine should have a title page, a table of contents and illustrations and may carry an index. Indexes for most volumes are available free from the National Geographic Society. These semi-annual indexes while, available for most volumes, are lacking for some of the older ones in the years 1907-1913. In my opinion, the semi-annual indexes are of little value as one seldom refers to them. … However, it is well to have the title pages to give a finished appearance to the books.

For a while, the National Geographic society issued an index of illustrations but this became so complicated that it became impractical and in 1913 (Volume XXIV) the Society published a general index of contents and illustrations for the year. Today, a title-page, table of contents and index can be obtained for each volume as issued, though some of these have later become unavailable. The indexes to the issues from 1896 to 1905 are also very scarce and are not usually available. …”

Nathan, Roger E., “Collectibles of the National Geographic Society,” @ 1982, pgs. 6 – 7, 106 - 107.

Nathan provides some details for what he called the “volume cumulative index” in a table that shows this index first appeared as a joint Volume I & II index in issue No. 5 of Volume II. His table identifies the last numbered issue per volume as containing this index through Volume VI; the December issue as the one containing this index beginning with 1896, Volume VII through 1899, Volume X.

He identifies the 1900, Volume XI, index as being made available only in a paper supplement and shows a picture, on page 107, of the “Volume XI – YEAR 1900” index that clearly displays the title page and index.

The table lists the December issue from 1901 through 1909 as containing the index with one exception, 1905 being issued in paper supplement. He writes, “Beginning with volume XXI (1910), the volume indexes were issued as paper supplements. …”

Nathan makes no attempt to describe the inclusion of title page, contents or illustrations, nor any of the additional materials that may have been associated with the “index” issues.

The Annual Index:

The first annual index is the only index to cover more than one volume and the first of only two to be published in an issue other than the volume referenced, though that’s only half true since this index pertained to both Volumes I and II and was published in the last issue of Volume II. The title page for Volume II was actually placed at the beginning of the last issue (not at the end behind the index) and was immediately followed by the combined volume contents and illustrations. The combined index fell at the end of this issue, right where you’d expect it to be, followed by the title page for Volume I.

The first six volumes are confusing to the beginning collector and even to some of us old(er) timers because they were neither published in numerical sequence, nor in a given calendar year. Not until 1896 did the National Geographic Society (NGS) settle into the routine we know today with twelve monthly issues numbered and published sequentially in the same calendar year.

Here’s a synopsis of the first six volumes where the last issue per volume contains the index beginning with Volume II, No 5:

Volume                                 Years                    Number of Issues                     Additional Information w/ index*

       I                     1888-1889                        1 – 4                                   {no index published in this volume}

      II                    1890-1891                        1 – 5                                  {none}

     III                    1891-1892                        1 – 5                                   Publications of the National Geographic Society, Proceedings, Members of the Society**

     IV                    1892-1893                        1 – 7                                   No. 7 is the index and also includes Publications of the National Geographic Society, Fourth Annual Report of the Secretaries, Proceedings, Fifth Annual report of the Secretaries, Report of Auditing Committee

     V                     1893-1894                        1 – 6                                   No. 6 is the index and also includes Publications of the National Geographic Society, Proceedings, Sixth Annual Report of the Secretaries, By-Laws, Members of the Society

     VI                    1894-1895                        1 – 9                                   No. 9 is the index and also includes Publications of the National Geographic Society, Proceedings, Seventh Annual Report of the Secretaries, Report of the Auditing Committee, By-Laws, Members of the Society, Plate 15 - Membership Diagram of the National Geographic Society.

*Remember, the word index as used in this guide is meant to include the title page, contents, illustrations and index unless otherwise noted.

**These items were published as part of, i.e. articles of, the Volume II, No 5 issue. They became part of the preface, if included, beginning with Volume III.

It is not pertinent to this discussion as to the exact date of publication for each number; suffice it to say the last number in each volume, beginning with Volume II, contains the volume index.

Volumes III through VI were, with respect to the annual index, normal years of publication, i.e. the index was included in the last number (or it “was” the last number) of the volume.

Volume VII, 1896 would begin the one issue per month, with the combined July/August issue the exception, we’ve come to expect from the magazine. Unfortunately for this discussion, its index was the second of two indexes published in a different year it referenced. It was published in the February 1897 (Volume VIII, No 2) issue, not the December 1896 issue.

Briefly, and perhaps oversimplifying, the NGS was going through some growing pains and had a few years of “confusion” with schedules and publications beginning mid-1895 through the beginning of 1897.

Nathan shows the 1896 index as being published in the December issue of that year and provides no discussion of the index being published instead in the February 1897, Volume VIII, No. 2 issue.

It is strange that this one particular index publication, as unique as it was in its offering, received NO notice by the likes of Buxbaum and Nathan.

With the December 1897 issue, the index would be published in the last number of the year until 1909 (with variations and exceptions – of course).

The years 1900, Volume XI, and 1905, Volume XVI, were “officially” to have separate paper supplements issued for their respective index, issued on demand by members and not as part of the last number of the year.

I have found no exceptions to this with the year 1900, and have observed several “paper supplements” as originally printed for this year.  Recall that Nathan has a picture of this index with title page on page 107 of his book.

1905 is another question. I have two December 1905 issues “with” the index firmly bound within. I have one without it – and it shows no apparent damage that would indicate many (or any) pages were removed; its binding is tight. I have also acquired a paper supplement, indicating the NGS did publish December issues without the index.

Hold on- let’s take a step backward.

I have acquired loose index paper supplements for the years 1898 and 1899, both of which were supposed to be bound/published in the last number of the year according to Nathan. Could this mean “other years” had paper supplement indexes available even while some of their last issues had the index published within as did the December 1905 issue?

Neither issue I have in my collection for the last number of 1898 and 1899 has the index bound within, but I do have the paper supplement index for both. Nathan mentions nothing about either of these annual indexes being published as paper supplements, instead indicating in his table both were published as part of the December issue. Did he get this wrong?

In my bound volume of original 1899 issues, complete with covers and ads, the index falls behind the ad pages; it was usually placed immediately following the last page of the last article to continue the Roman numeral sequence. This variation resurfaces in 1905, where I will address it in more detail below.

A special note for the 1900, Volume XI, bound reprint – it is the only bound reprint volume of the 1964 production without an index, perhaps a validation that this year had only a paper supplement for the index issued and that paper supplement failed to find its way into the reproduction.

In 1901, Volume XII, the index was published as expected with all elements in the December Issue.

In 1902 through 1904, Volumes XIII through XV respectively, indexes were also published as expected in the December issue. There was a slight variance as the illustrations sections was now labeled “list of illustrations” on each page of the entire illustrations section.

Returning to 1905, Volume XVI, the 1964 bound reprint has the index with all elements, but the index falls behind the last ad page, not behind the last article page where it was usually placed. Even though the index was supposed to be published as a paper supplement, individual original issues are known to contain the index; those that do have the index placed immediately behind the last ad page in the December issue – as if the publication “with” index was an afterthought. Remember, this variation was observed only once before with a bound original 1899, Volume X, bound complete with covers and ad pages. This index also follows the “list of illustrations” format used from 1902 through 1904.

1906, Volume XVII, returns to the same format used with the 1902 through 1904 issues with a minor variance in section titles: the list of illustrations is the same label used only on the first page of the section, thereafter the section pages are labeled simply “illustrations.”

1907, Volume XVIII, returns to the label of “illustrations” throughout the entire section and was the last full index with all four sections: title page, contents, illustrations and index, published within a volume.

The years 1908 and 1909 were transition years prior to the final decision, re: annual index, of 1910.

The December 1908, Volume IX, No 12 issue contains title page, contents, and illustrations only, all included at the end of the issue behind the advertisements. The illustrations section however is 15 pages of detailed “indexing.”

I believe this “indexing” was in lieu of the actual index and was the first to follow Buxbaum’s brief statement, “…For a while, the National Geographic society issued an index of illustrations but this became so complicated that it became impractical and in 1913 (Volume XXIV) the Society published a general index of contents and illustrations for the year….”

The December 1909, Volume XX, No 12 issue contains title page, contents, and “index to illustrations” (an 11 page “indexing”) placed behind the last ad page.

To recap what I’ve discussed thus far – the years 1897 through 1909 have the index published in the December issue – except 1900, where no index has been observed within.

The years 1898 and 1899 also have paper supplements available and even though the December issue is supposed to contain the index neither has been observed with the index bound within.

The year 1905 is not supposed to contain the index, but copies are known with and without it and paper supplements are also known to exist.

Recall Buxbaum’s statement, “… The indexes to the issues from 1896 to 1905 are also very scarce and are not usually available. …” I’m not sure how to parse this in light of the discovery of paper supplements in years other than 1900 and 1905.

Does Buxbaum mean the indexes are scarce because the issues they were printed in are scarce and/or many of these issues were used to make bound volumes complete with all the elements of a book? Or, does he mean “paper supplements” are scarce, implying that more than the years thus far identified in this guide had paper supplements provided?

I can only report what I’ve observed. As such, no other years of paper supplements exist to the best of my knowledge.

Beginning with 1910, the NGS no longer published the index in the December issue. Henceforth, the index would be produced, on demand by its members, as a paper supplement during the calendar year succeeding the year referenced. Its format would continue, as Buxbaum correctly, though only briefly, stated as an “index to illustrations” instead of an actual index.

To confuse the issue (always), the NGS produced two versions of this paper supplement:

Version I contains only the title page and contents hereafter address this version as the TOC.

Version 2 contains title page, contents and index to illustrations as briefly mentioned by Buxbaum, hereafter I will continue to address this version as the index.

I have no idea why the NGS produced these two versions and neither Buxbaum nor Nathan, other than Buxbaum’s brief mentioning, addresses them.

I the NGS may have thought to allow for dividing what had become a very thick 12 number volume into two books and still have an appropriate title page, hence two versions, for both books – but this is speculation on my part.

I have two copies of these indexes for 1912 that are cut differently (neither had been previously used in a binding), i.e. taller, wider, etc., and on slightly different paper stock. Could this represent multiple publications?

I also have a 1975 reprint of the 1913, Volume XXIV, full year index complete with purchase order request No. 3352 for a Mr. Owen R. Anderson still stapled to it. It is clearly on a different paper stock and intriguing to me that such examples are available that represent the time I was just beginning to collect the NGM.

And finally, as Buxbaum intimated, the format for version two above had now changed to include title page, content, and “Index for 1913.” Henceforth in this guide, this variation of version two will be known as the index.

Recall that Buxbaum wrote,” …These semi-annual indexes while, available for most volumes, are lacking for some of the older ones in the years 1907-1913. …” This statement requires parsing before it can be fully understood.

To be trivial, I believe Buxbaum was concentrating solely on the “semi-annual” index published since 1914 through the date of publication of his last guide, not the entire volume index as produced, either integral to the last issue of the volume or by paper supplement, in the years 1907 through 1913. Therefore his statement is a simple truth – there were no semi-annual indexes produced in any format during the years 1907 through 1913. The first semi-annual index was produced as the January to June 1914 paper supplement.

To be more trivial – the only true index produced during those years was the 1907 volume index; the remainder was some form of the illustrations “indexing.”

Nathan’s table indicates only that the volume index was published in the last issue of the volume during the years 1907 – 1909, and then he states the index was published as a paper supplement beginning with 1910. He offers no discussions of the variations or the differences between full year volume index and semi-annual index.

What I do know is that for 1910 through the first half of 1917, during which time both versions were produced, the index version has become difficult to find, especially 1910 through the first half of 1914, version one slightly less difficult to find.

In 1914, the NGS divided each calendar year into two volumes. In lieu of the one volume with twelve numbers per year, it began to publish two volumes each with numbers 1-6, January through June, then July through December respectively.

Beginning with July to December 1916, Volume XXX, the NGS began publishing the index with the familiar oak leaf border on the cover. This format, with some variations, would continue into the 1980’s.

The last version one I have observed is Jan to Jun 1917. Thereafter, the NGS produced only version two.

Author notes:

Left off with 1918… (work may resume early 1915 if everything works out)

Address significant format changes, i.e. after 1993…

Combined publication index in the year 2000…

Last annual index in 2010….notice card.

Description of paper supplement formats:

1888, 1899, 1900, 1905

1910 to first half of 1914

Second half of 1914 through 1993

1994 through 1999

2000 through 2010

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Replies to This Discussion

Mel ~ wow ~ This is great. I knew you had something cooking . . . I'm off to bed now and still recovering from some issues of late, but I will print this out and read it and see if there's anything useful I can chat back with. I know Tom will be tickled to review this. 

   - Scott 

Scott,

Please remember, as I noted in a reply to an earlier post by Tom, this isn't even a complete first draft.

I got about half way through with my research and had to put it down because of other things going on back in May. I hope to resume work early next year.

However, any comments and critique, as always, are welcomed.

Mel

Mel,

This is an awesome read!

I don't know if this is any help but my last version 1 (title & TOC only) is from Vol. XLI Jan-Jun 1922.  Have no clue when they stopped.  Also there was another format (with 6 b&w cover photos) from Jan-Jun 1989 to Jul-Dec 1992.

Hopefully you can get back to this sooner than 1915. LOL

Tom

Whoa!

As always, just when one (read - me) thinks they have a handle on things - they learn otherwise!

Again - thanks for the info (to be included in the guide).

Keep it coming!

Mel

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