February 1915 Anomaly

[George Thomas Wilson]

I did not catch this until after I had posted the "100 Years Ago" discussion.  There are two versions of the cover for this particular issue.  Since I only keep one copy per issue, I never would have caught it except for the fact that my original copy was missing 4 pages (2 sheets).  Someone had removed the article on San Francisco.  I purchased another copy so I could post my review in full.

Hildesheim:

Munster:

[Mike Oliphant]

Hi Tom,   Thanks for the share. Most collectors do not know of these variations. Also Thank You!!! so much for mentioning me when you announced that you had reached your collecting goal. I can't buy that kind of advertising. Have a great day!!! Mike O

[Melvin L. De Vilbiss]

Tom,

The cities' physical existence are not even close to one another in Germany and yet both are labeled "the Town of Many Gables."

Both annual indexes I possess indicate the article begin on page 107 but do not differentiate between the cities, they simply list "the Town of Many Gables."

Even more interesting, the 1922 Cumulative Index (CI) - the first to be produced by the society - does not list the city of Hildesheim. It does list the city of Munster, and labels it "Town of Many Gables, The." Also, the CI lists "Town of Many Gables, The (Munster)."

Both index references show the article beginning on page 107 in the Feb 1915 issue.

A very interesting find - thanks for sharing.

Mel

[George Thomas Wilson]

Thanks for the research and input, Mel.  This find started a discussion, as I had hoped, but not here where I was expecting it.  I also posted these pictures to the site and have gotten several interesting posts under one of them.  It seems that, just like the magazine, people are drawn to the pictures and not the articles.

Yours in collecting,

Tom

[Scott T. Shier]

I too wish the majority of comments had materialized  here under the post. Maybe next time don't post the images separate from the images you inserted into the thread itself

:  )

[George Thomas Wilson]

This is a test to see if I can copy & paste a discussion from one location to another.  I will delete it if anyone involved does not want it posted here.

Comment by Abramo Russo 19 hours ago

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wow!! that's interesting...what's the story about them? why they're different?

Comment by George Thomas Wilson 19 hours ago

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I haven't a clue, Abramo.  As I said in my discussion "February 1915 Anomaly" I discovered this difference completely by accident.

Comment by Lloyd Bonaccorso 14 hours ago

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Hi Tom, Is it the exact same story inside?

What I mean, is the two names on the cover the ONLY difference in the story.

Perhaps that town/city/community was known by both names, or perhaps NGM started printing the run of the issue with one name when they realized they had the wrong name and corrected it to complete the run, but decided to send both versions out anyway, perhaps hoping nobody would notice.

But maybe reading the story in both copies might tell you if they are only referring to one name in both issues, or are they referring to each name in their respective issues?

Comment by Scott T. Shier 14 hours ago

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Well, in reading the story earlier today (yes, Tom's post sent me scrambling), I found that both Hildesheim and Münster are towns in Germany. The emphasis or focus of the story is Münster . . . billed as being then-mostly unknown to 'worldly' travelers. Hildesheim is referenced as a direct comparison (dare I say competitor) of the former locale; it seems by the author's text that Hildesheim was on the beaten path as it were, and must have had some recognition amongst the well-traveled class of the time.

Hildesheim is indicated to also have the old world charm --and gables-- w/ cobble stones and all. I note that 'The Complete National Geographic on DVD-rom' set has the Münster cover for that issue. I also note that I've only ever come across this issue w/ "Münster" (e.g., back when I had a stack of duplicates), so surely the Hildesheim is probably an editorial error, which was rectified earlier in the print-run than later, and either the incorrect batch went out already, or they were not prepared to eat the cost and/or delay delivery to members. 

It's interesting to recall that during this era, the monthly issues did not arrive early, and did not often arrive timely. There's numerous occasions where an issue would even contain a comment about being "late" or delayed. The Society also still had to guard its budget and outlays very carefully, so scrapping an entire print run for misplaced colon was out-of-the-question (yes, true story!).

At the same time, I wouldn't be surprised to learn they scrapped some qty. of the already-printed Hildesheim covers that had not been yet attached to the body of the stock extant at the time they caught the mistake, or decided that the story really was about the M and not the H city.

Just some thoughts based on precedent and accumulated knowledge. Thus, I am inclined to lean towards Lloyd's comment as well (re: the wrong name). 

Ooops!

      - Scott S.

Comment by Lloyd Bonaccorso 13 hours ago

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Thanks Scott for the insight, and the notice about the duplicate posting.

Comment by Abramo Russo 7 hours ago

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yes, thank you to all.

Comment by George Thomas Wilson 4 hours ago

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Thanks to all for your comments.  I'm a little surprised that this discussion is taking place under a photo and not in the discussion I posted on the subject but like I told Mel, just like in the magazine, people are drawn to the pictures more than to the article.

Tom

Comment by Scott T. Shier 2 hours ago

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Haha, not quite for me on that, Tom. I only said what I said //here// in reply to Lloyd, and Abramo. I would rather have seen the thread develop on the post proper.  : - )

Comment by George Thomas Wilson 1 hour ago

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Scott,

It's just that these photos will quickly get buried in the "photo vault".  (Only the most recent 100 show up on the main page.)  People will have to dig to find this "discussion".  Would you mind re-posting your comment to the real discussion, or at least the information in it.  I think it's interesting and informative, and will be good for collectors who read the discussion down the road.

Tom

[Abramo Russo]

Delete Comment

wow!! that's interesting...what's the story about them? why they're different?

[George Thomas Wilson]

Delete Comment

I haven't a clue, Abramo.  As I said in my discussion "February 1915 Anomaly" I discovered this difference completely by accident.

[Lloyd Bonaccorso]

Delete Comment

Hi Tom, Is it the exact same story inside?

What I mean, is the two names on the cover the ONLY difference in the story.

Perhaps that town/city/community was known by both names, or perhaps NGM started printing the run of the issue with one name when they realized they had the wrong name and corrected it to complete the run, but decided to send both versions out anyway, perhaps hoping nobody would notice.

But maybe reading the story in both copies might tell you if they are only referring to one name in both issues, or are they referring to each name in their respective issues?

[Scott T. Shier]

Delete Comment

Well, in reading the story earlier today (yes, Tom's post sent me scrambling), I found that both Hildesheim and Münster are towns in Germany. The emphasis or focus of the story is Münster . . . billed as being then-mostly unknown to 'worldly' travelers. Hildesheim is referenced as a direct comparison (dare I say competitor) of the former locale; it seems by the author's text that Hildesheim was on the beaten path as it were, and must have had some recognition amongst the well-traveled class of the time.

Hildesheim is indicated to also have the old world charm --and gables-- w/ cobble stones and all. I note that 'The Complete National Geographic on DVD-rom' set has the Münster cover for that issue. I also note that I've only ever come across this issue w/ "Münster" (e.g., back when I had a stack of duplicates), so surely the Hildesheim is probably an editorial error, which was rectified earlier in the print-run than later, and either the incorrect batch went out already, or they were not prepared to eat the cost and/or delay delivery to members. 

It's interesting to recall that during this era, the monthly issues did not arrive early, and did not often arrive timely. There's numerous occasions where an issue would even contain a comment about being "late" or delayed. The Society also still had to guard its budget and outlays very carefully, so scrapping an entire print run for misplaced colon was out-of-the-question (yes, true story!).

At the same time, I wouldn't be surprised to learn they scrapped some qty. of the already-printed Hildesheim covers that had not been yet attached to the body of the stock extant at the time they caught the mistake, or decided that the story really was about the M and not the H city.

Just some thoughts based on precedent and accumulated knowledge. Thus, I am inclined to lean towards Lloyd's comment as well (re: the wrong name). 

Ooops!

      - Scott S.

[Lloyd Bonaccorso]

Delete Comment

Thanks Scott for the insight, and the notice about the duplicate posting.

[Abramo Russo]

Delete Comment

yes, thank you to all.

[George Thomas Wilson]

Delete Comment

Thanks to all for your comments.  I'm a little surprised that this discussion is taking place under a photo and not in the discussion I posted on the subject but like I told Mel, just like in the magazine, people are drawn to the pictures more than to the article.

Tom

[Scott T. Shier]

Delete Comment

Haha, not quite for me on that, Tom. I only said what I said //here// in reply to Lloyd, and Abramo. I would rather have seen the thread develop on the post proper.  : - )

[George Thomas Wilson]

Delete Comment

Scott,

It's just that these photos will quickly get buried in the "photo vault".  (Only the most recent 100 show up on the main page.)  People will have to dig to find this "discussion".  Would you mind re-posting your comment to the real discussion, or at least the information in it.  I think it's interesting and informative, and will be good for collectors who read the discussion down the road.

Tom

[Chad Traywick]

I have the "Munster" version.  How many are there of the other ?

[George Thomas Wilson]

Chad,

As I stated in my post, I haven't a clue as to the number of "Hildesheim" versions out there.  Maybe one of our dealers would have a handle on that.

Tom

[Scott T. Shier]

btw, a quick response from a German friend who I mentioned this to:

I [never heard] about the "town of many gables" before. I checked the german Wikipedia and I couldn't find anything about gables on Hildesheim's side but somtehing about many houses with gables on the Münster (Westfalen) (remark: there are some [multiple] Münsters in Germany) side.