The Coast Magazine

 

Take a trip along the Pacific coast by reading The Coast magazine (1937-1942), which is intact as a complete run in the SFPL Magazines and Newspapers Center. You'll get a unique view into an historical snapshot of California and San Francisco, where it was published, first from the depths of the Depression and then into the depths of World War II. This view not only provides photo essays of popular recreation spots in California and insights into the topics at top of mind for the educated class during this time, but one that gives insight into the dominant forms of media of the day.

I would classify The Coast as being cut from the same cloth as the New Yorker, at least in its upstart days: a cultural and intellectual publication containing lots of text, not as many advertisements, studded with witty (and not so witty) cartoons, and contents reporting goings-on, literature releases, news from the film industry, and restaurant listings. Where The Coast leaves off in the 40s, San Francisco magazine picks up in the 50s.

In 1938, the publication ran features on people like Paul Smith from the San Francisco Chronicle, Hearst associate John Francis Neylan from the San Francisco Call, and of Milly Bennett, remarkable "newspaperwoman" that covered--and experienced--more gnarly history than many male journalists. While a librarian from the Magazines and Newspapers Center might get titillated at the regular spotlighting of newspaper people and the activities of the press covering news as it happens, it is no surprise that a print publication from this time period would be concerned with print communication--basically it is the equivalent of an online magazine today making copious references to the internet or cell phones.

Advertisement of people profiled in The Coast, October 1938 issue

As the issues wore on, the magazine ran more stories about radio and film. 

It's also a publication concerned with history and exploration, printing in its first several years a monthly feature called "The Coast Questionnaire" that tested the historical knowledge of its readers (and printed the answers at the back of each issue).

An example of The Coast Questionnaire from the July 1939 issue

 

It went on to run features on a variety of different ethnicities and nationalities in its later days. Articles from 1939 include photo essays on Filipinos in California (September), a Black golf tournament in Los Angeles (October), California's Mexicans (October), California's Japanese (November), and California's Chinese (December). The latter was shot by "a young man who is considered Chinatown's Alfred Stieglitz," Wallace Fong, and researched by historian William Hoy, two men who had worked together on the English-language magazine Chinese Digest; it's refreshing to see that the Coast devoted two columns at the end of the issue to sketch out these men's biographies and projects. It seems as though The Coast gave an early embrace to diversity in the state at a time when mainstream American magazines were very white, serving as a type of proto-Ethnic studies course for its white readers.

Profiles of Wallace Fong, photographer, and William Hoy, historian and writer, in the December 1939 issue of The Coast.

 

No doubt spurred by the globalist worldview sparked by World War II, the 1942 issues contain pieces on "The New American Order in the Orient" by Manuel Buaken (about the fate of the Philippines through World War I (Feb 1942)) and "Holland's Pacific Empire and the War" by N. A. C. Slotemaker de Bruine (also concerned with the strategic position of the "Dutch East Indies" to the Japanese during the war (March 1942)). On a lighter note, features called "India Will Go On" by Gertrude Ann Hunt and "Tastes of Tahiti" by Trader Vic appear in the July 1942 issue, which ended up being the last for the publication, offering a mix of armchair travel and cultural education. 

An issue from three years earlier ran a feature on the Murray Dude Ranch in Victorville, Calif., the only Black dude ranch in the United States at the time (May 1939).

Photo spread of the Murray Dude Ranch in Victorville, Calif., the only Black dude ranch in the United States at the time (May 1939)

Other notable authors to have appeared in the pages of The Coast include Herb Caen (Dec 1937); Toshio Mori (Feb 1939 and April 1941); and William Saroyan, who had pieces appearing regularly throughout the magazine's history. 

Sometimes poetry also appeared in its pages along with regular photo essays, nonfiction articles, and fiction pieces. Sometimes the poetry appeared with topical effect, i.e. Edward Bosley's March 1939 "Please, Golden Gate International Exposition, Be My Valentine!" Other times the poems were little ditties that brought humor to the pages, i.e. Hugh Nye's rhyme below.

"Prescription for a Hangover" a quatrain by High N. Nye, March 1942

A normal table of contents would list Articles, Photographs, Stories, and Departments (calendar, questionnaire, music, shops, theatre, the films), which remained fairly consistent throughout the years.

This magazine requires advance paging from offsite storage, which can take up to 72 hours. You can request this magazine at the 5th floor page desk at the Main Library or call the Magazines and Newspapers Center to request a librarian page it for you in advance of your visit.