The first issue of the New Yorker appeared on February 17, 1925. While it exacerbated his ulcers, Ross's suspicion of his publisher helped to establish the unique editorial autonomy at the magazine, an autonomy Fleischmann, and his son Peter, would respect even after Ross's death. Nevertheless, Fleischmann spent the rest of his life, until 1969, as vice president, president, chairman, and publisher of The New Yorker Ross spent the rest of his as its editor.
Their partnership was often rocky: Ross always suspected he was being worked to death for Fleischmann's economic benefit. (At one point during the first year, Ross and Fleischmann actually decided to cease publication but changed their minds only days later). Fleischmann ended up investing another $700,000 in the magazine over the next three years. Later the same year, Ross succeeded in selling his idea to Raoul Fleischmann, the yeast-fortune heir Fleischmann supplied an initial investment of $25,000 that was matched by Ross and Grant. While this publication embodied the stale humor for Mid-Americans to which Ross's magazine would reply, Ross hoped to experiment with some of his editorial ideas in its pages. In 1924 Ross was still shopping his dummy of what would become The New Yorker around when he accepted the position as editor of Judge. Ross's audience would be educated, cosmopolitan New Yorkers, who spent money in fine restaurants and stores?the kind of audience advertisers would pay to target. For Ross, the number of people reading his magazine would not be as important as who was reading it. Furthermore these national magazines were not suited to upscale advertising because they had to appeal to readers spread throughout the country and of all levels of sophistication and income. Judge, Life, Saturday Evening Post) either sophomoric, or middlebrow. He believed there was a gap in the magazine industry, that there was room for a sophisticated, funny, urbane, upscale weekly. It was soon apparent that Ross was not satisfied working for a house organ.įor some time the couple lived on Grant's salary from The New York Times and saved Ross's salary towards his dream publication. By the time of his marriage Ross had become editor of American Legion Weekly (which had absorbed Home Sector). In 1920 Ross married Jane Grant whom he had met in France during the war through a friend and colleague at the paper, Alexander Woollcott. On returning from the war Ross launched the Home Sector, a continuation of the Stars & Stripes published for returning veterans. During World War I he was a staff member and then editor of Stars & Stripes. He became a tramp newspaperman, working at 23 newspapers in 6 years. His first job as a newspaper man was in Salt Lake City, at The Tribune. Ross dropped out of high school after his sophomore year. Ross was born in 1892 in Aspen, Colorado to George Ross, an Irish immigrant, and Ida Ross, a school teacher from Kansas. Harold Ross and the Founding of The New Yorker This material documents the production of every issue of the magazine and provides insight on the careers of its staff and contributors. The records consist of correspondence, interoffice memoranda, edited and corrected manuscripts and typescripts, drawings, statistical reports, lists of story and art ideas, photographs, and sound recordings and printed materials created during the foundation and day-to-day operations of the magazine from 1924-1984. Ross, Jane Grant, Alexander Woollcott and Raoul Fleischman. Weekly magazine founded in New York City in 1925 by Harold W. Portions of this collection have been digitized and are available online. New Yorker records, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library Repository Manuscripts and Archives Division Access to materials Request an in-person research appointment. Creator New Yorker Magazine, Inc Call number MssCol 2236 Physical description 1058.76 linear feet (2566 boxes 7 microfilm reels 18 sound recordings) Preferred Citation
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