[Posted by Ashley Esposito, a graduate student in American Studies doing an internship in the Watkinson]

Leigh Couch Collection in progress…

This week I was able to focus on The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.  Beginning its publishing in October 1949, Fantasy, persists to this day in print. Yes, you read that correctly, F&SF is still printed on paper as a digest style magazine. You can subscribe for about $36.97 for 6 issues per year.  Between Oct 1949 and Dec 2016, F&SF has published 723 volumes.  Starting in 2010, F&SF converted its publishing schedule to bi-monthly with continued success and circulation.

The six-cover progression seen to the left shows the growth of the magazine over the years while it sought to define its brand, and the one below shows the 30^th anniversary issue that lists on its cover the authors that are included in that 320-page edition.

At first the inventory of Fantasy and Science Fiction was so overwhelming. So many volumes. Over 450 volumes are in the collection between 1951 and 1994. It was truly amazing to see the progression of the covers, printing, binding and issue prices. As part of the inventory process a listing of all volumes held, original volumes held is compared to the total number of volumes originally issued. This process was a labor of love.  I have truly found a worthwhile research opportunity with the Leigh Couch collection.