Showcase. Interpret. Preserve.
Pleased to announce that the digital edition of Military Images magazine is now available. Formatted identically to the print version, it is produced directly from the master pdf files sent to the printer. Now you can enjoy all the rare and wonderful images, features and departments in every issue of MI on your laptop, tablet or phone. Single issues are now available for purchase at $7.95 each, and the downloadable pdf is yours to keep. The MI digital edition is powered by Tinypass.
Delighted to share the cover image for the summer issue of MI, which will be mailed next week. This sixth-plate ruby glass ambrotype by an anonymous photographer is from the exquisite collection of Matt Cranford. Representative images from his holdings are highlighted in a feature gallery.
Here’s the caption that accompanies the cover image:
A clean-shaven young infantryman is equipped with all the trappings of war. He holds a Model 1816 conversion musket with fixed bayonet in one hand, and grips a single shot percussion pistol in the other. A regulation rubberized canvas backpack with russet leather straps and bedroll is strapped to his back, and hanging from his neck is a black-painted leather haversack and drum canteen. “What’s really striking is the backdrop: A very subtle, low-lying landscape that makes the soldier appear as if he’s marching in high country,” Cranford declares.
Delighted to share the cover art for the next issue of Military Images. Special thanks to Rick Brown—This image is from his wonderful collection, which is featured prominently in this issue.
MI is scheduled to be printed next week.
If you’re not a subscriber, now is a great time. Sign up today for a one year subscription and receive 4 quarterly issues—plus a fifth issue free!
A number of you have asked why your issue was taking so long to move through the mail system.
According to the U.S. Post Office, the estimated time is 9-18 days—but all bets are off during the holidays, and when bad weather sets in.
You may recall the issues were sent bulk mail from Hanover, Pa., on Dec. 20, and at least two subscribers received their issue last Saturday, 24 business days after the mailing.
Thanks to Sheridan Press, the company that prints Military Images, I have a communication from the postal representative in Hanover. The representative details how an issue moves from the post office in Hanover to Arlington by truck to be processed for delivery:
All Periodicals that leave Hanover come here to Harrisburg P&DC – Processing and Distribution Center. The sack label then determines where the mail is transferred to from Harrisburg. If the mail is in a 5 Digit or 3 Digit sack the mail is then sent on transportation to the Distribution center for the zipcode on the sack label. If you are talking about Arlington VA 22205 – and the sack was labeled to either 5 Digit or 3 Digit Arlington – the mail would be loaded on a trailer to send to Southern MD 207. Then from their they would work the mail to go to Arlington 22205 and it would then go to the ADC/SCF office for zipcode 22205 which would be Northern VA 220. Here they would do the actual separation to Arlington and the mail would then go to Arlington to be delivered. The maximum time frame the mail can be held at each office is 3 days. Remember 1st class and Priority are worked first and then Periodicals and then Standard Mail.
So you would be looking at coming to Harrisburg could be held here for a maximum of 3 days then to Southern MD 207 for maximum 3 days – then to Northern VA 220 for a maximum of 3 days and then to Arlington VA for a maximum of 3 days – should be no more than 12 days from mailing until delivery. The standards are 9-18 days for Periodicals depending on where you are mailing to.
Now if the piece was in a MXD sack then you have to add from Harrisburg to (all mixed sacks from Harrisburg go to DV Daniels NJ to be processed) then you start the same process – which would be adding another 3 days until the time frame of 12 days for approximately 15 days. If the 1st class and priority volumes are light then the periodical mail will move faster – if the 1st class and priority mail volumes are heavy you can see the approximate 15 days for delivery.
The time frame you are looking at was over the Christmas Holiday which is the heaviest 1st class and priority time of the year this would then cause delays of the mail pieces. Also you have to take into consideration any weather related delays as this mail is trucked and does not fly. We have had terrible winter weather on the East Coast which also delays the mail delivery.
The redesign that debuted with the current issue of the magazine has impacted all other materials associated with the publication. This includes the renewal form, which is being mailed today to those who have expired subscriptions.
The renewal form is a challenge from a design perspective. There are a number of details to communicate, and clarity is essential. Before beginning the task, I prepared by collecting renewal forms and invitations to subscribe forms from other publications.
Armed with samples, I set about creating the new form shown here. The final version is divided into two sections. The upper two-thirds states the price and describes highlights of the new MI, which includes the redesigned magazine and web site. The bottom third is a detachable return slip which is returned with payment in a self-addressed stamped envelope included with the form.
The biggest change, aside from the new look, is the placement of the free (and optional) classified ad, a long-time tradition for renewing subscribers. The free ad is still available, but the large space on the front of the return slip to enter the ten words and contact information has been reduced to a green box at the very bottom of the form. Text in the green box instructs subscribers to use the back of the return slip to enter this information. They can also email militaryimages@gmail.com.
I was outside my home raking in the back yard when I saw the FedEx truck pull up. The delivery man stacked up several boxes, and I instantly knew they were the right size to contain the extra issues of MI that I had ordered. A few minutes later I was thumbing through the Winter 2014 issue, my first as editor and publisher. I am thrilled with the outcome, and excited about getting to work on the next issue. The best early Christmas gift!
MI celebrates its 35th anniversary of MI in 2014. To mark the occasion, I invite all magazine subscribers to share your thoughts about what Military Images has meant to you through the years.
Please leave your comments here, in 100 words or less. Or, send them to militaryimages@gmail.com. Selected comments will be published in the next issue, which goes to the printer Dec. 1. The comments will be featured in “Mail Call,” MIs letters to the editor section.
Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts—and thanks for your support of MI!
Ina Dixon of the Civil War Trust contacted me a couple weeks ago, and asked me to share my perspectives about Military Images magazine and its role in historic photography. An excerpt:
Over time, I’ve come to understand and appreciate that these rare soldier portraits humanize the terrible conflict that raged on our soil during the four bloodiest and most violent years in our nation’s history. When I see these photos, which were personal, intimate objects shared with family, friends and comrades at a time of war, I am reminded of these soldiers’ courage, and my own responsibilities as an American and a world citizen.
It is only in the last few decades, beginning with the centennial of the war in the 1960s, that these old photographic portraits have begun to move from the realm of vernacular photography to become part of the nation’s visual record. Harry Roach, who founded MI in 1979, was in the forefront of those who realized the growing importance of these photographs.
I am thrilled to have had the opportunity, and deeply grateful to Ina and the rest of the staff of CWT for the great work they do in preservation and education.
The September/October 2000 issue of MI included this Index to Civil War Regiments. It lists the issues in which specific regimental photographs appeared from the first issue in 1979 until May/June 2001. The figures following each regimental listing indicate the volume number, issue number, and page numbers (FC means front cover and BC, back cover). Some of these issues are still available and can be ordered. Some back issues are available for purchase.
ALABAMA
ARKANSAS
CALIFORNIA
CONNECTICUT
DELAWARE
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
FLORIDA
GEORGIA
ILLINOIS
INDIANA
IOWA
KANSAS
KENTUCKY
LOUISIANA
MAINE
MARYLAND
MASSACHUSETTS
MICHIGAN
MINNESOTA
MISSISSIPPI
MISSOURI
NEVADA
NEW HAMPSHIRE
NEW JERSEY
NEW MEXICO
NEW YORK
NORTH CAROLINA
OHIO
PENNSYLVANIA
RHODE ISLAND
SOUTH CAROLINA
TENNESSEE
TEXAS
VERMONT
VIRGINIA
WEST VIRGINIA
WISCONSIN
As the transfer of ownership period continues, I’ve focused the vast majority of my efforts these past couple weeks in establishing a digital and social media presence. And now, new and returning subscribers can also pay online. I decided to use Paypal because it is has established a reputation for trust and reliability, and is used around the world. See the SUBSCRIBE NOW! page for details.
