List of American Mercury issues

The American Mercury was an American monthly magazine founded in 1924 by H.L._Mencken and George Jean Nathan. Originally devoted to literature, politics, culture, and social criticism, it became one of the nation's most influential intellectual magazines. Over the course of nearly nine decades, the magazine underwent several editorial and ownership changes before ultimately ceasing publication in 2011.

Unlike many major American periodicals, there is presently no complete public archive documenting every issue, editor, cover, and table of contents. This page is intended to become a comprehensive bibliography of every known issue of The American Mercury.

Publication Overview

Knopf and Successor Editors (1934–1955)

1952

Vol. LXXIV, No. 338 – February 1952

• Founded by: Henry L. Mencken
• Editor: William Bradford Huie
• Managing Editor: Florence Norton
• Associate Editor: William Foster
• Assistant Editors: Gunther Stuhlmann, Helen Willingham
• Assistant to the Editor: Rachel B. Walker
• Subscription Manager: Dagmar Rasmussen

• "In the Mercury's Opinion: The Apotheosis of Acheson and Marshall" — p. 3
• "Revolt Along the Nile" — by Alfred Lilienthal — p. 8
• "Time Marches on McCarthy" — by Nora de Toledano — p. 15
• "Foreign Intelligence: The Shadow of the Brujo" — by Marcelle Michelin — p. 23
• "Americana: The Iowa Centennials" — by Juliana Dubuque — p. 30
• "The Unreported War in Indonesia" — by Alexander Marshack — p. 37
• "The Urge to Kiss, A Story" — by Hans Ruesch — p. 48
• "The Miracle of German Recovery" — by Max Eastman — p. 58
• "What Jazz Means to Me" — by Eddie Condon — p. 67
• "Stealing America's Know-How" — by Henry L. Zelchenko — p. 75
• "A Dead Blue Bus, A Story" — by Henrietta Weigel — p. 85
• "The Tongs of San Francisco" — by Robert Patterson — p. 93
• "Opinions from the Chronoscope" — p. 100
• "Books: Below Inhumanity" — by Vladimir Petrov — p. 107
• "Television: Giant in the Living Room" — by Calder Willingham — p. 114
• "Down to Earth: The Great White Owl" — by Alan DeVoe — p. 120
• "Draughts of Old Bourbon: For a Second Whisky Rebellion" — by James Monroe Madison — p. 124

1953

Vol. XX, No. XX – September 1953

American Mercury Cover – September 1953

• Chairman of the Board: Russell Maguire
• Editor and Publisher: John A. Clements
• Managing Editor: Joseph B. Breed
• Washington Editor: Patrick McMahon

Contributing Editors

• C. D. Batchelor
• Harry Brundidge
• William F. Buckley, Jr.
• Alan DeVoe
• Joseph F. Drury, Jr.
• George Fielding Eliot
• J. B. Matthews
• Frank S. Meyer
• Howard Rushmore

Business Staff

• Business Manager: Robert Hodgson
• Subscription Manager: Alma E. Drewes
• Editorial Assistants: Lois Hansen; Adrienne Suddard

Contents

September 1953

• "The Truth about Joe McCarthy" — by Harold Lord Varney — p. 3
• "Russia and the Middle East" — by Jules Kagian — p. 13
• "Down to Earth: The Abbot Talks to Tigers" — by Alan DeVoe — p. 18
• "What Ever Became of the Hoover Report?" — by James E. Warner — p. 22
• "The New England Hired Man" — by James A. Dodd — p. 27
• "Red China's Narcotics Traffic" — by George Fielding Eliot — p. 31
• "Queer Cargoes By Air" — by Trevor Holloway — p. 38
• "Slander Not Thy Mother's Son" — by Rosa Meyerhof — p. 41
• "Washington's Biggest Lobby" — by Patrick McMahon — p. 43
• "The Wounded Warrior" — by Morgan M. Miles — p. 49
• "Prophet With Honor — The Story of Martin Dies" — by Howard Rushmore — p. 52
• "The Modern Barbary Coast" — by Bayne Wilson — p. 57
• "I've Got Those Cobalt Blues" — by Joseph Stocker — p. 59
• "European Defense — Seen from Another Angle" — by Robert Ingrim — p. 61
• "The Wild West Starts on Fifth Avenue" — by Janet Williams — p. 67
• "Are We Rocking the Boat?" — by Frank Ball — p. 69
• "Do You Know That ——" — by Nora de Toledano — p. 72
• "Mrs. Smith Comes to Washington" — by Elizabeth Churchill — p. 73
• "Adolphus Busch — Master Brewer" — by Harry T. Brundidge — p. 77
• "Village Reborn" — by A. A. Hoehling — p. 82
• "From Caves to Cafés" — by Betty Diehl and Thomas D'Amico — p. 85
• "The Store Downtown" — by Harry Thompson — p. 91
• "Benjamin Mandel Keeps Working" — by Nelson Frank — p. 93
• "Applied Psychology" — by Guro Bjornson — p. 98
• "Quiz Kid Extraordinary" — by Ed Quarrington — p. 99
• "With the Foreign Legion in Indo-China" — by Paul Nohren — p. 101
• "A Miracle" — by Lynn Clifford Goldberg — p. 106
• "Sound on Disc" — p. 107
• "In Defense of Divorce" — by Anonymous — p. 109
• "The Fadil Sultan" — by J. H. W. Kersting — p. 115
• "Are You Hiding Uncle Sam's Gold in Your Teeth?" — by Howard M. Duffy — p. 120
• "One Story the Tabloids Couldn't Touch" — by William R. Peer — p. 121
• "I Don't Like Cats" — by Hugh Robert Orr — p. 126
• "The Strange Story of Nicholas Trist" — by Frank L. Baer — p. 130
• "Books in Review" — by Frank S. Meyer — p. 134

See also

• The American Mercury
• H. L. Mencken
• George Jean Nathan
• List of Confidential Magazine issues