As I mentioned, I will be scanning my new copies of Miniature Gazette I've begun to pull together. as far as scanning though, I'm sure it is understood I'll be starting with the early issues. I'm also tentatively going to be working on writing down what issues I have, and what is in them. This is going to be super time consuming, I wouldn't argue if someone offered to help me. Scanning the issues of course will show what is in them right off, but its nice to not have to dig to find the article you want right off the bat! These magazines have to be categorized and scanned before I can even attempt to begin hunting down a complete file of Nutshell News. After that, I have my doubt (famous last words I know) that I'll be completing full catalogs of any more miniature magazines. I feel these two are the pinnacle of their art and I need go no further except a current subscription to whatever hobby magazines I may invest in later.

Having so many of the Miniature Gazette I now have lots of reading material.

Now, I didn't come by my collection "honestly". N.A.M.E. is my own age and it would have been very difficult to have gotten my first issue at the age of 6 months and then every one since. So, a lucky eBay purchase gave me an instant 59 magazines along with the few from the 70's (including issue #1) that I'd manage to get. This magazine is a type which made it collectible to the owner. Work projects alone guaranteed that. And a marked disinclination for cutting the magazine even in its basic journal form was there from the beginning. A coupon cut from a page of my own issue #1 was apologized for in the next issue with the promise to print further coupons in a way to not destroy a magazine, but given the magazines I've seen, few were cut and I have the collections of a few owners from different parts of the country. But sadly I have a cut #1 that I have to attempt to replace with a "clean" issue.

Another feature I really liked is the fact that the magazines are punched for three ring binders. Mine are not yet in binders, but a trip to Staples for large binders is planned. Plus, don't forget, I'll be scanning all these issues. I don't know that N.A.M.E. itself has archived any of their Gazettes electronically, I only know of the 3 pages of issue 1 they host on their site.

But back to the hole punching. Three punches, right from issue one allowed the owner to put the magazine into a binder of their own. My understanding is that N.A.M.E. offered binders. I do not know if they still offer them (not having a more current issue than 2003) at this time. But, apparently in this decade, they quit punching the issues. This is the second change in the Gazette I didn't care for. While slipping the magazines onto magazine holders and putting into a binder is fairly simple, the holes made life easier. I also really see no drawbacks to hole punching the magazine. The later magazines of the 90's are just as sturdy now as they were when freshly delivered.

This brings me to the second change I noticed in the Gazettes (physically) The issues of the early 1970's, such as issue #1, are stapled like regular magazines in the center. They average about 30 pages so this method probably worked great for the early, smaller issues.

However, sometime shortly the start of N.A.M.E. and the Gazette, the magazines were printed in what I believe is called "perfect" bound. This means that instead of a regular magazine binding, the binding is square, and flat. It creates a super nice, neat book like magazine that simply screams quality. Sometime in the mid 1980's though, the magazine went back to the early binding except now there were slick often color covers. (the perfect bound ones also have color covers on occasion) this was now a "modern" style magazine, capable of sitting on the shelf next to Playboy as far as binding went. I think here is where the magazine lost some physical charm. About the only drawback I've noticed is a tendency for the glue to dry out and the pages to separate from the binding. Having said that, if the magazine is in a binder, this shouldn't be an issue. But, I can understand a switch if N.A.M.E. realized the glue breakdown early on and made the switch for that reason among others.

In the 80's and 90's the magazines are still punched, color photos are throughout yet still not a slick fashion magazine style, or even like a few of the miniature magazines (and doll) that were beginning to make their appearances.

For this decade (2000) the magazines are no longer punched. But the magazines do keep the same "simple" layout, color pictures aren't wasting ink all over the place still, but what color photos are here are fantastic. I'm still not sure if the switch in bindings was good. I'm still loving on those mid to late 1970's perfect bound "books".

The covers have also changed, the 70s saw the focused covers with a framed picture or the really early issue which have blurry mimeograph photos. The 80's the covers were still in "frames". The newer issues, the cover picture is a full page. Since I haven't seen a new issue, I don't know what else is changed. I am rather surprised that the magazine hasn't followed another trend of printing contents on the cover. It is still a few frills magazine which suits it perfectly.

The advantage of knowing the cover styles is great if you look really fast at an issue online and the picture is tiny, or you look really fast someplace else. An instinct look should tell you what era the magazine is from. A full sized color picture is a modern copy, a framed picture on the cover is earlier. A book style binding is from the 1970's/
Ive no idea how many magazines there should be up to this date. The closest I can guess is that each year should have 4 issues. (37 years, 4 issues per year, 148 magazines??) In the early days it may have only been 2. But, until I have a solid answer, I'm guessing. For example, 1988/9 has 4 issues. They are listed by season (Fall 1988, Winter 1988, Spring 1989, and Summer 1989) Volume 17 numbers 1-4. They are also slightly coordinated, in solid colors. From the later issues, volume 29 also has 4 issues, Fall 2000, Holiday 2000, January/February 2000 (I believe this is a normal typo I see a lot in M.G. and they meant 2001) and March/April 2001. The current issues say the months as opposed to seasons, and a "Holiday" issue as opposed to "December" or "Winter". There may a "theme" between these issues, but at this time, I don't see it in the covers. I've also made the assumption that there may be "gala" issues. specials only released on rare occasions. I seem to recall mention of one or two in the earlier issues, but I may be mistaken.