Are vintage magazines a reminder that the print media is not dead? We ask Paul Dempsey, the assistant director of London’s sole vintage magazine shop about the sentimental value of old magazines and their role in a digital world.
Opened in 1977, VinMagCo , a vintage magazine shop in Brewer Street, Soho found a niche in the market for film, fashion and music lovers. Thus, it turned to collectors in order to expand its selections of old magazines and buy rare publications.
After 34 years, VinMagCo has collected a wide range of magazines dated from the ‘40s and ‘50s to the last couple of years.
“It’s quite unique because there is no one else who does this anymore particularly the way we do it across decades. I think people are amazed that some of these magazines still exist,” says Dempsey.
So, why would someone be interested in buying a vintage magazine?
“It’s almost like a piece of history; history of popular culture. Seeing things digitally, you cannot experience how people digested magazines at that time, so it’s a symbol of representation; true and better representation.”
The first floor is filled with film and music posters, as well as pins, cups and other types of gifts featuring a favourite actor/actress or a well-known band.
As one goes to the basement, the wide selection of magazines separated according to the decade of their publication sets a messy and yet compelling setting. The numerous boxes labelled with each decade from the ‘40s and on, contain a very interesting variety of magazines from ABC Film Review to the ‘70s Vogue and from 19 (a teenage fashion magazine from the ‘60s) to The New Yorker.
We are currently living in a hyper-digital age, where the Internet plays a big part in our everyday life. It defines the way we get information and digest it. However, a survey published in 2012 on pressgazette.co.uk, indicated that 88% of magazine readers prefer print than online reading.
More than 2,000 residents in the UK aged between 14 and 75 were questioned and one of the survey’s key points showed that, “London is the least likely region to watch local TV news and access local news online.”
Could this be that there is still a future
for print magazines?
Dempsey explains, “I think there is still room for the print and it always amazes me when you find a rising number of magazines that are print for fun, so I’m sure people are getting their information on the internet but they are still buying magazines.”
With prices that start from £5 and go up to £50, vintage enthusiasts can get an insightful glimpse into the print world, as it was 30 or 40 years ago. Besides, these magazines are a big part of today’s culture and show the evolution of the print media, as we know it now.
By Maria Kriva
Images by Maria Kriva
