NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
It was common practice in the 1880s in the Amer-
ican capital for scientific associations and other
societies to form, duplicating similiar men’s clubs
and other associations so widespread in Great Brit-
ain.National Geographicmagazine was started by
the National Geographic Society in January 1888
by 33 individuals in downtown Washington, D.C.
The organization elected Boston attorney and phi-
lanthropist Gardiner Greene Hubbard as its first
president. The invitation dated 10 January 1888 to
that 13 January organizational meeting at the Cos-
mos Club’s Assembly Hall stated clearly that it was
‘‘for the purpose of considering the advisability of
organizing a society for the increase and diffusion
of geographical knowledge.’’
TheWashington Evening Starcoverage of the
founding of the society consisted of one paragraph
on the front page of its four-page edition. The ar-
ticle listed its officers and its objectives.
To publish and disperse the lectures delivered by
members, the inaugural issue of a thinNational
Geographicmagazine appeared in October 1888.
Directed by a committee of mostly academicians,
the publication would be considered dry and dull by
any standards. Likewise, the plain-looking, terra-
cotta-colored cover would not win any design con-
tests. That initial press run with a cover price of 50
cents was sent to 200 charter members of the society
who undoubtedly would enjoy reading such articles
as ‘‘Geographic Methods in Geologic Investiga-
tion’’ or ‘‘The Classification of Geographic Forms
by Genesis.’’ Even nonscientific readers, if there
had been any at that time, might enjoy ‘‘Fighting
for Life Against the Storm’’ in that inaugural issue.
Written by Everett Hayden, the article scientifically
depicted the blizzard of 11 to 14 March 1888 in the
northeastern United States and emotionally
described the harrowing adventures of New York
pilot boat No. 3.
It would take seven months for the second issue
ofNational Geographicto be produced. The volun-
teer staff waited until there were enough disserta-
tions or academic lectures to fill another volume.
The April 1889 main feature was ‘‘Africa, Its Past
and Future.’’
Despite their individual price of 50 cents,
National Geographicsubscriptions were given free
as an incentive bonus for members who paid their
yearly dues of $5. Lifetime memberships were avail-
able for $50. Even with low prices, membership in
the society only reached 1,178 by 31 May 1895.
Future issues would be published more regularly,
and by January 1896, the magazine became a
monthly with a lowered sales stand price of 25 cents.
The terra-cotta cover was replaced with a buff color.
The contents, staff, authors, and the legend ‘‘An Illu-
strated Monthly’’ appeared on the cover.
The September 1896 issue contained an article
and photo spread titled, ‘‘The Recent Earthquake
Wave on the Coast of Japan,’’ that occurred on 15
June of that year. Produced by Eliza Ruhamah
Scidmore, an associate editor and the only
woman serving on the board at that time, the strik-
ing photographs showed floating corpses, beached
ships, and splintered homes.
Even more surprising to readers was the Novem-
ber 1896 issue, which featured the first of what
were to be many photographs of topless female
natives to grace the pages ofNational Geographic
magazine. Titled ‘‘Zulu Bride and Bridegroom,’’
the picture is a wedding portrait in which the two
are looking into the camera while shaking hands,
perhaps a sealing of their recently exchanged wed-
ding vows.
Notwithstanding its modest redesign, the provo-
cative photographs, the occasional nontechnical
article, and the claim to being ‘‘An Illustrated
Monthly,’’National Geographic continued to be
produced by a volunteer committee of those who
desired a more academic approach to the subject of
geography within its pages.
Hubbard died in 1897 with the society in debt for
$2,000. He was succeeded reluctantly in January
1898 by his 51-year-old son-in-law, Alexander Gra-
ham Bell, who continued to devote considerable
time working on his inventions of a flying machine
and a method to record sound. Bell was not a
geographer nor interested in what he deemed to
be primarily a local social club. Other than paying
his dues, Bell had not participated actively in the
organization. His eventual acceptance of the offer
was based more on family loyalty to the dream of
his father-in-law than geographic aspirations. After
a few months of minimal growth in membership orNATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC