circulation, however, Bell announced his intention
of turningNational Geographicinto a higher qual-
ity publication. He proposed increasing circulation
by relying less on newsstand sales and more on
membership expansion. His thoughts were that
people would be interested in geography only if it
were presented in an entertaining way. The phrase
‘‘to sugarcoat the pill’’ was mentioned frequently
after Bell took over the reins of the organization.
Bell also expressed a desire to use photographs that
went along with the articles, rather than the occa-
sional pictures or maps that were independent of
any text.
Bell made another decision that would have an
impact onNational Geographic for decades. He
hired a full-time editor with writing and editing
skills. His idea to hire an editor may have met
more resistance from the volunteer editorial staff
until they learned Bell would pay the individual out
of his personal funds. Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor
had helped with proofs and layout of his historian
father’s two-volumeConstantinoplein 1895, con-
sidered by many to be the first scholarly book to
use abundant photographs. Asked if he could turn
National Geographicinto a magazine as popular as
others of the day—Harper’s Weekly, Munsey’s, The
Century, McClure’s—the 23-year-old schooltea-
cher and graduate student told Bell that he could,
but that it would take time.
Grosvenor turned down Bell’s offer of substan-
tial monetary assistance accepting a monthly salary
of $100, which was considerably less than what he
was earning as a teacher of languages, chemistry,
and algebra at the New Jersey Englewood Acad-
emy for Boys.
On 1 April 1899, Grosvenor began his tenure at
the publication. Bell showed him the society’s small
rented office, half of which had to be shared with
the American Forestry Association. Noticing the
lack of a desk, Bell told the young hire he would
send his own desk to the society’s headquarters for
his use. That afternoon a walnut rolltop was deliv-
ered. Crammed into the small space were six large
boxes full ofNational Geographicmagazines that
were returned unsold from newsstands. Despite
Bell’s original offer, the job was not that of mana-
ging editor, but only as assistant editor and only
for a three-month trial period.
With what can now be seen as an early example
of direct marketing, Grosvenor was successful in
recruiting additional members for the society by
sending an impressive personal letter on quality
stationery to prospective nominees. His efforts
were not overlooked by the editorial committee.
Bell tore up the three-month contract before the
end of April and confirmed Grosvenor’s appoint-
ment as assistant editor for one full year. The June
issue listed the new assistant editor. It appeared
below that of John Hyde, editor, and all 12 associ-
ate editors. The editorial committee was so appre-
ciative of Grosvenor’s recruiting drive, however,
that it voted to give him wide powers, including
continuing solicitations.
Grosvenor, like Bell, realized that offering the
magazine as a bonus for membership would be
successful only if the publication proved interesting
reading. Geography would have to be transformed
from a dull, academic subject to a popular, enter-
taining topic. Grosvenor told Bell that the Greek
root word for geography means a description of the
world. Therefore, such universal topics as people,
plants, animals, birds, and fish would be suitable
topics for the pages of the magazine. Bell offered
his support, agreeing that illustrations and maps
would makeNational Geographic more readable
for laypersons.
Grosvenor received a stamp of approval from
the board of managers in September of 1900 when
it named him managing editor and raised his
annual salary to $2,000. He continued to improve
the publication by printing shorter articles of more
general interest. He thought that readers in the
United States would be interested in stories and
photographs of their newly acquired posses-
sions—Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines.
He was able to obtain inexpensive photographs
from national government agencies and used the
new photoengraving method to reproduce them for
National Geographicmagazine. In December 1904,
while he was facing a deadline with 11 pages that
were still empty, a Russian explorer’s unsolicited
package of 50 photographs arrived on his desk. He
went out on a limb when he decided to use several
pictures of the mysterious ‘‘forbidden city’’ of
Lhasa in Tibet for those 11 pages in the January
1905 issue. The photographer’s only requested pay-
ment was a credit line. Rather than being dismissed
for such action, as he expected, Grosvenor was
congratulated and thanked by members. He was
voted onto the ruling board and the executive and
finance committees. A French ambassador compli-
mented Grosvenor with the Legion of Honor for
his efforts to ‘‘vulgarize geography.’’
A short time later there was a repeat of the
previous success. William Howard Taft, former
governor-general of the Philippines and now secre-
tary of war, offered his second cousin, Grosvenor,
photographs of the island nation. The April 1905
magazine printed 138 photos on 32 pages. That
issue was so popular in building membership thatNATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC