M a g f o r u m . c o m - Man About Town magazine

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Man About Town: 1958 contents

Man About Town can be seen as Britain's first modern consumer style magazine for men. Yet this was not its only influence on the development of magazine publishing in the UK. After being sold on, it provided the basis of success for Michael Heseltine's Haymarket. Furthermore, a similar business model was later used by For Him, which was initially distributed through men's wear shops, before becoming a news-stand title and being sold as FHM in 1994 to Emap by publishers Tayvale with sales of 60,000 a month.

Man About Town: Autumn 1958 contents

The front cover of Autumn 1958 had no individual cover lines for features but listed the topics covered: clothes, sport, travel, drink; and a competition to win a Savile Row suit. Earlier covers had added: "women and various other bad habits". The magazine or perhaps editor John Taylor, was personified by a luxuriously moustachioed man in a dinner suit, who on this cover can be seen leaning against the masthead in the top left corner. He also appeared on the contents page.

IBC, pages 1-8: display advertising for clothes, shoes and restaurants
9-13: Gad About Guide listing restaurants, pubs, clubs, coffee houses, Turkish baths, etc. Adverts sold in vertical half-pages down the outside of the pages. Editorial overprinted with spot colour
14: display advertising for clothes
15 Contents. "Man About Town... helps you to be good... at being bad." Mustachioed man portrayed as a saint (with a halo, as in the Leslie Charteris Saint books and TV series) and devil. No staff listed apart from editor John Taylr, "the bottle neck with the bottle knack". Address in Uk 42 Gerrard St, W1; in US: 30 East 60th Street, New York.
16: display advets for whisky and clothes
17: Forty Three Today by the editor about thefact that the magazine occupied a building that was once one of London's most famous clubs, The Forty Three Club run by Kate (Ma) Meyrick. The building had a blue plaque as the former residence of poet John Dryden.
18-19: "Man on Fire" about history of tobacco tax and 1/2-page vertical strip adverts for Haig and ICI's Terylene
20-21: Puff Puff - a regular-looking feature that takes pride in "puffing up" products! Ad layout as above for Philishave Jet and Player's No 3.
22-23: "Your big chance" letters page, to most of which the editor has a pithy reply. From C.C., 7 Parade Mansions, Hendon Central NW4: "I was intrigued by the new Flair Line for men. I have had a pair of trousers made in this style by my tailor who fortunately is always ready to try anything. They are comfortable to wear and I like the feel and the look of them. But I think I should warn you that they want to be very carefully looked after." To which the reply is: "Readers; you want to be very caefully looked after. - Ed." With ads for Interflora and Lentheric
24: Ad for Wain Shiell cloth
25-40: colur section mainly using spot colour, but some 4-colour images
25-28: "Ain't gonna reign no more?" by L.G. Pine, editor of Burke's peerage, about monarchies. Illustrated by Heath
27: 1/2 page on the cover girl Pat Gardener and the significance of the cover "squiggle". Cover designer: Maurice Rickards
"Night Spot: The Blue Angel". Review of the Berkeley Street club illustrated by still of Marlene Deitrich from the film of the same name.
30-32: "How Who What Where". How to choose a loth for a suit
33: "Running Commentary." Trends in fashion.
34-37: "My memory serves me right." Spoof autobiography of the editor told in illustrations
38-39: "Tales of Toffman." Choosing evening wear.
40: adverts for men's jewellery and Holland & Sherry
41-48: "The joys of motoring: My old Volks." Stuart Marshall on his VW Beetle
44: Ad for Standard Pennant
46: Ad for Aston Martin DB Mk II from Brooklands of Bond Street
48-50: "Wear in the world." International men's fashion
51-53: "Music hath chums." S.R.C. Bar on the technology of LP records. Illustrated by Themerson
53: Half-page illustration on how to take snuff
54-56: "Look fellers no skis." Dick Pope on barefoot water skiing
57: "It pays to increase your word power." Spoof of the Reader's Digest feature. Example: Arrogate, Yorkshire spa town
57-72: use of spot colour green
58-59: "The sweater puzzle." The emergence of the sweater in fashion
60-63: Jools. Continued on 89
62: short poem by editor
63: "The perfect woman." How to shut a woman up with a brank, a scold's bridle
64-67: "Glasses" (drinking) and how to choose them
67: Poem by Rodney Hobson
68-69: "First night." Life in theatre land by Roy Russell. Continued on 90
70-73: "My angry old man or life with dad." By Ivan Roe, based on his autobiography. Illustrated by Beresford Egan
73: "Flashback" an article from Tailor and Cutter of 1869
74: Ad by Hatters Information Service
75- 79: "On your own head be it" about the latest styles in hats
76: 1/2-age ad by Woodrow hats
78: Ads for hats and shoes, promoted by BBC sports commentator Raymond Glendenning
80-81: "The male fist" on driving gloves
83: Competition to win a Savile Row suit; plus ads for cloth and wine
84: travel ads to Portugal
85-87: Portugal travel feature
86: 2 x 1/4-page ads for Eduardo VII hotel in Lisbon and wines
88: Ad for nylon socks
89: Jools continued from p63
90-91: First Night continued from p69
92-94: "Treat yourself." Gifts such as watches, lighters, hi-fi. Prices from 2/11 to 89guineas
95-104: The most of yourself: an advertorial for tailoring
106: Ad for Kilgour, French and Stanbury
107: Russell & Bromley and cloth adverts
108: adverts for tailors
109-120: At your service classifieds interspersed with some display
IBC: James Hare tailor
back cover: Keith & Henderson wool merchants

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