The craze for “fad magazines” (“fadzines,” we called them) was at its high noon. It was in….1896, and whoever could get possession of a printing press in the United States was helping to burden the newsstands….Art was running amuck through Posterdom. Literature was staggering blindfold, in a drunken spree, and every dog was having his day in journalism.—Getlett Burgess (1886-1951.

Sound familiar? Media historians have identified the 1890s as a crucial moment in the development of mass-market magazines. This “magazine revolution" gave rise to cheap, popular, advertising-based publications that reached a far larger audience than ever before. At the same time was another equally important, though often overlooked phenenomenon, which forms the subject of an exhibition currently on view at the Grolier Club.

The Little Magazine revolution resulted in the publication of hundreds of quirky and ephemeral publications during a brief period of artistic and literary experimentation. Little magazines were created by individuals who aspired to aspired to careers in literature, publication, journalism, and the graphic arts. Because little magazines were inexpensive and easy to produce, they were also a medium of expression for ordinary people who wanted to get their ideas into print.

One of the stars of this era, and this exhibition, is William H. Bradley (1868-1962), who was known as Will Bradley. He worked as a freelance designer and typographer, first in his hometown of Boston, and later in Chicago, before starting his own Wayside Press back in Boston. Here he served as an illustrator, editor, typographer, designer, and press manager for a periodical aptly named Bradley: His Book. The periodical usually contained compilations of poetry, stories, and sketches, and his work received a warm reception.

He had achieved financial success, but the stress of managing so many projects at once began to damage his health, and he collapsed at the age of 28. He recovered quickly, but he was forced to sell the Wayside Press. He later worked as a consultant for the American Type Founders and as an editor for Collier's Weekly. He worked briefly with children’s books, then for William Randolph Hearst’s film division as a set designer. In 1954, Bradley published a memoir of his life, called Bradley: His Chap Book, though only 650 copies were ever published. The same year, he won the AIGA award, the highest honor for graphic designers. He was a prolific artist and designer up until his death at age 94, and is said to have been the highest paid America artist of the early 20^th Century.

American Little Magazines of the 1890s: A Revolution in Print continues through April 27 at the Grolier Club, 47 East 60^th Street, NY, NY. Information.