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In Search of Magazine Covers & Editorials

It's blasphemous what they did to their website, I miss the old VFiles so much.
Yeah, it’s a shame it’s not working anymore. I’ve tried archive.org but the archived pages won’t load :(
 
Yeah, it’s a shame it’s not working anymore. I’ve tried archive.org but the archived pages won’t load :(

it's totally this! found it on ebay, thank you, i know i had these photos saved at some point... it's so sad the creatives who worked on this stuff can't just release it all for some subscription price model, like what i would do for the back archive of vogue it etc. organized, i guess they dont have the manpower to make it a worthy investment...

if anyone has these files i would be very thankful to see them!

Screen Shot 2021-09-09 at 5.24.44 PM.png
 
I’m glad you found something on EBay!
 
OK - I've spent some more time thinking about everything the past few days (including a final trip to the University of Arizona library yesterday).

Have I at least confirmed the model in the photo that I am looking for is James King? I would have to say that I have as besides my belief that I now finally remember identifying her at the time (only being able to because she was also the cover model of the magazine) I can't find any other reason for me to know who she was (despite her evident fame at the time).

This is a long story from three years earlier that I am in the middle of reading now:

James is a girl (Published 1996)

And this from the year before the photo I am looking for was taken:

upload_2021-9-9_14-33-10.jpeg

Anyway, I digress a tiny bit with some history there but this actually helps confirm the time frame of the photo I've been looking for. In 1999 (when I think my photo was) she was possibly beginning her recovery. In 2000 and 2001, it was less about her as a model and more about her personal story.

In any event, my search field got narrowed to magazines that she was actually on the cover of. According to FMD, we have only these up until 2002:

UK: 'Scene' - January/February 1998; 'Elle' - February 1999; 'Tatler' - April 2002; 'Glamour' - May 2002
US: 'Details' - June 1999; Cosmopolitan' - August 1999; 'Cosmopolitan' - May 2000; 'Details' - May 2000; 'Mademoiselle' - October 2000; 'Detour' - October 2000; 'Paper' - November 2000; 'Cosmopolitan' - December 2000; 'GQ' - April 2001; Entertainment Weekly - June 2001; 'Teen Vogue' - Spring 2002

(There is more but all of the other countries were non-English speaking - I still looked at these anyway but feel comfortable ruling them out based on either the cover or timeframe)

From what I have been able to tell, the list actually seems accurate, with a few other small things I found on E-Bay also (nice cover on something called Flaunt but I know that wasn't it).

I considered/researched all of these, although I didn't consider anything after 1999 to be very likely to begin with. Also, I actually hated about half of those covers as well.

The only realistic possibilities ended up being: Elle UK February 1999 (which was already looked at in 2019 by librarians in the UK - a small part of me wants to ask them to pull this one issue and look again but when I look at the Table of Contents I just can't see this being the issue) and the three Cosmopolitan issues (even though I was pretty sure I had looked at those already).

Well, on my trip to the library yesterday I confirmed those three issues are off the table (and since I was there anyway, ran James King through the Vogue US and Harper's Bazaar (US and UK) archives and think it is safe to say my photo is not in any of those places either.

So, can it really be that I find out the model is James King and she is on the cover of the magazine (of which there are a finite number of possibilities) my photo is in and still somehow not find the photo?

That would illogically appear to be the case except for the "non-original" covers that FMD does not list. For instance, either two or three of those Cosmopolitan covers were used by other countries (for various reasons, I don't think any of those are in play).

That brings us back once again to Elle UK February 1999 and any other issues that used that very same cover.

But, the only other issue that has English as one of its main languages that used this cover was Elle Korea April 1999 - where I was sure my photo was until they said it was not.

What is left? The non-English language issues:

Elle China April 1999

upload_2021-9-9_15-43-30.png

Elle Japan May 1999
upload_2021-9-9_15-44-35.png

Of the two, I like Japan more because I remember orange more than I do purple. Also, there are some missing issues in the archive so it's possible Taiwan or Thailand or other countries may be possibilities. Elle Taiwan June 1999 was actually the ONLY at least partially English-language issue that is unknown as to whether or not James is on the cover of the issue or not. That said, it is my belief the correct month is going to be either April or May 1999.

To be honest, the odds are probably against me finding the photo at this point and I may have to give up in the next few weeks if it is not in these last few somewhat low probability places. I just don't remember this being in a magazine in which I was completely unable to follow the narrative - perhaps there is a small bit of English in one of these magazines.

The only other option may be to ask Jaime herself (she does appear to have a Twitter account) and see if she would know and answer (if she even handles the account to begin with).


https://coversarchive.wixsite.com/gallery/elle-international
 
Does anybody know how many eds had Philip-Lorca diCorcia shot for W/Bazaar in the 90s/early 00s?
 
Does anybody know how many eds had Philip-Lorca diCorcia shot for W/Bazaar in the 90s/early 00s?

Don't know the answer but lots of libraries have the Harper's Bazzar Archives and that includes a search engine. It's possible if you put his name in you might get some results back.
 
I've went back and forth between this board and the vintage magazine board in detailing my photo search, which is now about 23 months long.
At the end of today's edition, I would be curious to receive some feedback (either directly on the board or through a direct message, whichever you feel is appropriate).

The good news is there is no doubt of the following in the photo I am looking for:
- the model is James King
- the photographer is Christophe Kutner (making the reasonable presumption that since he shot the cover of the issue he would also have shot the fashion editorial inside also)
- the issue I've been looking for all this time is very likely to be Elle Thailand April 1999 (two lesser possibilities are Elle Thailand July 1999 and Elle Taiwan June 1999)

Before I got to where I am now, I ran into some very bad luck in August when I found out the National Library of Thailand did not have any issues of Elle Thailand prior to 2004. I say bad luck because I would estimate that at least 75% of the national libraries have their country's Elle issues from 1999.

A few weeks ago, I paid someone on the ground in Beijing 40 USD to go into the Capital Library of China and review Elle China April 1999 for my photo because this was a known James King cover so it really had to be checked (this was a public library and the librarians there would not answer my e-mails asking them to look). So, in addition to the original Elle UK February 1999 cover, I ended up ruling out the reprints in Korea, Japan, Greece and China.

That closes the current phase of the search. I have accomplished (with the great help of 30 to 40 librarians all around the world) the near-impossible task of now actually knowing where the photo I've been looking for all this time actually is. The problem is the photo is almost certainly not online anywhere, the issue is not for sale anywhere and no library in the world has it.

The only way for me to get the photo is to get it directly from those involved, either:
1) Elle Thailand (through the archives they must have)
2) Christophe Kutner's archives (he died in 2016 but his fashion stylist partner is working through those archives and is reachable by me)
3) Jaime King (she is on various social media sites so I should be able to get my request in front of her)

Here is where I would like some feedback.
Which (if any) of the above do you think would be helpful in providing me the photo I am looking for, after I explain to some extent all that has went into the search and that I am willing to pay for it (or offer a charitable donation)?
 
I should try and contact them all three. You have nothing to lose.
 
Agreed-you've done all this work, you might as well exhaust all possibilities
 
@mikel @axiomatic Oh, you better believe I'm going down all three of those roads if I have to. I'm just curious what you and others think has the best likelihood of success. So far, I have reached out to 2 of the 3 and will probably detail the happenings sometime next week if I haven't by then.

But, just a few minutes ago, an update came in from the Shih Chien University Library in Taiwan (the only known owners of the long sought-after and mysterious Elle Taiwan June 1999 issue). It was my third attempt at getting them to reply and I got past the gatekeepers by sending my e-mail in Chinese instead of English. As I suspected, while this issue was one of the three still in play, I had a feeling it probably wasn't there.

Below is what they sent me. At least some progress was made today with another piece of the puzzle filled in but it's not the solution to my current dilemma.

Unbelievable bad luck, there are most likely six of the James King covers. I have access to five of those issues and my photo is in the sixth unaccessible issue if I don't get some help from one of the principals.

您好:
不太了解您的問題
實踐台北校區沒有訂Elle UK,
所以只能提供ELLE Taiwan 1999 年 6 月 n.93的封面給您,不好意思唷
Elle Taiwan June 1999.jpg
 
No real suggestions to add, I agree with mikel and axiomatic on going down all three paths to find your photo. If this fails could you ask Kutner's (former) agency? I guess it's better to go to Trunk Archive, I assume you know they are the ones who are the image licensing agency that archive his work, and so many other photographers? Maybe even look through his archives on the website :flower:.
 
No real suggestions to add, I agree with mikel and axiomatic on going down all three paths to find your photo. If this fails could you ask Kutner's (former) agency? I guess it's better to go to Trunk Archive, I assume you know they are the ones who are the image licensing agency that archive his work, and so many other photographers? Maybe even look through his archives on the website :flower:.

Since you mentioned it, I will reveal that I have opened door number 2. I didn't previously know anything about Trunk Archive but it came up at or near the top when I did a Google search for Kutner's archives. So, I did look at what they had on their site but the photo I'm looking for wasn't there (as expected). I had an e-mail exchange with them on Monday and after I followed-up with them again today, they said, "Typically the cost for something like this is around $600 per image." That seems like quite a bit for just getting a scan of something that I would be usually be getting for free or a relatively small sum. I wonder what you and others think about that kind of price. It's an unusual situation in that I'm pretty much the only buyer out there for this while on the other hand they are one of the few sellers of something that turns out to be very hard to find.

My thinking going in is I'd be willing to pay $200 for it - if I start having to pay more than that it really starts to take away from the satisfaction of including it in my eventually-to-come presentation of the top 27 of all-time that is going to cost me some money to do as it is.

Just by chance, I came across this New York Times article, from within the past couple of weeks:
A Surprise for Two ‘Creatives’: An Artists’ Loft in the East Village

From the article: Ms. Herrera Malatesta and her late partner, Christophe Kutner, a photographer...Ms. Herrera Malatesta is working through his archives, organizing not only Mr. Kutner’s work but also his private collection — more than 1,000 images altogether. “He was such a special person,” she said. “I’m trying to keep his memory alive.”

I wrote to her on Wednesday (and offering to pay something) but haven't heard anything back so far. So, we'll see about the "I'm trying to keep his memory alive" part of what she said...
 
^ Yes I think that price from Trunk Archive is really quite excessive! Somehow I'm not surprised though... I would hope that his partner replies; if not in a few days you could always follow up again even if it comes across a little as pestering!
 
Not sure what I'm going to do. Yeah, $600 but if you go to what Trunk Archive shows online for Kutner's archive, that's all for free. $200 feels like a hard line for me (although yeah, they could probably get me to go $201). Normally, maybe there'd be some give and take back and forth and maybe they'd get me to come up to $300 but I'm not feeling it at this moment. Have you ever heard of anyone else doing the kind of thing I'm doing?

I'm expecting not to hear anything from Ms. Herrara Malatesta but there's still a chance I'll be surprised. I'm leaning toward not pushing that side of it, which would be too bad, because she's a fashion stylist and I'd be interested to hear what she thinks of my little presentation, because the unnamed fashion stylist actually was critical in each and every photo in my selections, even though they'll never be named. If I was still living in NYC, I'd have to organize a blockade of Avenue C where she lives until she produced the desired photo from Christophe's archives but alas, I am no longer in the area...

Door number 1 was also opened. First I wrote to Hearst UK Syndication because I figured they would be due royalties for all the reprinted covers and could just tell me which they were instead of me having to track the rest of them down. Katy over there immediately replied but referred me to Lagardere in France due to French Elle being the original and licensor of all the international issues. Again, immediate reply from Marion over there but she just didn't have the information going back to 1999. But, after I asked she gave me a contact at Elle Thailand, the Senior Coordinating Editor, Pancharat Limtrakool.

Now that I have someone who can really help me (I'm pretty sure Elle Thailand April 1999 has to be the issue at this point), no response at all from my October 26th e-mail. And again, I'm not asking them to give me anything for free. I mention the 23 month search and 30 to 40 librarians around the world that helped me - if it was any normal person, would they stand in the way? Everyone who can't take this over the finish line helps me but those who can don't do a thing. And here, we're basically talking about everyone at Elle, be it Elle Thailand, Elle Norway (still a small possibility the photo could be there) and I know I wrote to at least one or two other Elle's from other countries also (but eventually eliminated those possibilities in other ways).

I'm holding option number 3 in reserve. That's Jaime King. She is on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and I have to decide which one of those forums to reach out to her on. I'm not on any of these and am not sure which has the best chance of her seeing a message I might send to her.
 
Hi,

I'm wondering if anyone recalls a spread in the late 80's / early 90's where Jacki Adams and Hoyt Richards were featured together?

Having trouble tracking it down, but have heard it exists.

Thanks!
 
Well, I just joined Twitter to try to reach out to Jaime King. Obviously she's not following me and I gather that tweeting directly at her as I've done below will at least send her a notification that I've done so (but doesn't mean that she'll read the tweets and I also have no way of knowing if she has or hasn't unless she replies). I at least need to know she has read it, one way or the other.

Thoughts on the tweets I've done so far? I've got one more tweet (3/3) in reserve...if anybody has anything great I ought to be saying now is the time to tell me...

She does appear to be on Twitter very infrequently but is regularly on Instagram. I will join that and try there in a couple of weeks if nothing comes from Twitter.

upload_2021-11-17_14-40-20.png
 
Does anyone which issue was the first under Anna Wintour for Vogue UK?
 
I am looking for the editorial of Braving the Elements with Constance Jablonski from the 2012 F/W issue of The Gentlewoman. I can only find the low resolution pictures online, I would love to find the HD version of these pictures.
216449-800w.jpg
216451-800w.jpg
216452-800w.jpg
216453-800w.jpg
 
Hey, i'm new here to post but have been paying attention to this forums for a while. Really great place for researching the archive!

Not sure if it's the right place to post my question. I'm doing a research about fashion ad/editorial including plane/helicopter. Let me know one of the most impressive campaign to you guys!

(Sorry if it's the wrong spot to post.)

Here's mine
Anja Rubik & Karmen Pedaru for Self Service #36 Spring/Summer 2012 (Photographed by Glen Luchford;Styled by Marie Chaix)


66196319e1f6e60f322c83ddb9a4f754.jpeg
 

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