The Reader’s Digest

5.8 Reader's Digest.jpg

Title

The Reader’s Digest

Coverage

Pleasantville, N.Y.

Publisher

The Reader’s Digest Association

Date

January 1920

Subject

Pre-publication issue

Description

Dewitt Wallace had an idea to create a magazine for readers who had neither the time nor money to scout out material of “lasting interest.” He collected thirty articles from magazines in his local library, edited them for brevity, and amalgamated them into this prototype called Reader’s Digest. The idea took two years to come to fruition, but it went on to become one of the most lucrative publishing ventures in American history.