How an issue is built
Masthead, imprint, columns, sections and bylines: the parts that make up an issue and the easiest order to look at them in.
the old bound volume: a magazine about reading old newspapers and magazines
Retropressa: the old bound volume
Old magazines rarely turn up on purpose. You find them in the attic, in a grandparent's trunk, in a library reading room or in a digital collection. Opening an old issue is easy; making sense of it is harder. There are unfamiliar spellings, dense columns, sections you don't recognize and small ads squeezed in next to the articles. Retropressa is an independent magazine about reading old periodicals: how an issue is put together, how to work out its date, where to look for missing issues and how to keep a family's bound volume safe for the next generation.
An old newspaper speaks through more than its articles: the type, the paper and the small ads say just as much about their time.
Where to start
Old spellings
Why old Russian texts use the letters yat, fita and “decimal i,” where the hard sign at the end of words went, and how to get used to reading them quickly.
Where to look (in Russian)
Research and public libraries, digital collections of periodicals and local history collections: how to search by year and issue number.
Caring for a bound volume
Light, damp and acidic paper slowly break down old pages. Here's how to protect a bound volume at home, and why you should never laminate it or mend it with tape.
Magazine sections
- Articles
The magazine's six topics, from how an issue is built to caring for a bound volume, plus our article catalog.
- History
The Russian spelling reform and how the look of the magazine page gradually changed.
- People
Editor, proofreader, typesetter, makeup editor, illustrator and circulation department: who got an issue ready for print.
- Collections
Three reading paths: for first-timers, for family historians and for keepers of a bound volume at home.
- Events
Periodical exhibitions, library open days, talks on print graphics and paper conservation workshops, and how to check a listing.
- Analysis
What makes up an old newspaper page, and how to tell from the print itself how an illustration was made.
- Archive
The magazine's table of contents and what happened to this domain's old addresses.
Reading an old issue in five steps
Find the imprint
It is usually printed under the masthead on the front page or at the very end of the issue. It gives the title, the year of publication, the issue number and sometimes the print run and the printer's address. Copy these details down before anything else.
Work out the date and number
Check the publication date against the numbering: many periodicals kept a running count of issues from their first one as well as a separate count within each year. If the date has worn away, look for mentions of holidays or the season, and check the neighboring issues in the volume.
Get used to the spelling
Old Russian letters only slow you down for the first few minutes. Read yat as E, fita as F and “decimal i” as I, and let your eye skip over the hard sign at the end of a word. Older English print has its own unfamiliar spellings and letterforms, and they become just as easy with a little practice.
Separate editorial text from ads
Articles, news briefs, letters from readers and private ads were often set in different type and divided by rules. Ads are a separate and very lively source on everyday life, but they speak in the voice of whoever paid for them, not the editors.
Note where a quote comes from
Before you copy out a passage you like, write down the title, year, issue number and page. Without those four details, finding the quote again can be almost impossible.
Reader questions
Are you a publisher or a library?
No. Retropressa is an independent magazine about how to read old periodicals. We don't publish newspapers or magazines, we don't hold collections, and we don't lend or sell old publications.
Where can I find old issues?
Most often in research and public libraries, in digital libraries with periodical sections and in local history museums. It's best to search by title, year and issue number. There's more on this on the Old issues page (in Russian).
Can I laminate an old newspaper?
Better not. The film and adhesive bond permanently with the paper, they are nearly impossible to remove without damaging the sheet, and over time the coating speeds up the paper's aging. It's safer to keep the newspaper in an acid-free folder, somewhere dark and dry.
Why do old Russian texts use the letter yat?
Before the Russian spelling reform, the alphabet included the letters yat, fita and “decimal i.” The reform was announced in 1917 and became mandatory in print in 1918; since then those letters have been replaced by the equivalents of E, F and I.
About the project
This domain was once home to a digital archive of old issues of a single magazine. None of that material is reproduced here, and the current magazine has no connection with that archive. The name Retropressa came to us along with the domain.
We write about old periodicals as something worth reading closely: how a newspaper page and a magazine issue are put together, how spelling changed, how illustrations were printed, who got an issue ready for print, how to find missing issues, how to care for a bound volume at home and how to cite an old text properly. You won't find reprints, scanned issues or reviews of specific publications here.
Related reading
- History
The Russian spelling reform and how the look of the magazine page gradually changed.
- Articles
The magazine's six topics, from how an issue is built to caring for a bound volume, plus our article catalog.
- Analysis
What makes up an old newspaper page, and how to tell from the print itself how an illustration was made.
- Old issues (in Russian)
A note on an archived address: where to find old magazine issues and how to read them.
- Archive
The magazine's table of contents and what happened to this domain's old addresses.
Sources
- Reference materials on the Russian spelling reform
- Library guidelines on storing paper documents
- Retropressa editorial materials
Facts about the Russian spelling reform come from reference materials; everything else is described in general terms, without reference to specific publications. Check reading room, exhibition and lecture hours with the organizers.