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Fortune is a global business magazine published by Time Inc. founded by Henry Luce in 1930. Cover price was a steep $1.00 compared to other business magazines that sold for 10¢ to 25¢, but they were little more than numbers and statistics printed in black and white. Fortune, on the other hand, had well-researched articles, photos in color and b&w, original commissioned artwork, and fantastic art-deco covers wrapped around an oversize 200-page magazine. An urban legend says that Cleland mocked up the cover of the first issue with the $1 price because no one had yet decided how much to charge; the magazine was printed before anyone realized it, and when people saw it for sale, they thought that the magazine must really have worthwhile content. During the Great Depression, the magazine developed a reputation for its social conscience, for Walker Evans and Margaret Bourke-White's color photographs, and for a team of writers including James Agee, Archibald MacLeish, John Kenneth Galbraith, and Alfred Kazin, hired specifically for their writing abilities. The magazine became an important leg of Luce's media empire; after the successful launch of Time in 1923 and Fortune in 1930, Luce went on to launch Life in 1936 and Sports Illustrated in 1954. |
SOLD OUT: All FORTUNE magazines are SOLD,
even ones marked with prices. Covers are for reference purposes only.
Click here for listing of FORTUNE issues from the 1930s.
Click on each image for a super size image of the cover, article, or advertisement.
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Jan 1940 SOLD |
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February 1940 SOLD |
| January 1940 issue (136 pages) SOLD |
February 1940 issue (202 pages) SOLD |
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March 1940 SOLD |
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April 1940 SOLD |
| March 1940 issue (166 pages) SOLD |
April 1940 issue (178 pages) SOLD |
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May 1940 SOLD |
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June 1940 SOLD |
| May 1940 issue (176 pages) SOLD |
June 1940 issue (168 pages) SOLD |
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July 1940 $23.95 |
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August 1940 $23.95 |
| Contents of the July 1940 issue (148 pages) include: • Great Lakes Shipping and Ports (13 pages of photos, maps) • The Cleveland Ore Business • War and Peace: Business is Better Than Bombs • Political Campaign Funds. The $50 million Presidential Race • Allison Engine. 1,090 hp into mass production • Allied War Economics: Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat • Nylon: Challenging Silk's Last Stronghold • Omnibus Corp: Moving a Million People Per Day • Fortune Round Table: Agriculture • Mountain View House, Whitefield, NH |
Contents of the August 1940 issue (132 pages) include: • Hawaii: Sugar-Coated Fort, Pearl Harbor Naval Base • La Guardia Field (Airport), the World's Busiest • Airline Mechanic: Charlie Corey, one of 11,000 • Lockheed Aircraft Corp. How many planes? When? • Six Men in Management: Profiles • Natural Gas, A $500 million business. The big four. • Abbott Labatories. Detail men and ethical drugs. • Synthetic Rubber: Neoprenes, Bunas, and Butyls. • Troop Transport. Moving a division: 14,200 men and 35,000 tons • Fortune Survey: England Aid, Places We Would Defend? |
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September 1940 SOLD |
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October 1940 SOLD |
| September 1940 issue (160 pages) SOLD | September 1940 issue (160 pages) SOLD | ||
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November 1940 $23.95 |
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December 1940 SOLD |
| Contents of the November 1940 issue (178 pages) include: • Canada at War: Enormously expanded industry • American Steel Foundries: Railroad equipment, tank parts, bomb casings, what next? • War and Peace. Is the government prepared for war? • Labor and the Defense Advisory Commission. Sidney Hillman. • Fortune Survey #35: The Election, War, Japan, Alliances • U.S. Defense: More Debt, Higher Taxes • America Is In Fashion. Without Paris, America Must Design • The War of Nerves: Fascists in the US, The Communist Column, Foreign-Language Press • Lever Bros: Imperial Unilever. Detergents |
December 1940 issue (168 pages) SOLD |
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January 1941 $15.95 |
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February 1941 $24.95 |
| Contents of the January 1941 issue (136 pages) include: • Public Opinion (War, Roosevelt, Jobs, Economy) in 1940 • The U.S. War Department • Editorial: War and Peace, Tax Revenue • Martin-Parry Corp: War Baby & Steel Fabricator • Bill Stout: Aviation and Automotive Innovator • American Can Co., the world's largest • First Nat'l Banl of Palm Beach: Efficient, Progressive, Glamorous • Panama Canal: "The Land Divided—The World United" • Price Control 1941 • Testing for Talent: Aptitude Tests • Mike Benedum: Wildcatter in West Texas • Cover by Otto Hagel • Note: Back Cover missing |
Contents of the February 1941 issue (176 pages) include: • Sun Oil, Sun Shipbuilding (and the Pew Family) • Life, Liberty, and Property: Industrial Conflict • The Capehart: Bringing Music to Millionaires • "The King of Battles" Artillery, Howitzers, Projectiles • Editorial: The U.S. and the World • The House of Heinz: Secretive Owners, Foreign Business • Rich Refugees from Europe • Fortune Survey: Aid to Britain, Business & Gov't., Post Election • White Motor: Profitable on Trucks • Puerto Rico: Major Analysis and Color Feature • A Trip Through Siberia • Cover (breech end of an 8" gun) by George Giusti • Regular columns |
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March 1941 SOLD |
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April 1941 $24.95 |
| March 1941 issue (176 pages) SOLD |
Contents of the April 1941 issue (180 pages) include: • Bethlehem Steel: Management, History, Future • Steel Capacity: Plenty or Not Enough • The 76th Congress, Lend-Lease & Legislative Process • CBS Radio Turns South to Latin America • Europeans: Philosophical Account and 8-page color portfolio • Japan: Menace in East Asia • The New China: Dictatorship, Feudal, Guided by a Clique • Atlantic Convoys: How the work, A severe test • Fortune Survey: Aid Britain Debate, Effects of a Hitler Victory • Editorial: The Zero Hour—Back Down or Fight • Cover painting by Boris Artzybasheff |
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May 1941 SOLD |
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June 1941 $21.95 |
| May 1941 issue (180 pages) SOLD |
Contents of the June 1941 issue (192 pages) include: • Union Carbide and Carbon: Mystery Corporation • How America Can Take the Offensive II • Fortune Survey: Strikes in Defense Industries • U.S. Naval Strategy: New Demands on the Fleet • The Fighting Ship: A Pictorial Portfolio • Federal Strike Conciliators • Compania Textilera Ariguanabo, S.A. (Cuban Textile Mill) • Censorship of the Press (The Less the Better) • Basic English: Potential World Tongue • The U.S. Highway System: The world's best, but not really good • Merchandisers of Securities: Merril Lynch, E.A. Pierce & Cassatt • Intrigue in Recife, the Bulge of Brazil • Cover by Dmitri Kessel Note: Owners's name written on cover |
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July 1941 $19.95 |
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August 1941 SOLD |
| Contents of the July 1941 issue (152 pages) include: • Editorial: Prelude to Total War • How Many Ships How Soon? The Impossible Becomes a Must • Ships for This War. Problem: Increase capactity and train workers • Biggest Splash in Emergency Construction Will be Made by Todd • Union Carbide II: Alloys, Gases, and Carbon (many photos) • Weapons and Tank Guns from American Type Founders • Soviet Industry (with detailed maps and charts) • We Only Have Months by the Head of the OPA and Civilian Supply • Grand Strategy of World War II (7 large detailed maps and charts) • America Facing Total War • Norwegian Shipping • Insert: Labor Policy and National Defense • Cover by Yarnall Richie Note: Owners's name written on cover |
August 1941 issue (176 pages) SOLD | ||
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Sept 1941 $24.95 |
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October 1941 $24.95 |
| Contents of the Sept 1941 issue (170 pages) include: • Editorial: China the Ally, the Time is Now • The Army of China: Young, Strong, Resourceful, Well-disciplined • The Unbelievable Burma Road: Artery of Freedom • Japan in China • Union Carbide III: Carbide and Carbon Chemicals (paintings, photos, maps) • Forum of Executive Opinion: The Impact of Defense Production • The Paradox of Oil and War: Hitler has plenty, Allies fall short • Switzerland Sits Tight • 8 Years as Madame Secretary by Francis Perkins • Vultee Aircraft: from bankruptcy to the largest producer of trainers • Bridgeport's War Factories: Thriving but dreading the aftermath • Cover by Robert Yarnall Richie |
Contents of the October 1941 issue (192 pages) include: • Revolution in Agriculture. Planning for Plenty. Mr. Perkins Goes to Washington. Research Means Production. Crop Diversification in the South. Fram Practice Being Modified • The Heavy Bomber (B17, B24): A Tool for Churchill • Blueprints for Destruction (The Bombs) • The Bomber and Billy Mitchell: Employing it after the peace • A.O. Smith at War: Making the accessories of war. • Business in Britain. Shopkeepers deliver, keeping morale up. • Where Do We Go From Here? by editor of London Economist • The Wooing of Brazil. The need for extended credit • And What Shall We Do Then? by US Ass't Sec'y of State • Fortune Survey: Opinions about Russia and Japan • Cover (farming produce) by Arthur Gerlach |
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January 1943 $24.95 |
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February 1943 $24.95 |
| Contents of the January 1943 issue (212 pages) include: • The Mediterranean World: The Not-So-Soft Underside • Air Navigation for Global War: Great Circle Routing • Whose Manpower? Armed Forces vs Civilian Agencies • Hunger Spreads Over Europe: Rationing and Starvation • The Second A.E.R. :Portfolio of Color Paintings • If This Is A People's War: A Proposal for Congress • "Chewing Gum is a War Material" says Phil Wrigley • Nathaniel Greene: Washington's "General Without an Army" • Concentration or Confusion: Peactime Economy, Wartime Knife • School for Statesmen: The Myth of Self-Sufficiency • Departments: Editorial, Survey, British View, Letters, Shorts • Cover by Bernard Lamotte Insert Map missing |
Contents of the February 1943 issue (236 pages) include: • Prepare to Occupy: We need a mature, coordinated, flexible policy • The Army Supply Program: Production must serve Army needs • The Margin Now is Womanpower: 3 million women needed now • Ohio Looks to '44: John Bricker for President? • Six Million Prisoners of War: 15% of the Armed Forces • Henry Ford, the 80-year-old pacifist produces bombers, weapons. • Socony-Vacuum. Great casualties but even greater battle strength. • With Blood, Sweat, and TNT: Brave men taking the forts of Europe. • Daring Stephen Decatur and the Hit-and-Run Raid in Tripoli Harbor • Draftsmen of the New World: Postwar Political Reconstruction • Revolution in Mass Production: New Machines for Industry • Departments: Editorial, Survey, Business at War, Letters, Poll • Cover ("Moving the Stuff of Production") by Herberst Bayer |
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March 1943 $24.95 |
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April 1943 $24.95 |
| Contents of the March 1943 issue (216 pages) include: • Inflation Can Still Be Checked: Roosevelt's 7-point ptogram. • U. S. Arsenal of Words: Office of War Information • Our Official Postwar Line. First, Unconditional Surrender, then... • The War Production Board In Transition • The Hammers of War. Only 2 companies make drop forges. • Absenteeism: The New National Malady • Painters Interpret the War: Chagall, Ernst, Picasso, Goya, Weber... • William James: Warm, Vital, Great Native Philospher • Postwar Generation. Demographically sounder? • Christian Churches in the War: Attacked, ignored, waking up? • Glass: Now and Tomorrow. Fiberglass, glass blowing, future promise. • Departments: Editorial, Survey, Business at War, Trials & Errors |
Contents of the April 1943 issue (204 pages) include: • Air Empire - Air Freedom • The Logic of the Air: International cooperation vital. • Congressman: A Case History (Everett Dirksen) • Britain Eats to Fight. Potential disaster become nutritional triumph. • Cattle and Confusion. Beef production is complicated. • Remington Arms: The Rise of the Foreman. • A Soldier's Faith by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes. • Houses for Human Beings. Give people better engineered houses. • Bryn Mawr Raises its Torch. The place for liberal arts today. • Civilization and the Arts • Departments: Editorial, Survey, Business at War, Trials & Errors |
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May 1943 SOLD |
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June 1943 $24.95 |
| May 1943 issue (216 pages) SOLD |
Contents of the June 1943 issue (252 pages) include: • The Land as We Use It (Map) Food and Livestock • So Food Will Win the War, Eh? • Field Notes From the Farm Country: Crop Problems & Prospects • Labor Has a Choice: Be swallowed or remain free. • Five The Were Small: Independent Enterprises that Have Grown. • What We Learned in New Guinea: Beaches and Jungles. • Samuel Morse: The Hero as Inventor. • Frateicide in Yugoslavia -- a split among allies. • High Octane: Tomorrow's Power. The fuels of war. • Toward a Durable Society by Robert Hutchins. • Departments: Editorial, Survey, Business at War, Trials & Errors |
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July 1943 SOLD |
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August 1943 SOLD |
| July 1943 issue (228 pages)SOLD |
August 1943 issue (220 pages) SOLD |
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September 1943 $24.95 |
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October 1943 $24.95 |
| Contents of the September 1943 issue (260 pages) include: • John L. Lewis (Coal Miners Union Leader) - Dangerous Philosophy. • The Battle for Airdromes: Advancing the Bomber Line in the Pacific • Earth Movers II - Shipbuilding and Changing the Face of the West. • The Big Wine Deal: Distillers Move Into the Wine Business • The U.S. State Department: What can be done to update it? • Allied Strategy in Yugoslavia (the mirroe of Europe) • The Wage Incentive. Production Tool. • More Pay = More Production. A Case History. • John P. Altgeld - "Eagle Forgotten" • Machines on the Farm: Ingenuity, Initiative, Basic Research • Freedom or Frustration? Struggling with 7 age-old character traits. • Departments: Editorial, Business at War, Letters, Trials & Errors |
Contents of the October 1943 issue (264 pages) include: • Soldiers, Jobs, and the Peace. Demobilization will be difficult • Modern Foreign Policy. The U.S. has no policy except expediency. • Carl Swanson: Big Buttrer-and-Egg Man. He loves to trade. • Quality Control: Deamnds grow tighter as the war gets tougher. • To One-Millionth of an Inch. Case History of SKF. • Troop Carrier Command: Young, Big, Heroic, and Unknown. • Into the Burma Jungle: Two Operations (one a brilliant success and the other a tragic failure). • The Earth Movers III - Contractors looking for business. • Henry J. Kaiser: Energy, Imagination, Popular. • China's Postwar Plans: Building Industry and Infrastructure • Departments: Poll, Business at War, London Cable, Trials & Errors |
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November 1943 SOLD |
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December 1943 SOLD |
| November 1943 issue (288 pages) SOLD |
December 1943 issue (292 pages) SOLD |
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Click here for listing of FORTUNE 1930s issues.
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