ZIFF-DAVIS The birth of a publishing empire
Ziff-Davis was one of several large literary publishing companies begot in Chicago but seemingly without any notice of its presence by Chicagoans. No one knew it was here so no one cared when it left.
William Ziff was a Chicago advertising executive who launched his eponymous magazine in 1923 and while it did not create any great stir in the national market, it had high production values and led to greater accomplishments for Bill Ziff. Only a few years after the inaugural of Ziff’s Magazine, Ziff released Popular Aviation a general circulation specialized journal that appealed to a wealthy demographic. Popular Aviation was soon followed by Popular Electronics and Ziff had struck on a formula for success by appealing to the interests of the leisure class. It would allow the company to survive the brutal Great Depression.
As the economic malaise of the 1930’s eased later in the decade, Ziff diversified further into trade magazines and pulp-fiction magazines. Ziff-Davis would become one of the largest publishers of pulp-fiction during its Golden Age.
The company left Chicago in the 1950’s following the death of the founder in 1952. Many of the magazines that they either launched or purchased are still published although under different ownership.
The magazine that begot the empire, Ziff’s Magazine, was only published a few years and has long since been forgotten but it was a seminal journal. It was the model of the “men’s magazine” that other Chicago publishers used to create their own publishing empires.