Vulgarian Digest

Discussion Topic

Return to Forum List

This thread has been locked

Messages 1 - 18 of total 18 in this topic

scrumdilescent

Social climber

Golden, CO

Topic Author's Original Post - Apr 13, 2011 - 06:40pm PT

I'm trying to find out who is the copyright holder for Vulgarian Digest (or if it is even copyrighted). I'm an employee of the American Alpine Club Library, and we are interested in including some scans on our website or blog. Any help is much appreciated.

Alan Rubin

climber

Amherst,MA.

Apr 14, 2011 - 12:43pm PT

Unlikely that it was copyrighted, but I'll try to dig up my old issues when I get home and see what they say. The VD was primarily a Joe Kelsey effort, so if it was copyrighted the rights probably belong to him. Claude Suhl, Rich Goldstone and a few of the other Vulgarians post on here, so they might have more information.

Betty Uno

Boulder climber

Colorado

Apr 14, 2011 - 03:00pm PT

bump

Alan Rubin

climber

Amherst,MA.

Apr 15, 2011 - 12:27pm PT

I located my copies of the VD, and could find no "copyright" mention in any of the 3 of them. I'd been thinking that there might have been some suitably Vulgarian assetion of "rights", but couldn't find one. But, to be safe, it would be best to contact Joe Kelsey. I believe that he spends his summers based around Jackson Hole and guiding for Exum--at least he has in the past. So you should be able to get contact info. for him through them.It says something about how times have changed that the AAC library wants copies of the VD--really great in my opinion.

MH2

climber

Apr 15, 2011 - 12:35pm PT

"It says something about how times have changed that the AAC library wants copies of the VD--really great in my opinion."

Al, this statement provokes curiosity. The Vulgarians were anti-establishment but I don't recall any specifics on the AAC being anti-Vulgarian, and the only fun I remember being directed at the AAC was in the "What Should You Be Reading" item in the VD.

Alan Rubin

climber

Amherst,MA.

Apr 15, 2011 - 01:13pm PT

While I surely don't recall any direct animosity between the Vulgarians and the AAC--in fact, I believe that at least some of the Vulgarians were, or later became, AAC members--but I doubt very much if the quite "starchy" AAC of the era would have approved of it's library containing a magazine that featured a "prominently" topless woman on the cover of one of it's issues and various other somewhat "risque" photos and discussions of "depravity" on the inside. Similarly, many of the Vulgarian's would probably have been dismayed if their publication was deemed sufficiently acceptable by the Establishment.

MH2

climber

Apr 15, 2011 - 04:01pm PT

"many of the Vulgarian's would probably have been dismayed if their publication was deemed sufficiently acceptable by the Establishment."

Ha ha. Revenge of the nerds, if Vulgarians can experience dismay.

The Librarian

climber

Golden, CO

Apr 18, 2011 - 01:13pm PT

Beth the AAC librarian here. I don't know about the history of the Vulgarian/AAC relationship, but like always, it's great to hear the stories! I'm going to have to look up the part MH2 mentions and if we get the go ahead from Joe it might be the first thing we scan!

Just FYI, we've had copies of it for a long while now, we're just trying to do the right thing before scanning and putting online -something we aim to do a lot more of.

Oh - and here's a list of all the magazines and journals we've got:
http://americanalpineclub.net/p/library-magazines

The link is to our beta test site, and the hard launch is next week, so the .net will have to change back to .org to make it work once we're really live. Sorry for the confusion and thanks.

mwatsonphoto

Trad climber

los angeles, ca

Dec 3, 2011 - 08:38pm PT

Here is a link to a scan of the spring 1970 edition of the digest.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/7291095/Vulgarian-Digest

-mike

Toker Villain

Big Wall climber

Toquerville, Utah

Dec 3, 2011 - 08:52pm PT

I have all the VDs.

(Should I rephrase that,....?)

Fritz

Trad climber

Choss Creek, ID

Dec 3, 2011 - 11:59pm PT

Bump for vulgarity.

The one issue I owned: was loaned to a friend.

You know the rest of the story.

rgold

Trad climber

Poughkeepsie, NY

Dec 4, 2011 - 10:35am PT

Librarian, I've sent you an email address I have for Joe Kelsey, which, however, might not be current. You might want to check your spam folder; that's where messages I get via SuperTopo often show up.

P.S. By today's standards of pornography, the VD is a family magazine. And even BITD, those starchy old AAC bankers probably had far more salacious material under their well-upholstered beds.

couchmaster

climber

pdx

Dec 4, 2011 - 11:40am PT

mwatsonphoto, that 70's digest is some ABSOLUTELY AMAZING stuff! Thanks for the link man! Woot!

Fritz

Trad climber

Choss Creek, ID

Dec 4, 2011 - 03:15pm PT

Thanks for posting that VD. A great read! Also two Sheridan Anderson cartoons in it, that I don't recall seeing previously.

The cover on the issue I loaned for eternity was: two nude gents pursuing a flock of sheep, with Ship Rock in the background.

I remember thinking a magazine with a cover like that had to be mine. Bought it in Teton Mountaineering about 1974.

Fritz

Trad climber

Choss Creek, ID

Dec 4, 2011 - 08:29pm PT

After a little Vulgar searching today: I found that a good person has posted all three Vulgarian Digests to his Photobucket site.

http://s96.photobucket.com/albums/l184/doghike/vd/

They are not easy to run through, since this is a page-by-page scan, but it was more interesting than ST roe vs wade ranting this afternoon, or the outside snowstorm & winds.

Here's a little Vulgar fun and many thanks to doghike.

click photo to enlarge.