Bob’s Magazine Museum in Skokie (my birthplace…why don’t they have a sign?) is a place I have driven by numerous times, but have never personally visited. You might think it’s just a store full of stuff, but it’s more than that. It’s actually more of a “museum” in there is a bit of curatorial practice going on, if that’s possible in a hoarder’s paradise. Originally opened in 1965 in Chicago’s Hyde Park when owner Robert Katzman was only 15 (formerly known as Magazine Memories), he moved his little shop to a bigger location a few years ago but it was quickly taken over by stuff. No browsing is allowed, curator Bob will search through the horizontal stacks of items organized by date and subject in over 100 categories. There are tens of thousands of items in his collection: car zines from the golden age of auto journalism in the 50s and 60s; MAD magazines from the 80s and 90s; vintage Playboy, Penthouse, and other adult magazines in the non-kid friendly section. The earliest item in the store dates back to 1576. Of course these items are for sale, but they’re all collectibles, so the prices are quite high, some are 20, 50 or 100s of dollars. And there is even more stuff with the “Recession Room” selling reproductions of automobile adverts, WWI & II propaganda, fashion and advertising prints. Another room displays larger posters of promo movie posters from the 80s, 90s, and 00s as well as ones related to education, science and history. He also has flags for every nation, including the city of Chicago (it’s a nation to some people) with its two blue stripes and four red, six-pointed stars arranged in a horizontal row. Basically this is a place to go if you worship the written word of paper and ink long before computers and tablets took over everything. I love magazines, and I’m probably the only person under the age of 35 who still regularly looks through them. I’ll definitely check out this place when I can. And so should you.
Bob’s Magazine Museum in Skokie, Illinois
