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MACLEAN'S: THE ACCIDENTAL NATIONALIST HOW HUSTLING FOR ADS BUILT A NATIONAL ICON DONNA BRAGGINS A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS GRADUATE PROGRAM IN INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES YORK UNIVERSITY, TORONTO, ONTARIO APRIL 2008 Library and Bibliotheque et 1*1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-38750-4 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-38750-4 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, prefer, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur la protection de la vie privee, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ont ete enleves de cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires in the document page count, aient inclus dans la pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. •*• Canada Abstract MACLEAN'S'. THE ACCIDENTAL NATIONALIST HOW HUSTLING FOR ADS BUILT A NATIONAL ICON In the years following World War Two through to Canada's centenary celebrations of 1967, Maclean's magazine consolidated its reputation as "Canada's National Magazine" and successfully employed nationalism as a critical tool to differentiate itself from American publications. This study examines how nationalism was constructed on the covers of Maclean's between 1945 and 1967 to answer the question, "How did Maclean's live up to its claim to be Canada's National Magazine?" By analyzing the Maclean's covers in terms of design style and content — focusing on how class, gender, and race were represented — this study argues that a unique Canadian design style emerged in these years. Maclean's did not just reflect nationalism, but was instrumental in making meaning out of what it meant to be Canadian. This study thus contributes to how media helped define Canadian nationalism. iv Acknowledgements When my advisor, Kate McPherson, described the process of getting a master's degree as an academic apprenticeship I was struck by the metaphor. To me apprenticeship implies the valuable experience of learning through the guidance of good mentors. I have been very fortunate during my academic apprenticeship to have very talented and generous mentors. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their patience and rich gifts of knowledge. My advisors, Wendy Wong, Kate McPherson and Leslie Korrick, have provided many insights into the learning and writing process and shared their knowledge and passion for their fields of study. Their guidance has been invaluable. I can also thank them for my expanding bookshelves as I have enjoyed accumulating many of the books they have introduced me to during the last few years. Thanks also to the Interdisciplinary Studies program directors Marlene Kadar, Patrick Taylor, Renata Wickens and Jamie Scott who provided wise counsel. Program assistant Ouma Jaipal Gill, was unfailingly patient and helpful. My Academic colleagues have also been generous with their time and advice including Michael Large and Brian Donnelly, whose work in the field of design history in Canada inspired my effort. Thanks also to my journalism colleague Lynn Cunningham whose studies helped me with this project. Maclean's editor and publisher Ken Whyte, provided complete access to the Maclean's library and files. The staff of the The Archives of Ontario, the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, The Toronto Reference Library have been helpful and informative. Of course nothing would be possible without the support of those who have made the real sacrifices in making my studies possible, my family and friends. My husband, who refers to this as "our thesis" is not wrong - he has been a patient listener, a courier and my schedule minder as I've juggled full-time work and a career change. My friends, particularly those in the journalism profession, also feel an investment in this project as they've listened to my stories and shared their own. I owe Ian McGugan and Monique Conrod a debt that will be hard to repay. Rod McDonald, a long-time friend and world-renowned typographer, kept my design descriptions accurate. Michael Gaughn and photographer Mark Fritzler provided photographs of over 700 Maclean's covers. My design colleague, Lee Wilson helped assemble all the Maclean's issues for documentation. David North, a former Maclean's writer and a journalism colleague spent many hours long distance from Hungary, sharing his recollections of Maclean's. It s a privilege to learn and I am grateful for all the support I've received. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract iv List of illustrations vii 1. Introduction: "Canada's National Magazine" 1 2. From War to Consumerism: 1945 to 1949 46 3. Designing a Canadian Identity: 1950 to 1959 84 4. A National Design Voice: 1960 to 1967 139 5. Conclusion: an uncomfortable nationalism 206 APPENDICES Maclean's covers 1945 to 1950 216 Maclean's covers 1950 to 1959 226 Maclean's covers 1960 to 1967 246 Works Cited 261 vi List of illustrations Chapter 2 1. Class, 1 June 1949, illustration by Oscar Cahen 67 2. Gender, 15 Aug. 1945, photograph by McCullough photo studios 75 3. Race and ethnicity, 15 Dec. 1947, illustration by Franklin Arbuckle 80 Chapter 3 4. Designing class and nation, 1 July 1954, illustration Rex Woods 115 5. Designing gender and nation, 28 March 1959, illustration by Franklin Arbuckle ... 123 6. Designing race or ethnicity and nation, 15 Feb. 1953, illustration by Oscar Cahen 132 Chapter 4 7. Class and nation, 3 Nov. 1962, typographic design by Allan Fleming 185 8. Gender and nation, February 1967, photography by Don Newlands 191 9. Race and nation, August 1967, photography by Don Newlands 200 vn CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION "CANADA'S NATIONAL MAGAZINE" In 1917, twelve years after its founding, Maclean's magazine declared itself "Canada's National Magazine." Over the next 50 years, it consolidated its reputation as a national icon and successfully employed nationalism as a critical tool to differentiate itself from American publications. This thesis examines how nationalism was constructed on the covers of Maclean's from the years following World War Two until Canada's centenary in 1967. It answers the question: "How did Maclean's live up to its claim to be 'Canada's National Magazine'?" I will show that Maclean's used nationalism as a device to distinguish itself from its American competitors, such as The Saturday Evening Post, while essentially producing the same genre of magazine. To better understand the evolution of Maclean's claim to be a truly Canadian publication, I will examine the covers of the period in question, which are then organized chronologically with a chapter devoted to each of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. I will use the chapter-by-chapter examination of the covers to explore how Maclean's tried to accommodate Canadian nationalism within the reality of a continental marketplace. In particular, I will show how the content of the covers reveals shifts in how the idea of a Canadian nation was constructed through class, gender, and ethnicity or race. 1 The object of this thesis is to explore how nationalism was used to define Maclean's as a distinctive voice of Canadian identity, a site to tell Canadian stories. The analysis examines both the editorial discussions about cover content and design and the product - the Maclean's covers themselves. The textual analysis involves archival materials that provide the background for editorial and design decisions, while the visual analysis examines the actual choices made both in terms of the presentation and the content of the covers. The first substantive chapter examines the 1945-1949 years when the first evidence appeared of post-war investment in building Maclean's as a national voice. Through the 1950s the impact of international immigration and the advent of Canadian-specific themes on the content of the covers is the focus of analysis. And as the 1960s included the country's one-hundredth birthday, Chapter 4 examines the impact of increasingly diverse immigration, the resulting development of the graphic design industry, and competitive changes in the continental marketplace as they were evidenced on the covers. The main themes of each period change to reflect the tensions and mutual influences between the design of the covers and the content. Maclean's and the discovery of Nationalism Maclean's followed a wandering - some might say stumbling - course as it evolved from a modest commercial undertaking to Canada's national magazine.