We at Bon Appétit are pretty damn happy with the way the magazine is looking these days. Since our unofficial relaunch back in May 2011, we've had a celebrity on our cover as well an awesome pizza, an open-faced tomato sandwich, sticky buns, and, most recently, no food at all. Lots of firsts, indeed.
But you're nothing without the past. As the longest tenured staff member at the magazine, I've become the de facto BA historian. It's fun to remind some of the new kids on the block of our past. Stuff like: the magazine was founded in 1956 in Kansas City and was distributed only at liquor stores for the first several years. Knapp Communications purchased the magazine in 1974, moved it to Los Angeles, and owned it until 1993 when Condé Nast purchased it. Not much changed until 2010, when it was announced the magazine would relocate to New York.
So here we are in 2012 with years of inspired issues under our belts. We know that we are part of a proud and tasty tradition and we will work hard to uphold that legacy. With that in mind, once in awhile on this blog we'll be looking back into our archives to find vintage recipes, stories, and photos that inspire us today. So here's the first installment: a few of my favorite covers from the 1960s. April 1963 features a lobster, oysters, and white wine; April/May 1965, a glass of Scotch shot in the Highlands of Scotland; August 1963, strawberries and Luxardo maraschino liqueur. But the Summer 1962 issue might be my favorite of all time: two frosty mint juleps, two cigarettes (notice the lipstick on one), a model boat, and map of the Caribbean. As Adam Rapoport said when I showed it to him, "It looks like a still from a Wes Anderson movie." Another cool fact about cover? Accessories were courtesy of Abercrombie & Fitch back when they were still a sports outfitter. You can bet you'll never see smokes on the cover of an future Bon Appétit. I'm working on the mint juleps.
--Andrew Knowlton