Lorna Tiller in conversation with HYMAG

MADE IN BED’s creative team visits HYMAG in East London to discover a history of magazine production and editorial compositions. Both inspired and overwhelmed by the sheer amount of magazines lining the ceiling-high shelves, we decided to follow up with a few questions for editor and head of research, Alexia Marmara.

What is the HYMAG and what is your role within it?
HYMAG (formerly Hyman Archive) is the world's largest magazine collection. I am editor and head of research. As a company, we offer the opportunity to access a wide range of magazines on popular culture (ranging from 1800s-present day). We are also in the throes of digitising the collection, making it available on a subscription base model.

What do you do day-to-day?

I assist with visits or undergo research for projects (museums, exhibitions, articles, books, documentaries etc.). As I manage the archive my role also ensures its upkeep: tidiness, donations, visitors...

I was hoping you could tell us a little about the major donators of the archive? 

The donations are a very special side to the archive, the latter often considered 'the final resting place for magazines.' We get all sorts of these 'gifts' from people who want to make sure their cherished magazines go to a welcoming environment and a safe home. We've had amazing donations from incredible creatives but in terms of scale, the largest one so far has been Edda Tasiemka's collection. Known as 'The Human Google,' she compiled newspaper clipping files separated into subject files. The subjects range from anything you can think of - Etiquette, Tanzania, Toilets, George Clooney, Murder Trials in 1971, Versace, and one of my favourites: Underwear.

What are the most popular magazines that people request from the archive? 

People seem to want a lot of Vogues, The Face from the 90s, NME, Melody Maker and recently I have had many requests for Nova...

Why is archiving this material so important and what role does it play in educating our future? 

I often stress the importance of having access to the 'forgotten' elements of what has been published in the past- it's always important to revisit moments of gargantuan importance in order to continue to acknowledge and evaluate our progression or regression. Understanding the past can't only be achieved through second-hand testimonials - a lot of blood, sweat and tears will have gone into the creation of a magazine. Every issue has its contributors pour its guts out. Flicking through pages and physically handling the magazine as a historical object is a way to experience these feelings first-hand. 

I'll always remember a costume tutor I had who told me to write a paper on the corset. I really went hard into its research, amassed every book ever written on the subject, and truly believed I was handing in a revolutionary paper. It was met with extreme discontent: she told me I still had no idea what I was talking about. She made me wear an antique 19th century corset she had in her collection for the duration of her class. And then I realised, I indeed had no idea what I was talking about. There was no way for me to understand the pain of being a woman at that time until I put it on. I feel it is the exact same thing with magazines: because they are so special in the information they deliver, so personal and so unique in their approach and community, they offer said first-hand testimonials. A letter to the editor will make us understand EXACTLY what it was Joan was feeling when her house flooded in the 50s or how vital it was for someone to discover Garage music.

What are your favourite works from the collection? 

I find this to be the hardest question to answer! There is just so much! Amongst my favourites are our late 19th century Tatlers. LOVE the celebrity culture from that time. Interview has such a special spirit to it, amazing advertising and the beginning of my great love of Glen O'Brien's Beat columns. Colors is also up there - a publication through which a word gets interpreted through a huge variation of cultures and countries with photos and text. I love FOUND, a collection of things people have found in the street. I find its voyeurism so intriguing, the objects featured are often things that people have accidentally dropped or left behind, secrets and embarrassments that the owner seems to almost be too mortified to share with the world. Yet pieces of their personalities are scattered around for strangers to then compile into a publication! I find that so reassuring: all humans have their little secret, and we're all in this together. Family of Man, Jill, Vanity, Boulevard.. too many. 

Could you discuss a little the restoration of these works and the correct methods of conservation?

I think we consider each separate title its own work of art, so each magazine is treated with care. The preservation starts with collecting: magazines are often considered a tricky thing to carry and the easiest of objects to simply throw away. Having an archive of this scale gives the owner the incentive to not throw it all away immediately! Physically, right now, the conditions they are stored in (temperature and light) are considered acceptable for the next few years. However, I have dreams of putting each issue into separate little archiving files, making its access a little trickier, but mandatory considering the fragile nature of paper. As our entire collection will be digitised and created into a research engine, a 'Spotify for Magazines' of sorts, we will be preserving the magazines in this digital format. Our goal being to ensure the contributors' work is kept forever and acknowledged with respect to copyright and ownership, accessible of a subscription model.

http://www.hymanarchive.com/ (soon to be:) http://hymag.com/

Thank you Alexia Marmara. 

Images from our visit are now available in the gallery and on our social media platforms. 

Lorna Tiller 

Editor-in-Chief, MADE IN BED