The year was 1966. It was in the spring, a couple of months before my 14th birthday to be exact. "A Man For All Seasons" was the big hit movie and Frank Sinatra was singing "Strangers In The Night" on every radio that wasn't playing "Eleanor Rigby" or "Good Vibrations." On TV, "Gilligan's Island" and "Bewitched" were going strong, and a new TV show was in the works, scheduled to air in September - something called "Star Trek."

By this time, I was already an avid sci-fi fan, having cut my teeth on Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom and Pellucidar novels, devoured all the Doc Savage books I could find (OK, perhaps not technically science fiction but I was too young to make such distinctions) and graduating to excellent short story collections like Robert Bloch's "Atoms and Evil" and Isaac Asimov's "I, Robot" and "The Rest of the Robots."

I was also a big dinosaur fan. Our cozy and remarkably well-stocked public library had a number of books on the subject, and I had conquered all of them. I knew a pterodactyl from a pteranodon, an ichthyosaurus from a brachiosaurus.

In other words, at an early age, in a time before the term found its present niche, I was a full-blown geek.

But I digress. Back to the spring of 1966. I forget where I was, but I suspect I was visiting relatives in north Texas. Anyway, my eye caught something on the newstand, and I was drawn closer by the tantalizing cover of a small magazine. A magazine with a picture of a flying reptile. And what appeared to be a space ship. And a man. It appeared to be a sign...and I was hooked.

That magazine was the May, 1966 issue of "Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact," which was to become a staple of my reading diet for the next several years. I couldn't afford a subscription ($5.00 a year was pretty pricey, from my impoverished perspective) but I sought it out whenever I encountered a magazine rack sufficiently cool to carry it. Analog was my lifeline to the infinite worlds of science fiction...and those memories (and issues) are still precious to me.

This website is an archive, a tribute to the editions of Analog that I was fortunate enough to experience. At worst, it's an exercise in maudlin sentimentality; at best, it's an historical archive that may well fill a hitherto unknown niche. Nah...it's just for fun! If you happened to be a 1966-vintage geek like me, perhaps you'll enjoy a little stroll down memory lane, courtesy of John W. Campbell's lovingly sculpted masterpieces. In any event, I had a great time putting it together.

About the Images

All the cover art was scanned by me (unless otherwise attributed) from my copies of the original magazines. The scans were not retouched in any way, so you see them as they are today, warts and occasional doodlings by a teen geek and all. I realize this detracts somewhat from their historical value, but only if your view of history differs from mine.

Of course, these images don't belong to me, or to you, unless you happen to be Condé Nast Publications Inc. or one of its successors, in which case you are the copyright owner. These images are presented only for non-commercial use. I believe my display of them on this website is legal under the fair use principle of US copyright law.

Filling In the Blanks: A Team Effort

It was never my intent to create a comprehensive archive. I'm focusing on the five year period, 1966-1970, for purely personal reasons. I wasn't always successful in locating the current issue of the magazine, and it's possible (although unlikely) that I've misplaced some of the editions in the intervening years.

Update (May, 2003): I was contacted by Jacques Hamon, who pointed me to nooSFere (l'encyclopédie francophone de la science-fiction), and graciously granted me permission to use their images from five issues in 1966 I was previously lacking. Those are flagged with an "*" below, and additional attribution is given on each individual page. If you're a fan of SF cover art (and you must be or you wouldn't be reading this), stop by the nooSFere site. It has covers for Astounding/Analog going back to 1930.

Update (November, 2009): I also wish to thank Stephen Yuengling, who happened across this little page and graciously provided cover scans for all the remaining missing issues. He's credited on the individual pages where his contributions appear.

If you happen to be the cover artist (or a contributing author) for any of these issues, I'd love to receive and post any comments you might wish to provide about the context for your work in the specific edition. I realize it's a long shot for any of you to stumble onto this site, but stranger things have happened.

The Collection

Click on the thumbnail to view the full-size cover art and the artist's name. For more information about each issue, visit the Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Here's the direct link to the ISFD section for Analog.

1966
Jan, 1966*	Feb, 1966*	Mar, 1966*	Apr, 1966*	May, 1966	Jun, 1966
Jul, 1966	Aug, 1966	Sep, 1966	Oct, 1966	Nov, 1966	Dec, 1966*
1967
Jan, 1967	Feb, 1967	Mar, 1967	Apr, 1967	May, 1967	Jun, 1967
Jul, 1967	Aug, 1967	Sep, 1967	Oct, 1967	Nov, 1967	Dec, 1967
1968
Jan, 1968	Feb, 1968	Mar, 1968	Apr, 1968	May, 1968	Jun, 1968
Jul, 1968	Aug, 1968	Sep, 1968	Oct, 1968	Nov, 1968	Dec, 1968
1969
Jan, 1969	Feb, 1969	Mar, 1969	Apr, 1969	May, 1969	Jun, 1969
Jul, 1969	Aug, 1969	Sep, 1969	Oct, 1969	Nov, 1969	Dec, 1969
1970
Jan, 1970	Feb, 1970	Mar, 1970	Apr, 1970	May, 1970	Jun, 1970
Jul, 1970	Aug, 1970	Sep, 1970	Oct, 1970	Nov, 1970	Dec, 1970

Additional resources: nooSFere is a French website devoted to sci-fi publications, and it also has scans of Analog covers, plus content information. I heartily recommend visiting their site.