Arnold Gingrich

Arnold Gingrich (December 5, 1903 – July 9, 1976) was the founder, along with David A. Smart, and editor of the Esquire (magazine). He created the magazine in 1933 and remained its editor until 1961. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Arnold Gingrich, 72, Dead; Was a Founder of Esquire |url= |quote=Arnold Gingrich, one of the founders of Esquire magazine in 1933 and its principal guiding light in most of the years since then, died of cancer yesterday at his home in Ridgewood, New Jersey, Mr. Gingrich, who was given the title of founding editor earlier this year, was 72 years old. |publisher=New York Times |date=July 10, 1976, Saturday |accessdate=2007-07-21 ]

Gingrich was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1903. He published such authors as Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, John Steinbeck, Thomas Wolfe, John Dos Passos, Garry Wills, Truman Capote, and Norman Mailer. He was also one of the few magazine editors to publish F. Scott Fitzgerald regularly in the late 1930s, including Fitzgerald's "The Pat Hobby Stories". [cite news |title=Fitzgerald vs. Hollywood |author=Paul Greenberg |date=2008-02-10 |work=The New York Times |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/10/books/review/Greenberg2-t.html |accessdate=2008-02-09] Gingrich also published stories by Jack Woodford, whom he befriended when they worked together at an advertising agency in the 1920s. He wrote the introduction to Woodford's famous book on writing and publishing "Trial and Error".

The magazine’s name "Esquire" was selected after Gingrich received a letter that was addressed to "Arnold Gingrich, Esq." The magazine he created set the template for future men's magazines; for example, Playboy, a variation, namely Esquire with nude photographs.

His autobiography, "Toys Of A Lifetime," with illustrations by Leslie Saalburg, was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1966. It has long been out of print. In it, he recounts his experience with cars (he owned several notable Bentleys), transatlantic liners (including the "Normandie"), French hotels, pipes and tobacco, clothes and all manner of other possessions and accommodations.

He died in 1976 in Ridgewood, New Jersey.

Contributions to Angling Literature

Gingrich was an avid fly fisherman and contributed much to the literature of the sport.
* More a reflection on the fishing life than a how-to manual, though it does contain practical advice on light tackle fly fishing, and a useful bibliography. [Johnson, George, New & Noteworthy, October 4th, 1987, New York Times Book Review, [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DEFDC1F31F937A35753C1A961948260&scp=8&sq=Arnold+Gingrich] ] .

* "American Trout Fishing" is the trade press edition of the Gordon Garland, a compilation of stories and history about American Trout fishing and is dedicated to Theodore Gordon. Noted fly fishing authors--Lee Wulff, Roderick Haig Brown, Ernie Schwiebert, Dana Lamb, Joe Brooks and many other contributed to this work [cite book |last=Serviente |first=Barry |title=Angler's Art Catalog |year=1996 |pages=95-96 |location=Plainfield, PA |publisher=The Anglers Art ] , [cite book |last=Gingrich |first=Arnold |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=The Fishing In Print-A Guided Tour Through Five Centuries of Angling Literature |year=1974 |pages=317-18 |publisher=Winchester Press |location=New York |isbn= ] .

* Listed as one of the modern "classics" of angling in the University of New Hampshire Library Milne Angling Collection [University of New Hampshire Library, Milne Angling Collection Selected Highlights, [http://www.izaak.unh.edu/milne/guide.htm] ]

*cite book |last=Gingrich |first=Arnold |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=The Fishing In Print-A Guided Tour Through Five Centuries of Angling Literature |year=1974 |publisher=Winchester Press |location=New York |isbn= In "The Fishing In Print", Gingrich surveys the major pieces of classic and modern fly fishing literature up through the 1950s. It is an excellent read to get a better understanding of the evolution of the various styles of fly fishing--wet, nymphs, dry, etc as originally written about by the likes of Halford, Skues, Gordon and Jennings along with many others.

References