Samir Husni Magazine Collection

Samir Husni, Ph.D., believes in the power of print. His decades of research, collecting, and consulting produced a picture of American culture, all told through magazines. Husni, born in Lebanon, is an internationally recognized magazine expert. He earned scholarships to pursue advanced degrees in the United States, receiving a master’s degree from the University of North Texas and a Ph.D. in magazine journalism from the University of Missouri. Nicknamed “Mr. Magazine” by his students, Husni knows what it takes to launch a successful magazine, and what makes the magazine format special. In his 2019 book The Definitive Guide on How to Launch Your Own Magazine, Husni emphasizes the magazine’s role as a reflector in the Twentieth Century:
“This is what a print magazine does best: it reflects the souls and mindsets of the human consumer and engages their concerns and delights in a way no other medium ever has or ever will.”

In October 2022, Husni donated his collection of nearly 100,000 magazines to the University of Missouri Libraries. This includes 24,000 first-issue magazines published after 1985, media kits and prototypes documenting the development of popular magazines, 10,000 magazines published before 1985 (2000 of which are premiere issues) dating back to the 1800s, foreign and non-English magazines, and Samir Husni’s publications about magazine publishing.

After a long year of work from Special Collections staff, Series 1: Samir Husni’s Guide to New Magazines is ready for use. This series contains every first issue published in the United States from 1985 to the present. Husni published a guide to new magazines each year; Simultaneously, he collected a physical copy of all magazines included in his guide. The Husni Collection has it all: Technology, Fashion, Pop Culture, Politics, Sports, Travel, and much more! Whatever your interests, this collection has a magazine for you. Contact Special Collections with questions on how to access materials and begin exploring the Husni Collection.