How do I display my magazines on the wall?

April 12, 2008 9:00 PM

I have a small collection of very collectible graphic design magazines. I really hate to just let them stack, so I really want to find a way to display them on the wall. Does anyone know of a good way to do this?

Obviously I could squish them in a picture frame, but I'm thinking there might be something else out there. Maybe there's a nice pocket thing so I could easily take out the magazine and skim through it.

One goal, is to NOT cut up the magazines. This would ruin the worth.

posted by hipersons to home & garden (8 comments total)

Swing frame?
posted by X4ster at 9:12 PM on April 12

This looks cool! It sticks out from the wall a little but it's pretty awesome.
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 10:03 PM on April 12

I can't find a photo, but I have seen a very low-cost DIY display that might work, depending on your decor. A steel cable stretched along the wall using stand-offs so the cable is an inch or so away from the wall. Then, you attach the magazines to the cable using oversized bulldog or other clip. It has a high-tech look, and you can string 2 rows if needed.
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 10:09 PM on April 12

OK, this is close to what I was looking for.
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 10:15 PM on April 12

When a friend of mine was looking at displaying some of his old bank note collection, the man at the frame shop said you had to be careful what glass you use and where you hang your picture because of the possibility of UV damage from the sun. Even with special UV resistant glass this can be an issue if placed somewhere where the items will be exposed to a great deal of sunlight. Having said that, this is in New Zealand and I'm not sure if the sun is as ruthlessly damaging to wall hangings in other parts of the world.

Not really a solution for what you are trying to do, but since you said 'very collectable' I thought I might mention it.
posted by atmosphere at 4:50 AM on April 13

Yes, seconding atmosphere's concerns about light exposure, no matter where you live -- magazine printing generally uses inks whose color will fade in weeks/months, destroying their aesthetic and collectible value. You won't notice it because it happens gradually; and UV-resistant glass can only do so much to slow the process.

Have you considered something like a display clamshell box (custom made by a fine bookbinder)? It would technically still mean your magazines were sitting in a pile somewhere, but in an inviting, decorative way rather than a stack-on-the-floor way.
posted by obliquicity at 6:04 AM on April 13

Maybe an acrylic box frame? They have more depth to them than a regular frame. Museums and libraries use frames like this to display old books.
posted by waywardgirl at 8:20 AM on April 13

Thanks everyone! Some very cool ideas, love it. I'm definitely concerned about how contact with sun could age the magazines, so I'll be placing them in a part of the house that gets vitually no sunlight but is heavily trafficked.
posted by hipersons at 9:16 AM on April 13