Inside Report (3)
Who're younger, better educated, and somewhat more successful than the average West German?
Members of Germany's centuries-old magazine clubs.
It all started with Herr Pankratz Muller in 1615. This postmaster from Kitzingen began buying journals (then mostly handwritten) from Cologne, Frankfurt, Nuremberg, and as far away as Vienna and Venice. He circulated them among his club of six city councilors, three clerics, two lawyers, and various city and cloister administrators.
Like the original participants, today's members of magazine circles expand their horizons while saving much of the cost of individual subscriptions. Today 300 West German clubs distribute 190,000 weekly packets of publications. A side benefit: no more mountains of old magazines around the apartment gathering dust.m
