Bernarr Macfadden (who was the publisher behind many famous magazines) started this magazine about health, fitness, and physical development in March of 1899. This was not the only magazine about these subjects published in the 1890's, but it was a true pioneer, and probably the most succesful. Physical culture, exercise, body building and improvement, and fitness in general were subjects of personal interest to MacFadden, and he even displayed himself as a model on some of the covers. It provided serious information, fads, fiction, attractive models in scanty sporting costumes, and pages of advertising aimed at the active and those who wished they were. In 1941 it added "Beauty and Health" as a subtitle, and the cover designs went "modern." By 1944 it was the "New Physical Culture" and the subtitle had been dropped. Cover designs varied all over the map in the later 1940's, and in 1950 the title was changed to MACFADDEN'S HEALTH REVIEW.
PHYSICAL CULTURE gained both newsstand sales and public condemnations for its slightly "racy" covers with dancers and swimmers and other attractive male and female models. See for yourself what the fuss was about. In 1909 its obscenity conviction was appealed to the Supreme Court, which found in its favor. Had to help sales, eh?
Very few libraries hold this magazine, so we are dependent pretty much on eBay sales and copies scanned for us by volunteers. In particular, the issue for March, 1911 (added 26 July 2005) was found in the walls of a 1901 house in Oconomowoc, WI and scanned for the website by a volunteer. If you have copies of any issues, please help us by scanning or photographing them for the website. Thanks!
Ball State University has put the covers and contents of sixty-one issues of this magazine online, on their library's digital collection website. A good discussion of the history of this magazine can be found at the eNewssstand project.

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Physical Culture 1899-11
5425 visits
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Physical Culture 1900-04
4012 visits
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Physical Culture 1900-07
3616 visits
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Physical Culture 1901-02
3420 visits
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Physical Culture 1901-03
3489 visits
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Physical Culture 1901-04
3550 visits
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Physical Culture 1901-08
2946 visits
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Physical Culture 1901-09
3056 visits
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Physical Culture 1901-12
3339 visits
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Physical Culture 1902-02
3093 visits
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Physical Culture 1902-03
3425 visits
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Physical Culture 1902-04
3109 visits
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Physical Culture 1902-05
3755 visits
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Physical Culture 1902-06
3072 visits
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Physical Culture 1902-09
3068 visits
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Physical Culture 1902-11
3479 visits
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Physical Culture 1902-12
2330 visits
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Physical Culture 1903-02
2929 visits
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Physical Culture 1903-04
2124 visits
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Physical Culture 1903-05
2382 visits
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Physical Culture 1903-08
2512 visits
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Physical Culture 1903-10
1931 visits
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Physical Culture 1903-11
2009 visits
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Physical Culture 1904-06
261 visits
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Physical Culture 1905-03
280 visits
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Physical Culture 1905-11
298 visits
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Physical Culture 1906-11
310 visits
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Physical Culture 1906-12
277 visits
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Physical Culture 1907-01
275 visits
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Physical Culture 1907-04
326 visits
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Physical Culture 1908-04
291 visits
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Physical Culture 1910-05
332 visits
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Physical Culture 1910-11
280 visits
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Physical Culture 1911-03
291 visits
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Physical Culture 1912-03
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Physical Culture 1912-04
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Physical Culture 1912-05
2235 visits
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Physical Culture 1912-07
288 visits
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Physical Culture 1912-08
287 visits
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Physical Culture 1912-10
325 visits
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Physical Culture 1912-11
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Physical Culture 1913-02
2163 visits
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Physical Culture 1913-03
2409 visits
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Physical Culture 1913-04
2125 visits
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Physical Culture 1913-05
2772 visits
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Physical Culture 1913-07
2340 visits
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Physical Culture 1913-08
1949 visits
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Physical Culture 1913-10
2747 visits
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Physical Culture 1914-01
1726 visits
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Physical Culture 1914-02
2211 visits
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Physical Culture 1914-03
2133 visits
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Physical Culture 1914-04
2159 visits
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Physical Culture 1914-05
2635 visits
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Physical Culture 1914-06
1994 visits
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Physical Culture 1914-09
1946 visits
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Physical Culture 1914-10
2336 visits
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Physical Culture 1914-11
278 visits
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Physical Culture 1914-12
255 visits
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Physical Culture 1915-01
3131 visits
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Physical Culture 1915-03
4045 visits
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Physical Culture 1915-06
2381 visits
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Physical Culture 1915-09
2119 visits
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Physical Culture 1915-10
2369 visits
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Physical Culture 1915-11
2140 visits
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Physical Culture 1915-12
2588 visits
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Physical Culture 1916-05
310 visits
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Physical Culture 1916-07
648 visits
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Physical Culture 1916-09
358 visits
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Physical Culture 1917-08
264 visits
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Physical Culture 1917-11
268 visits
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Physical Culture 1917-12
338 visits
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Physical Culture 1918-02
307 visits
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Physical Culture 191X-06
326 visits
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Physical Culture 1921-06
312 visits
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Physical Culture 1921-07
268 visits
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Physical Culture 1921-09
298 visits
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Physical Culture 1922-04
272 visits
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Physical Culture 1922-06
261 visits
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Physical Culture 1922-07
272 visits
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Physical Culture 1922-08
268 visits