Travellers' Checks | Why Holiday was ‘the best travel magazine that ever was’
- Popular during its 1950-60s heyday, the American publication employed famous writers such as Truman Capote and Ernest Hemingway
- Contributors were sent all over the world on no-expenses-spared trips and came back with spectacular stories
Published from 1946 to 1977, Holiday magazine gave millions of Americans a vividly inspiring introduction to the outside world. In its heyday, under editor Ted Patrick and art director Frank Zachary, it promoted the intellectually and spiritually enriching aspects of travel, rather than the five-star luxury constantly peddled today (foreign travel still being a luxury in itself for the average American at the time).
A healthy monthly circulation paid for bylines such as James Michener, John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, Truman Capote, Paul Bowles, Lawrence Durrell and Ian Fleming. Photographers included Henri Cartier-Bresson, Slim Aarons and Robert Capa. Contributors were sent all over the world – before accountants ruled – with no expense spared, and the results were spectacular. Following Patrick’s death in 1964 and Zachary’s subsequent ouster, Holiday’s output changed for the worse. Its best days were far behind it by 1977, when it was merged with Travel magazine to become Travel Holiday, which folded in 2003. A 5,000-word article in Vanity Fair, in 2013, rekindled memories of Holiday, and the following year it was, at least in name, resurrected as a biannual publication based in Paris, France.
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