Metropolitan Magazine began in 1895 as a "naughty picture magazine selling sex sationalism" in its earliest issues. In 1897 the
Metropolitan featured suggestive photos of
Nellie Melba the opera singer and of
Yvette Guilbert reclined in her boudoir, which was very risque for the time.
John Brisben Walker was its first
editor and
publisher. In 1898, the magazine built a more sophisticated reputation as a magazine for theater-goers in New York featuring writings by Kipling and Conrad. In 1902, the magazine was sold along with
The Daily Telegraph for $100,000 to
Col. George Harvey, president of the publishing company
Harper & Brothers. Harvey said that "in purchasing
The Metropolitan I bought simply a name", and that the chief mission of the periodical should be urban life in New York.
The Mexican Revolution and World War I During the
Mexican Revolution, initiated late in 1910,
Metropolitan sent
John Reed to Mexico to report. The journalist met
Pancho Villa and stayed with his troops for four months. There were rumors that the post office was considering revoking the publication's second class mail privileges, but its issues continued to be delivered. In the event, however, Roosevelt himself wrote many essays criticizing Wilson for his handling of the war. Roosevelt worked on
editorial articles for
Metropolitan until his death in January 1919. His last action was to write a letter to his son
Theodore Jr. with the proofs for his last article in the magazine. which kept it as a separate division. It was overseen by Maximilian Elser Jr.
Decline Bernarr Macfadden bought
Metropolitan Magazine in January 1923 on the urging of his Supervising Editor
Fulton Oursler, and launched its new era with an abridged serialization of
Theodore Dreiser's banned novel
The Genius. The first Macfadden issue was dated February–March 1923 but it continued as a monthly.
Fulton Oursler's first serious novels,
Behold This Dreamer! and
Sandalwood were also serialized. When the magazine's fortunes didn't improve, the title was changed to
Macfadden Fiction-Lovers Magazine with the October 1924 issue. Its last issue was August 1925. ==Selected contributors==