Firelands Media Group is the publisher Early American Life magazine, which since 1970 has been the source for information on early American style, decorating, and traditions. In addition, we cover both antiques and reproductions made by crafters working in period styles with traditional tools. We do it with our own style—we aim to entertain as well as educate. We're not a stodgy academic magazine but a vibrant, exciting look (we put color pictures on nearly every page) at our traditions and heritage. Among the facts on our pages, you're apt to find smiles, occasionally a chuckle, and solid information that has given us the reputation as the essential magazine about early Americana.
In every issue we feature a look at at least two homes that show these traditions at their best. Often one home is a discrete look at a private residence while the other is an in-depth tour of a landmark or museum with behind-the-scenes information you will find nowhere else.
In most issues we feature at look as a special area of early American antiques with the eye at broadening the horizons of the collector while retaining a practical focus. We'll give you the history of the subject but we'll also dip down into the nitty-gritty and help show why one piece is valuable (and exactly how valuable) and another is not.
In other features, we show how modern artisans continue creating traditional crafts, presenting both a history of the art and a look at each individual's work. Often a leading expert in a particular craft area tells the story and gives a step-by-step hands-on demonstration. Our aim is to help you decide which artisan creates the work best suited your needs and style.
We try to capture a slice of life and the feel of the early, less-hurried period of our history by investigating oft-neglected niches of the past. You might find a biography of a forgotten but important American (such as Oliver Evans, the first American engineer), a fad or fancy (such as when velocipede swept through America in the early 19th Century), events (for example, the Burr-Hamilton duel), or even a forgotten fruit (like the colonial favorite, the quince).
We also features stories on gardening with a focus on early America (for example, antique apples or the first lilacs to grow in America), make-it-yourself crafts (last year, we featured a hooked rug, poppit doll, and wooden chair to match), recipes appropriate to the period home, and a calendar of events relating to early American history, crafts, and traditions.
Never satisfied, we always dig a little deeper than other magazines do with a reputation for accuracy that puts us in many museum curator's mailboxes. We never let advertising intrude. Our strict ad policies guarantee that each advertisement enhances our magazine and your reading experience. All concern early America, our heritage and traditions. You won't find a drug ad anywhere in our pages. And we keep ads from dominating the magazine, relying on our subscribers rather than advertisers to support our publication.
The first editor of Early American Life tried to define the magazine by writing, “Let’s just say that we use the term ‘Early American’ because it is used by the majority of people to mean style of furnishing that is traditional, comfortable, warm and secure. Our articles on arts and crafts will span several centuries—from hand-carved wooden spoons to canning, from log huts to plastic replicas.” We’ve tried to hold true to that philosophy over the years, amending it only to sidestep the plastic parts. We’ve found our readers prefer traditional materials and we stick to them. It’s our heritage, and we aim to preserve it.
