What to do with old National Geographics?
 

Long story, but I've got ~20 boxes of National Geographic dating back to 1903 in my garage. These came from my dad's estate.

These are mostly in good condition. I don't have the space. I don't want to seem them dropped into recycling. Is there a market or collectors for these anywhere?

Sorry, I'm not much help on this. When I was a teenager, my parents bought a house that had a large room downstairs that we called the "map room". The previous owner had basically used maps from National Geographic magazine as wallpaper in this room. Each map was nicely framed with wood strips. Centered on a large wall was a very old map of the area we lived in, showing mainly the Eglin AFB reservation and surrounding land even showing the coastline. It was a really cool room, and my friends and I would spend hours looking up things. I remember reading an article about an automobile race that went through several European countries, and I traced out the route on one of the maps. Good times.

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Recycle 'em. Possibly the most saved periodical in the USA.

Pull (keep) the December 1969 issue that covered the moon landing. . . I have collected as many of the issues that covered the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle. . . and the unmanned robots to the planets as possible.

Fascinating history lessons of the dawn of space exploration

I have a similar problem with Playboy.

A 10 years back or so, I went to get a CT scan of my sinuses at a local hospital. I looked at the magazines on the table, and picked up a Nat Geo. It was talking about the exciting upcoming mission to the moon! I looked at the date, in was late 1968. Someone had donated them to the hospital.

My parents had a subscription when I was a kid. Of course all my buddies wanted to see the topless natives. We moved often, and they just went in the trash.

Elementary schools may take them to use for arts and crafts.

Might be worth your while to spend some time researching the rarest items in the collection and offering them up for sale individually.
Or not. Selling on line can be a real time suck. How much is your time worth?

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If any have maps in them I'd be pulling the maps out and keeping those.
Don't know what I'd do with them but I like maps so....

Not Nat Geo, but I had plenty of car mags over the years. Mrs. Noah works at a nursing home, which has a library. I had her (asked first) drop off a couple boxes of those there.

There are also a couple of those community libraries in peoples' front yards in my neighborhood. While walking the dog, I'd drop off one or two magazines. Got rid of several years of Panoramas that way. The issues were always gone within a day or two, so I presume someone enjoyed them.

Since my dad worked at UF I spent a lot of time roaming the campus, etc. And since I love to read, I of course discovered the libraries, especially the "current stuff and periodicals" part of the collections.

Was absolutely thrilled at 12 to find bound in leather issues of all of the American Rifleman and American Hunter magazines (NRA publications), Field and Stream, and others.

At 13, was absolutely thrilled to find the same collection for both Playboy and Penthouse on the next shelf over, each year individually bound in leather :D

Start a Nat. Geo. nekkid wimmins thread and get banned ;)

They were few and far in between .... but we looked ...

Then came Playboy :D

^^^
1903 Boobies were in B/W....not as much fun. :D

121 yr old boobies don't need color :D

I have heard some retirement homes will accept them. They pass them out to the residents. I have no first hand knowledge of that however.

^^^ The older the buck...the stiffer the horn. :D

I was gifted a subscription in the 70s and 80s, it wasn't sold on the newsstand back then. Loved the National Geographic. I have several old issues from the 1960s and will hang on to the ones about Gemini, Apollo, etc. I have two different issues profiling the power and strength of the US Navy (Feb 1965) and the US Air Force (Sept 1965). You would never find articles like those written in today's National Geographic.

You probably aren’t as “handy” with those these days, like when you were 15.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

"What is my time worth?" - That's a questions I've been asking myself a lot lately. Every. Single. Day.

I've researched selling these online and it appears to be a crapshoot of actually having success. I haven't tried it yet.

I'm afraid to open a box and start reading - I know I would get hooked...

My cousin collects 20’s era Atlantics and other magazines, matchbooks, science fiction book cover art…. You name it. Does pretty well. He’s in central NJ. If you’re interested in buying or selling PM me.

Dave