Below are the cover and table of contents for the January 1916 issue of the original magazine. That issue had an impressive 72 pages. As we learn from the cover, the issue cost 10 cents and an annual subscription was $1.00. The cover announces "The Dawn of Prosperity" which is reinforced in the statement of purpose below. The editors also announce their intention to "give the people of Birmingham and elsewhere correct facts about Birmingham and Alabama, of which the people know so little." I suppose that declaration could easily be made today as well.
Some of the articles listed in the table of contents deserve a close read, and I may cover them in future posts. Articles on the Panama Canal and the Birmingham area, concrete's contribution to civilization, good roads and highways and library news are to be expected in such a publication. But the issue also carried articles on women's suffrage and the convict lease system in Alabama. Those topics were controversial and not exactly typical chamber of commerce material.
The entire issue is available via the Birmingham Public Library at the link below.
Source: Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections
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