The Press: Transfusion

In 1845, the first year of its life, the Scientific American examined a new contraption, a balloon with a two-horsepower engine, and declared boldly that "the practicability of traveling rapidly and safely through the air has been . . . established."

As a popular journal of science, the new magazine was soon tops in its field. Its reputation was so well established in Thomas Edison's day that he gave its editor the first demonstration of his talking machine. But in recent years, Scientific American had been outdistanced by livelier rivals. Last week, with its circulation down to 40,000 (from a 93,660 peak),...

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