When an adman named Baldwin H. Ward became a wartime Marine lieutenant, he put out a picture history of the Marines' Pacific battles. Its success gave him an idea: Why not put out an annual picture book of the year's news? After the war, "Baldy" Ward settled in Los Angeles as FORTUNE'S West Coast advertising manager. With $25,000 of his own and $50,000 from friends, he hired part-time editors, and in 1948 put out the first edition of Year, a LIFE-like 192-page summary (with 700 pictures). It sold 15,000 copies, won critics' kudos, but lost $7,500.
The next year's Year lost money,...
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