The Press: For the Carriage Trade

In his 22 years of writing and editing, Wilder Hobson, 44, has specialized in the good things of life. Long a member of the staffs of TIME and FORTUNE (off & on from 1928 to 1949), he is an enthusiastic judge of such high-priced consumer goods as yachts, racing cars and evening gowns (none of which he owns), is also a trombone-playing musicologist (American Jazz Music) and novelist (All Summer Long).

Last week Yaleman Hobson moved into a job well calculated to suit a carriage-trade taste. He became managing editor of Harper’s Bazaar (circ. 340,605), Sanhedrin of the high-fashion world. Hobson replaces Frances MacFadden, who retired after 18 years in the post. As the new M.E., Hobson will be chiefly concerned with Bazaar’s non-fashion articles. But he will also read fashion copy and make criticisms from a man’s point of view. Explained Editor Carmel Snow: “I think a man is terribly good for woman editors—I don’t just mean the editors. He’s awfully good for a fashion magazine.”

Hobson put it somewhat differently. Said he: “My connection with the fashion operation of Harper’s Bazaar is at best gossamer. However, at what Cole Porter has described as the charming age of puberty, I ceased drawing racing automobiles and began to draw women, with equal detail, and with what I like to think was even more combustible effect.”