I’m sure many of the editors that have worked in-house for Petersen/eMap/Source Interlink would know if any of it was transferred to the ‘new’ Petersen bldg. on Wilshire Blvd. or if any of it survived all the ownership changes that have occurred over the years. Maybe as a group everyone who had submitted art could draft a letter, which I could then present to the current top management at Source Interlink. I don’t know if they will relinquish any of the art or even acknowledge that it still exists, but at least we can give it a try. No harm, no foul, right?

Despite what many artists think, publishers aren’t all bad just as all gallery owners aren’t either. Once the materials have been used in the magazine, they usually want to keep it safe just in case they have need for it in the future. The Petersen Publishing archives are priceless, and should have been one of the most prized assets along with the titles themselves for any company that purchased or acquired the company. But considering the decades of materials and all the various titles they published, along with all the other titles consolidated under Source Interlink (including all of Argus, McMullen & Yee, and General Media’s Four Wheeler), it’s probably highly optimistic to think that they held on to everything.

With word of Source Interlink planning to move their L.A. office once again, I think if you want to make a formal request to try to reacquire this ‘lost’ art, we shouldn’t wait too long. Just let me know if this is something you want to do, and I’ll do what I can to see that it’s at least given serious consideration.