# How to view/obtain back issues of the Watchtower (JW official magazine) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 24, 2011, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-view-obtain-back-issues-of-the-watchtower-jw-official-magazine/586768 "2011-06-24T22:38:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-view-obtain-back-issues-of-the-watchtower-jw-official-magazine/586768/1 "2011-06-24T22:38:55Z")
I found a reference to an article that I would like to read that was published in the Watchtower (the official magazine of the Jehovah’s Witnesses religion) in the mid-1990’s. I noticed that the JW’s do not seem to publish entire back issues online (though they have a sampling of articles at [watchtower.org](http://watchtower.org)). What is the best way to obtain a copy of the article, or at least view it? If I walk into a Jehovah’s Witness congregation, will they have it on file and available? Can I order a reprint of either the article or the entire magazine at a reasonable cost from the church’s publishing arm? I’m religious, but don’t subscribe to the JW faith and do not want to convert to it. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2011, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-view-obtain-back-issues-of-the-watchtower-jw-official-magazine/586768/2 "2011-06-25T00:11:19Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > I found a reference to an article that I would like to read that was published in the Watchtower (the official magazine of the Jehovah’s Witnesses religion) in the mid-1990’s. I noticed that the JW’s do not seem to publish entire back issues online (though they have a sampling of articles at [watchtower.org](http://watchtower.org)). What is the best way to obtain a copy of the article, or at least view it? If I walk into a Jehovah’s Witness congregation, will they have it on file and available? Can I order a reprint of either the article or the entire magazine at a reasonable cost from the church’s publishing arm? > > I’m religious, but don’t subscribe to the JW faith and do not want to convert to it. If you could obtain a copy of the Watchtower CD, you can get copies going quite a ways back (all the way to 1950 on the 2010 CD according to the index). You can also use E-Bay to see if the ‘Bound Volumes’ for the particular year are available. I have a copy of the CD, what reference are you looking for? I mihgt be able to help pinpoint it to a specifc issue if you have enough detail. This ebay search - [Watchtower Bound Volume 199\* for sale | eBay](http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=watchtower+bound+volume+199*&_sacat=See-All-Categories) showed quite a few years available. ---
**Author:** ![Uber\_the\_Goober](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/58956e/32.png) [@Uber\_the\_Goober](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uber_the_Goober)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2011, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-view-obtain-back-issues-of-the-watchtower-jw-official-magazine/586768/3 "2011-06-25T02:18:14Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > What is the best way to obtain a copy of the article, or at least view it? Know a particularly fastidious Witness who loves cataloging old magazines, or has a supply of old Bound Volumes. Or, as mentioned before, check the Watchtower CD, or with somebody who has one. This stuff isn’t commercially available. > [@robert\_columbia](#): > > If I walk into a Jehovah’s Witness congregation, will they have it on file and available? Probably not, but it’s possible. Individual congregations are at their own liberty with regard to maintaining a supply of back issues in their libraries, but the answer is probably not. > [@robert\_columbia](#): > > Can I order a reprint of either the article or the entire magazine at a reasonable cost from the church’s publishing arm? No. The printery does not work that way. Magazines are printed by the tens of thousands, not individually. Your best bet is to attempt to find a Bound Volume of the appropriate year. Again, know a Witness who will make you some photocopies. It’s not a commercial enterprise…literature is not for sale. > [@robert\_columbia](#): > > I’m religious, but don’t subscribe to the JW faith and do not want to convert to it. Pity. 😛