Similarly there’s “Knit n’ Spin”, which drives me crazy as they obviously so wanted to name it “Knit on it and Spin”.
More on my above-referenced American Book Review, the publisher of that is also the founder of the critical theory journal “symplokē”, which by all accounts is a super-niche publication for a few super-intellectuals who have heard about it, also published in the same dusty south Texas town over a hundred miles from the nearest airport.
Recall, the OP did exclude academic journals. We all know that there are very specialized disciplines which have their own literature. (So I apologize for including Library Resources and Technical Services.)
The UK quiz show ‘have I got news for you’ has a round that often includes these. Here’s a list of the ones that have appeared over the years. I’m ashamed to admit that I used to work for a publishing company that has several entries on that list. My favourite was ‘plastics and rubber weekly’. Is there so much innovation in that world that a monthly magazine wouldn’t be enough?
Maybe “Fate” magazine. Journal of Fortean like content
Oh no. Not obscure at all. Verrrrry popular. (Can’t get it’s shit together and send us itself on a regular basis though.)
Soldier of Fortune maybe?
Also not obscure - we don’t get it but people ask for it a lot.
For many years, I’ve seen a magazine at Barnes & Noble called “KMT”. Very few people would even have a clue what it’s about, but I do remember my 9th grade history class.
It’s a magazine for Egyptologists.
I think “Cigar Aficionado” is awfully specialized, too.
I suspect that most of the publications mentioned so far have circulations in the thousands or tens of thousands.
LF Examiner is a print newsletter for the people who make and show large-format (hence LF) or giant-screen films, aka IMAX films. It focuses primarily on the original science and nature documentaries made specifically for museums and science centers, not so much on the Hollywood features that Imax Corporation now converts for multiplexes.
It serves an industry of about 2,000 - 3,000 people worldwide (a pretty small universe of potential subscribers) and has circulation of about 200 copies nine times a year.
I doubt you will hear about a smaller publication that is operated as a business, rather than as a hobby. Much smaller and it couldn’t support a single-person operation.
How do I know about it? I’m the editor and publisher. (Fortunately, my wife has a much more lucrative job.)
Three that I subscribe to are Mythprint, Mythlore, and The New York Review of Science Fiction:
They all have several hundred subscribers, I’d guess. The New York Review of Science Fiction may even break a thousand. Mythprint and The New York Review of Science Fiction are now mostly distributed online. I’m not sure if I’d call these academic journals or not. While Mythlore and The New York Review of Science Fiction do print articles that are of the quality of academic papers, the readers are mostly unaffiliated with academia. They are fans of the subjects of these periodicals. Mythprint is just a newsletter though.
The oddest niche magazine my library gets (unsolicited and unpayed for) is The Pumper: “Dedicated to the liquid waste industry.” Of special interest is their cover story on the year’s “Classiest Truck.”
But I don’t want to see the classiest truck! I want to see the least classy truck! I want the one with the best poop related pun!
ETA - for awhile we got a gift subscription to a magazine for fuschia enthusiasts. The plant, not the color.
“The Star”, published by the the National Leprosarium in Carville, Louisiana, was a staple of public libraries until its print run ended in 2001. The Hansen’s Disease Museum still publishes an online newsletter.
Yes, things really fell off after circulation dropped to almost zero.
Regards,
Shodan
sorry
Fuchsia. Frequently misspelled.
See, if our anonymous donor hadn’t stopped giving us that magazine I might have known that.
For full poop pun usage, the names of porta-potty companies can’t be beat:
Tee-Pee Septic
Johnny on the Spot
[URL=“http://www.dumpandrun.com.au/”]Dump and Run
Full Moon Rentals
Oui Oui Enterprises
Doodie Calls
Willy Make It?
When my parents needed one for construction I told them to go with the one with the funniest name. Royal Flush unfortunately did not call them back, so they ended up with Farmer John.