Doug Gilford collection of Mad magazines , 1952-2025

The Doug Gilford collection of Mad magazines includes his extensive collection of Mad magazines, books, and related artifacts that was assembled between 1975 and 2025. Highlights include a complete run of the regular issues #1-550 of Mad magazine, as well as issues #1-10 of the new edition produced in Burbank, CA. The collection also includes a large quantity of reprints, annuals, and special editions of Mad, as well as books and publications related to Mad, its art and contributors, and its publication history. Artifacts include a board game, posters, and figurines.

Doug Gilford began assembling this collection in 1975, at age ten, inspired by first encountering Mad magazine at age seven with issue #155 (1972), celebrated for its satire of "The Godfather" film. Gilford's collection expanded steadily in the late 1970s while acquiring new issues, and it further expanded after discovering the abundance of back issues at Portland, Oregon-area used bookstores. Significant growth of the collection occurred in the early 1980s, as he began purchasing rarer, more valuable Mad comic books at regional conventions. By his late teens, Gilford had amassed a complete set of regular issues, reaching this milestone around the time of his high school graduation in 1983.

Through the latter 1980s and into the early 1990s, Gilford's collecting slowed as he shifted focus to family and business responsibilities. The advent of the World Wide Web in the mid-1990s rekindled his passion for Mad magazine, combining his affinity for computers with his interest in the publication. Gilford set about scanning and sharing every Mad cover online, launching his website on August 16, 1997. Initial copyright concerns from DC Comics, Mad's parent company, prompted a warning, but Gilford's nonprofit, informational approach led to the site's continuation and evolution. The website grew to include not only cover scans but also detailed indices of issue contents, including credits for writers and artists.

Upon running out of regular issues to catalog in the early 2000s, Gilford extended his collecting efforts to Mad Special reprints, paperback books, and specialty volumes, further enriching his online archive. He officially registered Madcoversite.com in 2008. The site's comprehensive scope continues to support a vibrant community of Mad fans, collectors, and researchers.

By the 2020s, as Mad magazine moved towards a reprint-focused publishing model and operations shifted from New York to Burbank, the context of Gilford's relationship to his collection also changed. In preparation for its legacy and future preservation of the collection, Gilford transferred the entire collection to University of Oregon Special Collections and University Archives, selected for its proximity to his home and respected comics studies program.