Robert Crossley Atherton (February 23, 1908 – January 12, 1986); was an American magazine editor, author, publisher, artist and designer.
[3] Following the birth of his elder brother Norman Sydney on July, 31, 1901, the family emigrated to the United States, and set up permanent residence in Philadelphia.
He accepted a role with the Curtis Publishing Company, the owners of Ladies Home Journal in 1936, where he remained for 12 years, as an associate editor.
Initially an increased fiction program was instituted, with Atherton hiring a number of high profile illustrators such as Norman Rockwell, Al Parker and Robert Fawcett.
He assigned a total of six unknown artists and illustrators; which included Lloyd Viehman, Charles Kirkpatrick, and his wife’s first cousin, Karl Reap.
In 1959, Atherton took the necessary steps to transform the magazine by filling the pages with art reproductions and both informative and current articles relating to law and medicine.
[12] Atherton went on to become International Editor of Hearst Magazines,[13] followed by International Travel Editor for their wide portfolio of magazines, writing elaborate articles about distant lands aimed at the cultured American reader, with exotic titles such as “Flaming swords of Armenia”.
[14] As a lifelong connoisseur of food, during the late 1960s and into the 1970s, Atherton wrote and illustrated a half page full color syndicated newspaper column called “The Gourmania Guide”.
During the 1950s, he lived with his family in a 175 year old farmhouse situated on Dark Hollow Road, Jamisson, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
It also mentions that he commuted to New York daily from his farm in Pennsylvania, and spent a great deal of time traveling.
[20][21] He was survived by his wife, Mary Stambaugh, and 2 daughters, Jane Elizabeth and Anne Victoria from his marriage to Margaret Wood.