ABOUT THE OWNER
Fran DiBacco, the proprietor of VMS, is also the founder, Chairman and CEO of a highly successful national financial consulting firm, with notable clients such as Starbucks, Target, Moody’s, the NFL, and AutoZone. He began collecting vintage magazines mainly as a hobby in the late 1970’s. His motivation for collecting magazines is rooted in his love for American history, especially that of the 20th Century, which he strongly believes “exemplified America’s greatness.”
The weekly news magazine has been dubbed the “Quintessential Time Capsule”, so Fran decided to begin collecting Life Magazines. When one of the Life magazines he acquired happened to be published the same day he was born, September 20, 1937, it immediately struck him that an original and complete magazine would be a great unique and personal birthday or anniversary gift. (Did you happen to notice this date on our logo?)
His business sense kicked in and he founded Memorabilia and Nostalgia Unlimited, the predecessor of Vintage Magazine Shoppe. Shortly thereafter he marketed the magazines through several mail order catalogs, namely Barnes & Noble, Bloomingdales, US Air and Hammacher-Schlemmer.
Over the years his magazines have been featured on Good Morning America, in periodicals, and many newspapers in the Philadelphia area. Celebrities such as Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Lionel Richie, and even President Ronald Reagan have expressed their joy and satisfaction after receiving their special magazine.