In 1933, at the height of the Depression, David A. Smart appeared on the American magazine scene with Esquire. When the magazine proved a success, some observers felt he had simply made a lucky guess. As he followed that publishing venture with other profitable magazines, however, it became apparent that Smart had a shrewd sense of the market and a talent for gathering talented people around him to put his ideas into effect.

Unorthodox, brash, and a strong believer in fate, Smart took risks in the magazine business, sometimes on an impulse or a hunch, that other publishers would have avoided. For a time it seemed everything he touched during the depth of the Depression turned to gold. His digest-sized art magazine, Coronet, started in 1936, was richly illustrated and began to be collected by appreciative readers. His goal was to produce the world's most beautiful magazine, and some critics...