Zoo Magazine 21-27 May 2010 Issue 323 Melissa D Megan Fox Red Dead Redemption SKU 1519

Original UK Zoo Magazine, Issue 83, dated 23-29 September 2005, with an original cover price of £1.20.

A strongly period-specific mid-2000s issue of the British weekly men's magazine, combining celebrity glamour, sport, entertainment, gadgets, television, motorsport and humour.

The issue is headed by Natalie Denning on the front cover and also includes features connected with Jennifer Ellison, The Ashes, The X Factor, Formula racing and a substantial selection of regular Zoo entertainment material.

FRONT COVER

The main cover feature is Natalie Denning, photographed against a clean white background.

Major visible cover headlines include:

• Natalie Denning
• Ashes Special – 16 Page Souvenir
• Andrew Flintoff & Michael Vaughan
• The X Factor
• Simon Cowell
• Jennifer Ellison
• gadget features
• Formula/racing material
• weekly entertainment and humour stories

The front cover uses Zoo's distinctive oversized red masthead, bold green/yellow sports panel and red lower feature strip, making it immediately recognisable as an early/mid-2000s issue.

INSIDE ZOO

The photographed contents page gives a particularly useful look at the editorial mix.

News

Visible subjects include:

• high-speed car crash material
• unusual news stories
• Matt Lucas
• Boba Fett
• celebrity/news features
• a Gadget Special

Girls / Celebrity Features

The contents page lists:

• an X Factor-related feature
• Jennifer Ellison
• Natalie Denning
• First Timers

Natalie Denning is specifically listed as an “On The Cover” feature.

JENNIFER ELLISON

Jennifer Ellison appears prominently in the issue and is listed in the contents section.

Her photographed feature uses a theatrical/cabaret-style presentation, with dark lingerie-inspired styling against a deep red curtain backdrop. The visible double-page feature is headed “Calendar Girl”, referring to her latest calendar.

This makes Jennifer Ellison one of the more notable celebrity names associated with this issue alongside cover star Natalie Denning.

THE ASHES – 16 PAGE SPECIAL

A major selling point on the front cover is the 16-page Ashes souvenir feature, produced during the famous 2005 Ashes series.

The contents photograph shows the England cricket team celebrating, with the feature labelled “Ashes souvenir pull-out”.

The cover specifically references:

• Andrew Flintoff
• Michael Vaughan
• statistics
• quizzes
• celebration/gloating material

This makes the issue especially interesting as a piece of British sporting memorabilia from the highly memorable 2005 cricket season.

MOTORSPORT / A1 GRAND PRIX

The contents page features a large photograph of single-seater racing cars and lists an A1 Grand Prix feature.

This sits alongside Zoo's usual mixture of cars, gadgets and sport and gives the issue additional appeal to motorsport collectors.

GADGETS

A substantial Gadget Special is shown in the contents, illustrated with a portable multimedia/electronic device.

This reflects the mid-2000s period particularly well, when portable media players, phones and consumer electronics were regular features in men's lifestyle magazines.

ADDITIONAL FEATURE – LIZ ZARA

The supplied photographs also show a large “Zoo First Timers” spread featuring Liz Zara.

The feature is presented across a double-page layout and identifies her as a Triumph lingerie model, accompanied by several studio photographs.

This is another substantial glamour/editorial feature contained within the magazine.

OTHER CONTENT

The photographed contents also show material relating to:

• sport
• television
• movies and DVDs
• music and games
• Jimmy Carr
• Jack Dee
• Formula racing
• gadgets and technology
• weekly humour and unusual news stories

Overall, this is a good example of Zoo during its peak mid-2000s period, with a particularly strong mix of celebrity features, cricket, motorsport and contemporary entertainment.

CONDITION

This is an original 2005 magazine and does show age and handling wear.

From the photographs:

• front cover remains bright, glossy and strongly coloured
• some spine wear and rubbing is visible
• noticeable small areas of paper wear/chipping around the upper-left spine area
• lower-left corner/front edge shows a visible crease/tear and surface wear
• some light rubbing and handling marks across the cover
• corners show mild softening and wear
• outer edges have light age-related rubbing
• magazine sits with some natural curvature rather than completely flat
• internal pages appear generally bright and clean
• photographed internal spreads remain securely attached and readable
• rear cover shows ordinary handling and edge wear
• no obvious major staining or heavy water damage is visible in the supplied photographs

Overall, I would describe it as used vintage condition with noticeable cover/spine wear but generally good internal presentation.

Please examine all supplied photographs carefully, as they form an important part of the condition description.

ORIGINAL ITEMS / FREEBIES

Any gifts, pull-outs, supplements, promotional items, cards, posters, calendars, vouchers, samples or other loose extras that may originally have been supplied with the magazine are no longer included unless they are clearly shown in the photographs.

The sale is for the magazine and the contents physically present with it only.

PACKAGING

The magazine will be packed carefully to help protect the cover, spine, corners and pages during transit.

UK orders: sent in a hardback envelope to provide firm protection against bending and general postal handling.

International orders: sent in a cardboard mail-size box to provide additional protection during the longer journey.

SKU 1519