Info-Mat magazine? No, I'd never heard of it either, at least until my friend Josh Mills — who always seems to have a knack for unearthing interesting and oddball things — laid this 1968 issue on me about five years ago. And as far as I can tell, this may have been the only issue of it that ever existed. Not only can I not find any info on it on the internet, but I can't even find a masthead or any mailing info inside the mag; all of which leads me to suspect that this "complimentary issue" was a trial run for a magazine that never actually got off the ground.
So what was Info-Mat, then? It looks like someone wanted to do a Los Angeles-centric Ebony, though with the exception of an excellent interview with saxophonist Charles Lloyd (conducted by photographer Paul Slaughter, who also handled record reviews for the mag's "Info-Scene" section), much of Info-Mat's written content consists of banal ad-speak regarding alleged trends in fashion, cooking — a "gourmet foods" section revolves around recipes whose "secret ingredient" is invariably one Lawry's seasoning packet or another — and home decor.
Still, Info-Mat is a fascinating artifact, if only for the ads, which (aside from being just plain awesome in their own right) say much more about the upscale black community of Los Angeles circa 1968 than the editorial content does. Only three years after the Watts riots, there was clearly quite a hip fashion and nightclub scene happening in South LA, especially around Santa Barbara Plaza in the Crenshaw district — a shopping center which has now been sadly derelict for decades. (For a fascinating/depressing exercise, try typing some of these addresses into Google Maps, and check out the 21st century street view.)
How I wish I could pick up a new suit from Lesner's Men's Shop or Esquire Men's Clothing, and then take Miss Howerton (looking fine in mod fashions from Donna Michele's or Black Foxe, LTD) out for a steak and some jazz at Earl Bostic's Flying Fox, Vee Jay's Bill of Fare or Marty's On The Hill, then pick up some classy booze from Empire Liquors and repair to our shag-carpeted mid-century modern love pad. But until I get my time machine out of the repair shop, these images below will have to do.
Beef Burgundy Flambé, anyone?