Even though the original Quarter Rat publication technically ended years ago, artist and original staff member Eric T. Styles (who is now lending his talents to TheQuarterRat.com) managed to save at least a dozen separate issues published during its run from 2009 to 2013, and a special issue he produced in 2015.
Like many great rags, the Quarter Rat started as a single page news letter, folded in half twice, with stories from the local hospitality industry. In short time, it grew into a full-color zine wonderfully illustrated with Styles’ zany caricatures of the folks you’ll find in the French Quarter.
I’m in the process of scanning/photographing the images. My scanner broke, so I’m having to rely on my DSLR camera for high-resolution images until I get a new one. The process is a bit tedious and includes a bit of editing with photo software. As you can tell, the images aren’t the best and are blurry in some spots. But I promise you they’ll be replaced once I get better images.
In the meantime, enjoy the back issues. They will be published at least once each week as I make the time to scan/photograph each one. They could be published individually or in groups, depending on the progress.
Now that the archive mission has started, I’m looking for any QR issue I don’t have. If you still have any copies in your possession, please email dave@thequarrat.com and let me know what you have.
I present you the first Quarter Rat issue, published on March 9, 2009:
A brief history of Quarter Rat magazine