In a time of modern magazine management practices and well-researched corporate decisions, the development of "Esquire" magazine in 1933 offers a refreshing example of Entrepreneurship. David A. Smart, publisher of "Esquire,""Coronet" (an arts magazine) and "Ken" (a news weekly), plunged ahead in the magazine business where other publishers would not have dared to venture. After his success with "Esquire," he started "Coronet," a magazine so richly illustrated that it became a collector's item. Smart believed the magazine was something the public ought to like, and if it did not make money it could be supported by "Esquire's" profits. Another art magazine, "VerveMDNM," that Smart bought on a whim, printed specially commissioned covers by some of the world's greatest artists. However, "Ken," the liberal newsweekly started before World War II, folded when the editors found that advertisers did not like their political articles. Teaming up with Arnold Gingrich as the editorial genius behind his magazines, Smart built a publishing empire that set the way for other magazines to follow. In some ways, as with his art magazines, he was ahead of his time. In addition, "Esquire" magazine led the way for dozens of imitators that filled the "girlie-magazine" gap when Smart's publication moved toward greater respectability. (One page of footnotes is appended.) (MM)