Magazines Part II

1. Early Magazine Covers
2. The Poster Cover
3. Pictures Married to Type
4. In the Forest of Words


   The earliest magazines didn't always have covers, and the ones that had them usually didn't describe the contents of the magazine. Instead, they used generic illustrations and rarely included cover lines, which appeared more often in the late 1800s as tables of contents. From the late 1890s to the 1960s, images that dominated the entirety of the cover became more popular- known as poster covers. No cover lines were included, and the images didn't necessarily relate to any of the stories. While some magazines found success using poster covers, others relied on cover lines to attract readers. Some began to blend elements of type into the images, where placement was essential to effectiveness. Slowly, cover lines became larger and multiplied. Modern magazines now rely heavily on cover lines as much as their images, and subjects compete with text known as a "forest of words".