The magazine cover is one of our most popular and best-selling categories, and for good reason! As a leading illustration art gallery, we’re proud to own the largest collection of original covers for The Saturday Evening Post in the world. We also have hundreds of covers from other iconic magazines, ranging from leading general-interest publications like Collier’s and Harper’s Weekly, to titles for specific audiences, like the women-focused Good Housekeeping, the professional readership of Medical Times, and kid-friendly favorites like Boys’ Life.
In the late 19th century, a combination of innovations came together, forever changing the world of publishing and leading to a proliferation of new magazines that hit newsstands throughout the mid-20th century. A decrease in the cost of paper and the invention of high-speed rotary presses helped publications keep up with a rapidly growing readership, but the biggest change was the new halftone printing process. This photomechanical reproduction method allowed publishers to reproduce full-color imagery that translated an artist’s original painting into a printed image with remarkable fidelity, a vast improvement over the previous method of wood engraving. With the ability to showcase captivating artwork on the cover, publications attracted a larger audience, as well as the most talented artists of the day. The most important aspect of these magazines was the cover, which had to be eye-catching enough to grab the attention of readers at a crowded newsstand.
We hope you enjoy the selection below! If you’re interested in magazine covers but don’t see the perfect one featured here, be sure to browse our full collection of original magazine cover art here.
