History of Magazines

 

 

Before we dive into creating a magazine of our own, lets learn a bit more about how this form of media came to be. In 1731, an Englishman named Edward Cave published a periodical called The Gentleman's Magazine. He invented the word "magazine" from the Arabic word makhazin, which meant storehouse. Magazines began to take flight and flourish during the late 18th century, where over 100 magazines had appeared in the nascent United States.The first illustrated magazine was created years later by British newsagent Herbert Ingram created the first illustrated magazine, in 1842. 

    As the years progressed, literacy improved, and more and more Americans could read. So, with time comes change, and magazine style took a shift for the better. While early magazines focused on improvement and reason, later versions centered around amusing readers.  In addition, in the 1830s, publishers began taking advantage of a general decline in the cost of printing and mailing publications and started producing cheaper magazines to appeal to a wider audience.Taking advantage of this newly expanded audience, publishers began offering a wide array of magazines such as family magazines, children's, and women's magazines. 

    In particular, lets learn a bit more about women's magazines, which circles more around what our topic is about. The nation's first "women's magazine" was actually founded in Philadelphia in 1792. Women's magazines have played a significant role in American politics. Women's magazines published stories about women's suffrage, the sexual revolution, women's pay, women's legal right, and many more. That blend of the personal and the political, has always been what women's magazines have always been successful at conveying.

Sources:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/08/14/womens-magazines-go-political-but-really-theyve-been-political-since-1792/

https://open.lib.umn.edu/mediaandculture/chapter/5-2-history-of-magazine-publishing/

https://www.encyclopedia.com/media/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/magazine-industry-history

https://www.britannica.com/topic/publishing/Magazine-publishing