Life was founded on January 4, 1883 in New York City. John Ames Mitchell was the founding publisher. The motto in the first issue of Life was While There Is Life, There is Hope…On March 26th 2007 the magazine was folded.
On November 23, 1936 a new era in photo magazines occurred. It was then that Life made its debut and brought a new light as well as a new importance to pictures rather than words. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and in this case it was absolutely true. Famous for its photography and for who was being photographed, this magazine went on to experience a long lasting existence that still draws people in today. Over time it went through some changes such as going from a weekly magazine to a monthly edition, to now being strictly an event publication as well as a semi-annual publication. Life has brought us some of the most famous and most valuable pictures of the 1900’s.

Life magazine covered many years of current events that included celebrities, international and domestic politics, sports, space, fashion, art and so many more worthy events as they were happening. However, what really makes them valuable?

I believe it is the collection of current events over the years, such as the first moon landing, President Kennedy’s death, Marilyn Monroe, Vietnam, and countless other events and pieces of valuable history. Some of the articles include first publications of famous writers before they were published in books. September 1, 1952 Ernest Hemingway’s first publication of Old Man In The Sea is highly collectible. Others have value in them because their pictures or family and other loved ones were published from some current news event.

Some collectors look for the issue that have the old baseball cards inside of them. The April 13th, 1962 issue with Elizabeth Taylor on the cover, was known to have the highly collectible baseball cards inside. They were of Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle which if found with the magazine sill in tact will garner someone a nice figure of $200.00.

Supply and demand, condition, baseball cards, significant events, all vary in what makes a Life Magazine valuable today to the right person or collector. So when we ask, are they worth anything, it all depends on what’s inside or on the cover and who wants it, along with what condition it is in and of course how many are still available to be found.

With some of the most beautiful photography in the world, there is one picture that stands out above the rest in the minds of Americans. It is the highly reproduced photograph of famed Life photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt on V-J Day in Times Square in New York City. This photographer wanted nothing more than a picture that showed the chaos that was happening in Times Square as World War II came to an end, and instead he captured the photograph that became a visual icon over the years. It was that of a sailor just coming home from the war and kissing a nurse in the middle of all that chaos.

Throughout the years from 1936 to the year 2000 many Life magazine Issues became popular. It is really the value that the collectors give as to whether or not it will be worth a little or a lot of money. Most issues can be found at flea markets and estate sales for between $12 and $15, but is the most memorable or the most widely publicized that often become the most valuable.

Alana Morgaine
Alanas Books And Magazines

Our 1940s Life Magazines

Our 1950s Life Magazines

Our Back Issue Magazines For Sale

Advertising has a long history. Long before there were pop up ads on the internet, commercials on the television and radio, merchants used print media to get their message across to the consumer masses. Just about any company that has or had goods of services to sell has advertised in a magazine at one time or another. Our past, is filled with a treasure trove of history and nostalgia from ads of yesterday from magazines and newspapers. Ads in magazines not only provided merchant communication with potential buyers, they were about American culture, times and changes.
Why Do People Collect Old Magazines?
Some of the most famous artist careers began through contracts with major magazine publishers over the years. Norman Rockwell was famous for many of Saturday Evening Post covers still highly collected today.
Labels are quite famous collectible ads, several of these ads are so vivid and detailed in color and design for their times, they are well worth collecting. In fact the early 1920’s had a great many old label ads without the advertising text. Several of these ads have been great for framing.
Auto Ads are a fun collection, with many of these old adds bringing about the vintage classics and reminding us of those good ol’ days along with some amazing differences in price ranges compared to today.
People collect old magazine ads that may be from a local company in their hometown, pieces of yesteryear to savor and show off to family and friends.
Antique dealears and collectors, look through old ads for specific products that will help them trace back original makers, prices, and even possibly determine actual dates and time eras of a product.
Historical References of life events and times can be discovered in old ads. These vintage ads talk to us, and share where we have been, and what is popular in our culture, what wars were going, what roles women played during specific time eras. Fashion, industry, appliances, etc. there is a whole woven fabric of American life and culture in America’s marketed ads of the past.
Collectors often gather old ads with famous movie stars, or important business people in them.
There are just as many reasons why we collect old advertisements of yesterday, as there is what to do with them when we purchase these precious memories.
The Coca Cola Ads
Coca Cola ads are famous for showing the happier times, gathering of friends, and sharing coca cola together. These ads are an art form of their very own. In fact, Coca Cola advertising had a very significant impact on today’s American culture. Before the Santa Clause ads became so famous, Coca Cola depended on producing ads of well dress young women to sell their product. There is a great deal of history involved with this company and I have provided links below for more historical information about Coca Cola’s advertising over the years.

Alana Morgaine
Alana’s Books And Magazines
Our Vintage Ads

The Seven Sisters Woman’s Magazine History (Better Homes, Ladies Home Journal, Woman’s Day, Redbook, McCall’s, Family Circle, and Good Housekeeping) Start dates, length of time, famous for and where they are today.

For the first half of the 20th Century, the magazines known as The Seven Sisters contributed much to the growth and shaping of American culture. Better Homes and Gardens, Ladies Home Journal, Woman’s Day, McCall’s, Redbook, Family Circle, and Good Housekeeping were the publications women turned to for answers. These magazines contained helpful information and answers to questions regarding gardening, cooking, keeping house, and raising a family. Those were THE issues in those days as the majority of women worked in the home. These magazines and their articles guided American living.

These magazines were known as women’s service magazines. Today, the magazines are experiencing the need to reinvent the ways in which they gear their articles toward women because, as we all know, times have changed. In 1979, the total circulation for all seven magazines was 45 million. In 2007, the readership was down to 37 million.

McCall’s was the oldest of the Seven Sisters, having been introduced in 1873 by a Scottish tailor, James McCall, as a small format pattern magazine called, The Queen. The original name was The Queen: Illustrating McCall’s Bazaar Glove Fitting Patterns. After James McCall’s death in 1884, his widow took over management of the publication. The name was changed to The Queen of Fashion. In 1897, the name McCall’s Magazine was chosen, and it became known simply as McCall’s. McCall’s circulation numbers peaked in 1960 at six million readers. In 2000, Rosie O’Donnell partnered with the publishers to revamp the magazine and the name was changed to Rosie’s McCall’s but gradually became known as Rosie’s. In 2002, over editorial and contract disputes, Rosie’s ceased publication. A law suit ensued and, in 2005, the publishers, Gruner and Jahr, sold the magazine to the Meredith Corporation, where it was taken in under the auspices of another magazine portfolio. An off-shoot, McCall’s Patterns, remains in popular demand today in the sewing world.

The Meredith Corporation also publishes Ladies Home Journal and Better Homes and Gardens. The Ladies Home Journal (LHJ) first emerged in 1883 as a supplement to the Tribune and Farmer specifically targeted toward women. This popular women’s column, written by the wife of the Tribune and Farmer publisher, soon became a publication in its own right. Originally, it was known as The Ladies Home Journal and Practical Housekeeper, but the last three words were soon dropped. In 1986, the Meredith Corporation bought LHJ and it is still going strong today. It covers a vanguard of women’s and family issues.

Good Housekeeping magazine was founded May 2, 1885 in Holyoke, Massachusetts and is owned by the Hearst Corporation. Good Housekeeping has always directed its articles to areas of interest to women, which include recipes, diet, health, and housekeeping tips and tricks. It is, perhaps, most famous for the “Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval” that was given to products tested by the Good Housekeeping Research Institute and considered to be of high value and significance. These products are also backed by a two-year limited warranty. About 5,000 products have received the Seal of Approval. Good Housekeeping was also known for its social activism as it banned cigarette ads 12 years before the Surgeon General put a warning on the packaging label. It also advocated the use of “pure foods” and sought a requirement that the citizenry must vote on whether to enter a war (unless it was by invasion).

Redbook was first published in May 1903 as The Red Book Illustrated. It was popular for publishing short fiction articles, many penned by well-known female authors and the magazine also included many photos of famous women celebrities. It was purchased by the Hearst Corporation in 1982. Its focus today is on married women and encouraging them to strive for excellence in many fields.

Better Homes and Gardens (BH&G) stood out from the rest of the sisters as it was more of a home decorating magazine than a women’s service-oriented magazine. BH&G was founded in 1922 by Edwin Meredith. It focuses on gardening, cooking, entertaining, healthy living, and craft projects. It still enjoys a wide circulation today and is the most consistently read magazine of the Seven Sisters’ grouping.

Woman’s Day was first published in 1931 as a free supermarket paper designed to be used as an in-store meal and recipe planner. It was begun as a subsidiary of A&P grocery stores being promoted by The Stores Publishing Company. Woman’s Day, purchased by Hallette Filipacchi Media U.S., Inc., in 1988 has a current readership of approximately 4.2 million. The magazine has seen recent instability when it was put up for sale and then removed from offer when no bidder met the asking price. Woman’s Day, having seen such a huge change in the role women have played from the beginning of the 20th Century and into the 21st Century has had to work harder to keep up with current women’s issues.

Family Circle was first published by the New York Times in 1932. The Times owned the magazine until it was sold to Gruner and Jahr, part of the German media conglomeration, Bertelsmann AG. Family Circle is currently owned by the Meredith Corporation. Family Circle has a 2008 subscriber ship of over four million and markets itself as a family service magazine, oriented toward helping mothers raise a healthy and happy family. It reaches an estimated 20 million readers. It is known as, arguably, the best-selling women’s magazine in America. It is, and always has been, women and family-oriented.

They were called The Seven Sisters because they were so closely associated in catering to needs of women in their era. Today, six of The Seven Sisters have online versions of their magazine. The printed copy from the 1900s through the 1960s had beautifully illustrated covers and enveloped a wide range of topics. Reading through these magazines can bring an understanding of what life was like in those days and answers to some questions that may still be pertinent today.

Alana Morgaine
Our Women’s Magazines