Life - An American institution!
Life magazine began its existence as a photojournalism magazine in 1938. From 1883-1938, it was a weekly humor publication about American people. It featured pinup girls, cartoons, theater reviews and humorous pieces. This magazine was the forerunner of the New Yorker. It fell victim to the Great Depression and ceased operation in the early 1930’s.
In 1938, Life reinvented itself with emphasis on photo work. This was the start of its humongous success. For about 30 years, it reigned supreme on the newsstands, covering important events, people, Congress, wars, African strife and many a bibliography. It was all the rage in those years, to get your face on the cover of Life if you were famous.
Life’s original mission was “To see Life; see the world.” The periodical covered international news as well as family things. It covered trends in clothing, famous movie stars, walking on the moon, and many other news items that were important to Americans at the time.
With dwindling sales, it was reduced to a semi-annual magazine in 1973-1978. In 1978 it again returned to a monthly magazine until 2000. It ceased production at that time. In 2004, Life resumed weekly publication, this time as a supplement to U.S. newspapers. At its launch, it was supplemented in 70 newspapers around the country.
Today, archive issues of Life can be perused on the Internet, through links from other sites, as well as it’s own site. There are copyright laws, so if there is a particle article or picture you would like to have, you must contact the Life magazine to get permission to use it. The site has some interesting articles from very old issues, and you can browse through these in the privacy of your own home. You can search for specific pictures or events through the past years of its publications. Once you find what you are looking for, and get permission, you can begin to download the page or events to your computer.
Life magazine is definitely part of the fabric of the American people. They also now have tabletop books that showcase their pictures throughout the whole existence of the magazine. They are separated into groups and are fascinating to look at the changing look of the American people. The old magazines are also great finds at antique stores and worth some money. So when you are cleaning out your attic, make sure you look to see if any of these old magazines are in a box somewhere