Take a look at the first issues of 20 popular magazines
The print magazine industry continues to dwindle. Gone are the days of newsstands on every city street corner, with every wall stuffed with glossies, papers, journals, digests and comics. Some iconic titles continue onward into their second century, others have gone the way of Look.
We dug up some debut issues of memorable magazines. Some date back to the 1800s, others kicked off when we were kids. It might surprise you to learn which celebrities graced the cover of these notable No. 1s.
Teen Beat
The Monkees made for the perfect models on this teenager must-have in August 1967. More surprising, perhaps, is the inclusion of cult San Francisco act Moby Grape on the cover.
Sports Illustrated
Milwaukee Braves third baseman Eddie Mathews tees off on the New York Giants on this issue from August 1954.
Esquire
Ernest Hemingway, John Dos Passos and Dashiell Hammett are some rather impressive gets for this 1933 first issue.
People
Mia Farrow nibbles her pearls in March 1974.
Rolling Stone
John Lennon was surrounded by text on this November 1967 issue.
Mad
Harvey Kurtzman illustrated this debut in late 1952.
LIFE
This titan gradually evolved into a bastion of photojournalism. This ink-covered first issue dates back to 1883.
Time
In March of 1923, House Speaker Joseph G. Cannon made the front of this news weekly.
Boys' Life
The Boy Scouts publication first hit homes in 1911.
Dynamite
Hawkeye and Radar go bananas on the debut of this classic children's celebrity magazine from Scholastic Publishing.
Ranger Rick
This fondly remembered kids magazine kicked off at the start of 1967.
Highlights
Nothing made waiting for the dentist bearable like Highlights. The bundle of puzzles and fun started way back in June 1946.
Popular Mechanics
Technology has changed quite a bit since 1902.
Cosmopolitan
Perhaps no publication has changes as much as this women's mag. In 1894, it was a literary magazine.
Playboy
Who else but Marilyn Monroe could have made the cover in December 1953?
Look
This bygone household staple began ignominiously in 1937 with Nazi Hermann Göring cuddling a wild feline.
Computerworld
Yes, there were computers in 1967.
Ebony
John H. Johnson launched his important publication in 1945.
Reader's Digest
This hit homes (and likely bathrooms) in 1922. We wonder if "Life in these United States" humor still holds up.
Tiger Beat
We finish as we began, with a teen magazine. The Righteous Brothers and Peter Noone were pictured on this yellow front page, squeezed between a who's who of pop acts popular in September 1965.
Note: An earlier version of this piece featured the 10th issue of Dynamite instead of the 1st issue. We regret the error.