History of magazines

Fashion magazines started off by people creating their own by cutting out images of clothes they found in newspapers and sticking them in a sketchbook but the first known general magazine was created in 1586 by Josse Amman called Gynasceum, sive Theatrum Mulierum which was actually a fashion magazine.

Timeline Of The Magazine Industry

1693 - The Ladies Mercury which was a ladies lifestyle magazine starting off as monthly but later being released fortnightly.


1711 - The Ladies Diary published by John Tipper

1725 - The Ladies Diary starts including adverts in the magazine, including adverts for false teeth and general beauty products

1731 - The Gentleman's Magazine published by Edward Cave in England, regarded as the first modern magazine

1741 - American Magazine, the first magazine in the US

1742 - General Magazine first US magazine to print adverts

1848 - First W H Smith which was a bookstall at a railway but started off as H W Smith because William's father was called Henry

1850 - Number of magazines published in America reaches 685

1861 - First colour photography in magazines

1875 - UK trade mark registration act

1886 - Cosmopolitan launched in US as first fiction magazine

1888 - National Geographical launched in the US

1892 - Vogue launched in the US by Arthur Turnure and Harry McVickar

1900 - British magazines widely distributed around the empire and the US

1914 - Vanity Fair launched

1918 - Reader's Digest launched

1922 - Good Housekeeping launched

1922 - Vogue buys Vanity Fair

1923 - Radio Times launched

1937 - Marie Claire launched in France

1944 - Seventeen is launched as the first magazine for young people

1945 - Elle launched

1948 - News Of The World sells 8 million copies

1953 - Playboy launched

1967 - Rolling Stones magazine launched

1969 - Rupert Murdoch buys The News Of The World

1972 - Cosmopolitan UK is the first international edition that goes on to be the biggest selling magazine in the UK