The Early Timeline of Magazines

Since Genera Solutions provides back office administration support to leading national distributors, it is beneficial to know the development and evolution of the “magazine”. 

What exactly is a magazine? In short, magazines are regularly published storehouses of information. They are financed by advertising, a purchase price, and pre-paid subscriptions. The English word magazine remembrances military storage of war materiel, and was originally derived from the Arabic word makhazin meaning "storehouses." The term magazine was coined by Edward Cave, editor of The Gentleman's Magazine.

Below is a brief historical timeline of the world’s magazines:

1663: The world's first magazine – Erbauliche Monaths-Unterredungen (translation: Edifying Monthly Discussions) is published in Germany. 

1731: The first modern general interest magazine, The Gentleman's Magazine, is published in England as entertainment with essays, stories, poems and political commentary. This was an “everyone” targeted magazine.

1739: The Scots Magazine begins. Today it remains the oldest consumer magazine in print. 

1741: Benjamin Franklin intends to publish America's first magazine, General Magazine, but is scooped when American Magazine comes out three days earlier. 

1770: The first women's magazine, The Lady's Magazine, starts with literary and fashion content.

1843: The Economist begins exploring news, politics, business, science and art. 

1857: The Atlantic magazine 

1895: Collier's weekly magazine starts and is published until 1957. 

1895: The Bookman lists "Books in Demand" which originated the idea of a bestseller list. 

1896: The first pulp fiction magazines are printed on cheap wood pulp paper with ragged untrimmed edges. 

1897: The old Saturday Evening Post is recovered by Cyrus Curtis to become the most widely circulated weekly magazine. 

1899: National Geographic begins. It proves to be one of the most influential magazines to appear during the early years of magazine history. Largely through the high-quality photo essays it pioneered, this publication opened up new vistas of cultural awareness and understanding.

1912: Photoplayis the first magazine for movie fans. 

1922: Reader's Digest begins publishing. 

1925: New Yorker magazine arrives. 

1923: Time, the first U.S. news magazine, is started by Henry Luce. 

1933: Newsweek begins publication. 

1933: Esquire is the first men's magazine. 

1936: Life, a weekly photojournalism news magazine, is started by Henry Luce and continues to 1972. 

1937: Look, a bi-weekly, general-interest and photojournalism magazine, starts and continues to 1971. 

1944: Seventeen is the first magazine devoted to adolescents. 

1953: TV Guide starts. 

1953: Playboy opens with Marilyn Monroe on the cover. 

1954:Sports Illustrated is started by Time magazine owner Henry Luce. Two other magazines with that name had been started in the 1930s and 1940s, but both had failed. 

1967: Rolling Stone demonstrates the popularity of special-interest magazines. 

1967: New York magazine appears as a regional magazine. 

1972: Feminist Gloria Steinem brings out Ms. magazine. 

1974: People debuts with Mia Farrow on the cover. 

1990: Entertainment Weekly starts.