Early magazine covers didn't have the eye catching pictures that are vital in today's magazines. These primitive covers only provided the title and publication date. Some magazines didn't even have covers, but the front page had the beginning of the article, and cover lines didn't started appearing until the late 1800's.
Poster covers were popular from the 1890's until the 1940's, however, the posters didn't relate very much to the content of any of the articles, they generally depicted a season or a certain mood. From the 1920's to the 1960's, poster covers were the norm and featured no cover lines. However, a few cover lines were eventually added. Today poster covers remain an option, but not a popular one.
While poster covers were making magazine history, some magazines relied on cover lines to draw in consumers. The magazine published by McClure's in July of 116 shows a "integrated" cover that features both a large picture and many cover lines. This magazine included two kind of cover lines, primary cover lines and secondary cover lines. The secondary set of cover lines contrast with the primary set in both type and color, drawing in more readers. Most of these integrated covers, made sure that the cover lines didn't intrude on the picture.
Today, cover lines are just as important as the poster is to most of the magazines. On some issues, the cover lines draw just as much, or more, attention to themselves as the poster does, creating a sense of curiosity that helps draw in readers. Cover lines now are in the foreground, in front of the picture, while the picture is partially covered by the type. Very few poster covers can be found on newsstands today because they don't draw as much attention to themselves as they used to.
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