Brief History of Look Magazine

Look was a bi-weekly, general-interest magazine published in Des Moines, Iowa, from 1937 to 1971, with more of an emphasis on photographs than articles. A large-size magazine of 11 in × 14 in, it was generally considered a competitor to Life magazine, which began publication months earlier and ended in 1972. It is known for helping launch the career of film director Stanley Kubrick, who was a staff photographer. And beginning in 1963, Norman Rockwell, after closing his career with the Saturday Evening Post, began making illustrations for Look (Source).

1938 vintage Chatelaine magazine cover — Source: Pinterest

There is a women’s lifestyle magazine in Canada that I really enjoy reading called ‘Chatelaine‘, which has been in publication since 1928, yes you heard that right…1928. That is a fantastic achievement and I applaud their savy business sense to remain so popular over all these years.

Today’s post I wanted to show off some of the fantastic vintage covers that they have had since the late 1920s up to early 1950s and give you a brief overview of the history of the magazine.

Chatelaine-The Canadian Magazine for Women since 1928

The Brief History of Chatelaine:

Chatelaine was first published in March 1928. It was created by the Maclean Hunter Publishing Company as a means to reach a different demographic than its other publications, Maclean’s and the Financial Post.

Chatelaine vintage magazine cover march 1928 — Source: Pinterest

It’s title refers to the ring of keys which housewives long ago would use to get into every part of the house. The winning name was chosen from 75,000 entries and the winner ( A rancher’s wife from Eburne, British Columbia) won, $1000 cdn.

Chatelaine’s original price was ten cents per copy, and this price did not change until 1950, when it increased to fifteen cents (source).

The magazine never shied away from controversy and important subjects for women. Topics like:

An article in December 1929 entitled “Now That Women Are Persons, What’s Ahead?”, that was based on the Persons Case—a famous Canadian constitutional case that decided that women were eligible to sit in the Canadian Senate.

In its first years, the magazine served as a sounding board for women at the end of the first wave of feminism. In 1928 and 1929, article topics included panic over the rising divorce rate, “Wages and Wives” (April 1929), and the high maternal mortality rate in rural Canada (July 1928).

However during the 1930s, the magazine became less political. Popular parts of the magazine included monthly budget meal plans and romantic fiction.

WW2, the mag participated in the media and propaganda frenzy by publishing cover images of young women in uniform, working on farms, and contributing to the war effort.

In the 60s early 1970s there were articles about the pill, sex and women’s rights (source).

In the past, the magazine has named a Woman of the Year, honouring a Canadian woman for her achievements in the previous year. Honorees have included Prime Minister Kim Campbell.

The Vintage Chatelaine Magazine Covers (some of my favorites):

August 1929-1920s Fashion on display.

1920s Vintage Magazine Cover: Chatelaine magazine 1929 — Source: Middlebrow Canada

August 1932. Can I have all the outfits in this image?

1930s Vintage Magazine Cover: Vintage Chatelaine August 1932 - In this issue: Special Holiday Fiction — Source: Pinterest

August 1938-“What did your husband give up for marriage?” This is the less political time in the magazines career.

1938 vintage chatelaine magazine cover featuring an illustration of a woman holding an umbrella — Source: Pinterest

February 1940-Nice Hat!

1940 vintage magazine cover chatelaine featuring an illustration of a woman in a 1940s hat with feathers. — Source: Pinterest

June 1941-Travel Canada.

1941 Chatelaine vintage magazine cover featuring a woman in 1940s fashion holding a travel brochure for Canada. Visit Canada! — Source: Pinterest

February 1941. Make Do and Mend?

February 1941 Vintage Chateline Magazine Cover featuring an illustration of a woman with a 1940s hairstyle with a ball of yard. Make do and mend. — Source: Pinterest

September 1942- “Women in War Industry”.

Interested in further reading on this topic? Then make sure you check out my archived posts on “World War 2 Women’s Contributions & Homefront Posts“.