Famous Magazines' First Covers, From 'The Atlantic' to 'People' to 'Vogue'

By Judy Berman

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Editor's note: When The Atlantic's Tumblr recently featured an image of our magazine's very first cover, from November 1857, it inspired our friends at Flavorpill to gather up pictures of "what some of today's best-loved and most widely read publications looked like in their infancy."

We've rounded up debut covers of everything from The New Yorker to Vogue to Spin. We have to admit, some of them really surprised us: Who knew People started off so classy? Or that Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz's baby was TV Guide's first cover model? Journey with us through media and design history:

This post also appears on Flavorpill, an Atlantic partner site.

This article available online at:

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/11/famous-magazines-first-covers-from-the-atlantic-to-people-to-vogue/248329/