Vogue: The Covers

I'm a budding fan of classic illustration and got this book primarily to see the development of this art through the year in magazine art. This book contains such gorgeous work by George Wolfe Plank, Eduardo Garcia Benito, Georges LePape, Carl Erickson, etc that I was almost tempted to get a second copy to post selected pictures near my desk at home. Thankfully, this book comes with a small selection of cardboard inserts to serve this purpose. If you're a fan of the Vogue classic American covers, illustration, fashion and art, this is a must own.

I bought this expensive book because when my late mother was in her early teens (1913-1915), she posed for Francis X. Leyendecker, a neighbor of hers in New Rochelle, New York. She appeared (in paintings, not photos) on five Vogue Magazine covers, the originals of which I have. She also appeared on four Vanity Fair Magazine covers, and one Puck Magazine cover, as well as some advertisements. Unfortunately only one of her Vogue covers appears in this book. Nevertheless, the book is a very impressive compendium of Vogue covers over the years. They display not only many beautuiful women and fine fashions, but first-rate photography as well. The book is a beautiful creation.j

The perfect coffee table book for fashion lovers of all decades & lovers of vogue. I love it! Recommend it.

This is a stunning book. Almost all photos, so it's one luscious page after another.

The first chapter is of covers from the "1890's - 1900's". After that, each chapter covers one decade, starting with the 1910s and ending with the 2000s.

The Forward and the Introduction to the whole book are OK, but it's the short & sweet introduction to each chapter that is fun to read. It lists important milestones of the decade, not just in fashion, but in every area of life. So, for example, the introduction to the first chapter, the 1890's - 1900's, includes:
"... flocking to Oscar Wilde's "Importance of Being Ernest" ... and snapping photos with George Eastman's lightweight, user-friendly Kodak box camera ... "Vogue" makes its debut..."

This book shows off only a sampling of the covers, not all of them, which makes you wonder what wonderful covers may have been left out. Illustrations were used until the 1930's, when they started using photographs for covers, though not every cover. In the 40's, the covers are all photographs, but generally stylized artsy photographs. In the 60's, Vogue started the celebrity covers, which meant that fashion and graphic design and art very often took a back seat or were totally missing. By the 70's, the usual cover was just a closeup of a person, often a celebrity. These are fun to page through for the history of celebrity (and hairstyles and make-up trends), but not beautiful the way the old covers were. The exception, I must say, is a closeup of Elizabeth Taylor on the April 15, 1971, cover. Wow.

The more recent covers have the handicap, when looking at them for beauty, of having lots of text all over, frequently large text. I realize that the text has a purpose, it's needed to grab the potential buyer. But it certainly detracts from the cover image, especially when you compare recent covers to those of yore.

Each person paging through this book will find different favorite covers, for different reasons. It's certainly hard to pick only a couple. But I gave it a try, and scanned two covers and added the photos above.

I was lucky enough to receive this book as a gift. I would recommend it for anyone's Wish List!

Edited to Add, 09/2016: Now you can get a set of postcards with Vogue covers through the ages. Lots of fun!
[[ASIN:184614468X Postcards from Vogue: 100 Iconic Covers]]

Happy Reader

This is easily one of the most beautiful fashion books that I've seen. The photos are gorgeous and of the highest quality. The book offers loads of fantastic covers showing the evolving world of fashion illustration and photography starting with Vogue's very first issue to the most recent ones. All the covers have captions showing their dates and the name of the photographers who shot them. This is a highly recommended book for anyone who appreciates fine books and beautiful photography. It also compliments the previous books chronicling the covers of both British and French Vogue. Also, the ready-to-frame covers at the end of the book add a really nice touch.

Amazing my I order used like-new so no damages + a vogue magazine thank u.

Beautiful book! Perfect size for the coffee table - I keep mine stacked on a tray that's almost a 2' round. Content is also great and fun to read what the hot topics were of decades past.

BONUS: comes with 5 prints in the back that you can frame!!

This was purchased as a gift for a gfriend who is into fashion in a BIG way. She loved it & keeps it on her coffee table for quick reviews of the favorite designer fashions of different eras! This book entails a Colorful, informative, & design history!!

If you love fine photography like I do, these are very lovely and of a good quality. The book is a bargain at Amazon's price brand new. I bought it for a friend as a gift, as our mothers were models and used to read Vogue. He told me it was a thrill to go through the decades with these covers, many of which he remembered. Alot of great nostalgia. The texts of each were interesting as well. Thanks!

Magazines are bought based on what is on the cover and Vogue is the master at luring a reading to it's glamorous publication. I love looking at the fashions and models from back in the day as well as the beautiful illustrations. It's a great coffee table book because you can just flip through a few pages any time you want a glimpse of true artistry.