It’s hard to follow the old cliche, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”
It’s especially hard when you’re referring to magazines. The cover of a magazine can elicit a reaction from a reader instantly, and it usually determines whether that reader is going to hungrily rifle through the issue, or throw it into a growing stack of magazines that will never be read.
We’re lucky enough here at JCK to have more than 140 years’ worth of covers at our fingertips. Recently, I compiled the best covers throughout our magazine’s long history. What we found was beautiful, silly, provocative, controversial, inspiring, and, in some cases, bewildering.
Without further ado, here is a collection of 50 JCK magazine covers from the 1800s to the present day, with commentary from JCK‘s editorial and sales teams. Please enjoy and let us know your favorites!
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