Satyress (United Kingdom Edition), December 1788

Copyright 2009 Stuart J. Koblentz

Satyress was the first really popular magazine to delve into the pysche of a woman's sexuality in the Georgeian Era.  Founded in 1599 in France, the monthly was an immediate success in its native country.  The magazine originally launch in England in 1618, however its publisher, Pilgrim Press, really underestimated the collective power of British scorn and were forced from the nation.  Vowing to return, they did so in 1765 and finding the political climate much better, they started the whole shebang back up again, this time to much pomp and circumstance.   A sad note: noted French Chemist and cover boy Antoine Lavoisier (above with his wife) would soon be one of the victims of the French Revolution because lovemaking that was "Magnifique" was prohibited under Revolutionary Laws as being a tacic of the First Estate to lull the people into comforts also prohibited under French Revolutionary Courts.

Modern Doyenne, January, 1912

The editorial Board of Modern Doyenne was sure that the birth of the Progressive era would spell the death of its publication, much as the financial panic of 1893 spelled the end for its sister publications, The Female Maturity Gazette and Crone's Life.  Nothing could have been further from the truth. 

What almost killed the magazine wasn't its aging subscriber base, but this cover on its January 1912 issue featuring Gertrude Stein. 

Feeling that the image made Stein look fat, the magazine sinched her up a bit to make her look more youthful, trim and less dowdy.  The outcry from the masses was loud and quite clear.  They wanted Stein to look like a Gerturde Stein should look, and to Hell with the makeovers just to sell periodicals.

Ennui, January 1890

Copyright 2009 Stuart J. Koblentz

Ennui, the magazine for those who "have it all, seen it all and know it all", was journal popular with those who had every imaginable creature comfort one could ever want and found them selves bored silly with life and those around them.  Said George Bernard Shaw "It is the perfect journal for those who can find no joy in the tickle that champagne bubbles can give ones nose."

Burgher, 1759

Copyright 2009 Stuart J. Koblentz

The rising middleclass of the German speaking people was centered on consumerism in the 18th and 19th Century.  BURGHER, (which eschewed the more mundane spelling of BURGER in favor of the one one that provided a certain something extra) was targeted at the family man who wasn't a cad, but wasn't dead and buried yet, if you know what we mean.  Each issue devoted itself to People, Professions, Shopping and with increasing frequency into the 19th Century, the desire to obtain the ulitmate cherry that life had to offer - the French Provinces of Alsace and Lorraine which were just chalk full of goodies and beer. 

Alas, the German middle class became increasingly "middling" as time wore on - and as people with aspirations will, set their sites on higher, loftier goals like world domination, instead of a jazzy new coach or baubbles for the little Frau back home.  Thus Burgher, like the people of a unified Germany in the 20the Century, became a victim of itself and found itself out of fashion, and out of luck.

Empress, Novembre 1801

Copyright 2009 Stuart Koblentz

At some point we all have inner doubts.  Do we measure up to our own high standards?  Do we measure up to their standards?  Such was the theme of the self-esteem issue of Empress Magazine in November 1801. Its one thing to be the Empress, its something all together different to fabulous in the esteemed halls of hallowed history.  So this issue looked at one Catherine II, a mousy little courtesan who went on to be the biggest thing that ever happened to sex until Xaviera took London!  And what made Catherine so "Great"?  Well according to the magazine, it was all in the careful selection of her lovers.  All 1,001 of them.

Papal Style, November 1855

If you were in service to the Catholic Church in the 1800s, then you knew that Papl Style was the place to keep tabs on the up and coming fashion for Cleric, Brother, Father and His Serene Holiness himself.  While Sisters and Abesses had a long tradition of high fashion (eschewing structured skirts? I mean, how daring is that in the 18th Century!), it was Pius IX who is generally credited with reigning in the high flaluting styles of previous not so pius Pope's and favoring timeless style that endures today.

The White Anglo Saxon Protestant Monthly rePRESS, 1890

Copyright 2009, Stuart J. Koblentz

While they are loathe to admit it, the American WASP is an endangered species.  At their peak in the 1950s, several million of the hearty people known for the control of their emotions lived across the nation.  The November 1890 issue of The White Anglo-Saxon Protestant rePRESS was noteworthy for its feature on the iconic Borden Family of peaceful Fall River, Massachusetts.  The highlight of the time spent with the Bordon's the witnessing of a family dispute over a key left on a mantle and a locked door.  While nothing was said between them, the writer for the rePOST noted that "Despite the tensions, the family was in complete control at all moments, save for Lizzie whose only outlet was the sharpening the metal of the yard tools for their employment in the next season."

The Journal of British Orthodontics, October 1915

Copyright 2009 Stuart J Koblentz

The Journal of British Orthodontics was not a scholarly magazine per se, but it was written so that patients had something to read in the waiting room other than the children's bibles that salesmen drop off just in case someone needs to have the words to Nearer My God to Thee before seeing the Orthodontist.   Each issue was filled with good cheer and matters pertaining to good teeth and gums.  The November 1915 issue featured Music Hall Iicon Marie Lloyd who was a spokes person for straight teeth, her's being unsnaggled by an "Ortho" in Glasglow over a period of several years.  Yes, she still had a horrific overbite, but her teeth were straight, by God!

Modern Doyenne, November 1793

Copyright 2009 by Stuart J. Koblentz

Modern Doyenne magazine was a monthly periodical targeted at the women of means living a life of leisure in the newly formed United States.  Each issue contained advice columns, fashion and recipes and comments on emerging social customs and the dangers they posed for society.