Ladies' Home Journal
Encyclopedia
Ladies' Home Journal is an American magazine
which first appeared on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States. It is currently published by the Meredith Corporation
.
Ladies' Home Journal is one of the Seven Sisters
, a group of women's service magazines.
, wife of the magazine's publisher Cyrus H. K. Curtis
. After a year it became an independent publication with Knapp as editor for the first six years. Its original name was The Ladies Home Journal and Practical Housekeeper, but she dropped the last three words in 1886. It rapidly became the leading American magazine of its type, reaching a circulation of more than one million copies in ten years. At the turn of the 20th century, the magazine published the work of muckraker
s and social reformers such as Jane Addams
. In 1901 it published two articles highlighting the early architectural designs of Frank Lloyd Wright
.
During World War II, it was a particularly favored venue of the government for messages intended for housewives.
The Journal, along with its major rivals, Better Homes and Gardens
, Family Circle
, Good Housekeeping
, McCall's
, Redbook
and Woman's Day
were long known as the "seven sisters". For decades, the Journal had the greatest circulation of this group, but it fell behind McCall's in 1961. In 1968, its circulation was 6.8 million compared to McCall's 8.5 million. That year, Curtis Publishing sold the Ladies' Home Journal, along with the magazine The American Home
, to Downe Communications for $5.4 million in stock. Between 1969 and 1974 Downe was acquired by Charter Company
, which sold the magazine to Family Media Inc., publishers of Health
, in 1982 when the company decided to divest its publishing interests. In 1986, the Meredith Corporation acquired the magazine from Family Media for $96 million. By 1998, the Journals circulation had dropped to 4.5 million.
.
The most famous cooking teacher of her time, Sarah Tyson Rorer
served as LHJ first food editor from 1897 to 1911, when she moved to Good Housekeeping.
In 1936, Mary Cookman, wife of New York Post
editor Joseph Cookman
began working at the Ladies' Home Journal. She was named Executive Editor and remained with LHJ until 1963. She was known throughout most of her career as Mary Bass
.
In 1946, LHJ adopted the feminist slogan, "Never underestimate the power of a woman", which it continues to use today.
The magazine's trademark feature is Can This Marriage Be Saved?, a popular column in which each person of a couple in a troubled marriage explains their view of the problem, a marriage counselor
explains the solutions offered in counseling, and the outcome is published; it was written for 30 years starting in 1953 by Dorothy D. MacKaye under the name of Dorothy Cameron Disney. MacKaye co-founded this column with Paul Popenoe
, a founding practitioner of marriage counseling
in the U.S. The two co-authored a book of the same name in 1960. Both the book and the column drew their material from the extensive case files of the American Institute of Family Relations in Los Angeles, California.
The illustrations of William Ladd Taylor
were featured between 1895 and 1926; the magazine also sold reproductions of his works in oil and water-color.
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
which first appeared on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States. It is currently published by the Meredith Corporation
Meredith Corporation
The Meredith Corporation is a media conglomerate based in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. The company has two divisions, National Media and Local Media.-History:...
.
Ladies' Home Journal is one of the Seven Sisters
Seven Sisters (magazines)
The Seven Sisters are a group of magazines which have traditionally been aimed at married women who are homemakers with husbands and children, rather than single and working women. The name is derived from the Greek myth of the "seven sisters", also known as the Pleiades...
, a group of women's service magazines.
History
The Ladies' Home Journal arose from a popular single-page supplement in the American magazine Tribune and Farmer titled Women at Home. Women at Home was written by Louisa Knapp CurtisLouisa Knapp Curtis
Louisa Knapp Curtis , sometimes known only as Louisa Knapp, was the author of a column, and later, the separate supplement included with the magazine, Tribune and Farmer, that in 1883 would become a separate magazine, the Ladies' Home Journal, which still is published.Her column in the Tribune and...
, wife of the magazine's publisher Cyrus H. K. Curtis
Cyrus Hermann Kotzschmar Curtis
Cyrus Hermann Kotzschmar Curtis was an American publisher of magazines and newspapers, including the Ladies' Home Journal and the Saturday Evening Post.-Biography:...
. After a year it became an independent publication with Knapp as editor for the first six years. Its original name was The Ladies Home Journal and Practical Housekeeper, but she dropped the last three words in 1886. It rapidly became the leading American magazine of its type, reaching a circulation of more than one million copies in ten years. At the turn of the 20th century, the magazine published the work of muckraker
Muckraker
The term muckraker is closely associated with reform-oriented journalists who wrote largely for popular magazines, continued a tradition of investigative journalism reporting, and emerged in the United States after 1900 and continued to be influential until World War I, when through a combination...
s and social reformers such as Jane Addams
Jane Addams
Jane Addams was a pioneer settlement worker, founder of Hull House in Chicago, public philosopher, sociologist, author, and leader in woman suffrage and world peace...
. In 1901 it published two articles highlighting the early architectural designs of Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
.
During World War II, it was a particularly favored venue of the government for messages intended for housewives.
The Journal, along with its major rivals, Better Homes and Gardens
Better Homes and Gardens (magazine)
Better Homes and Gardens is the fourth best selling magazine in the United States. The editor in Chief is Gayle Butler. Better Homes and Gardens focuses on interests regarding homes, cooking, gardening, crafts, healthy living, decorating, and entertaining. The magazine is published 12 times per...
, Family Circle
Family Circle
Family Circle is an American women's magazine published 15 times a year by Meredith Corporation. It began publication in 1932 as a magazine distributed at supermarkets such as Piggly Wiggly and Safeway. Cowles Magazines and Broadcasting bought the magazine in 1962. The New York Times Company bought...
, Good Housekeeping
Good Housekeeping
Good Housekeeping is a women's magazine owned by the Hearst Corporation, featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, health as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good Housekeeping Seal," popularly known as the...
, McCall's
McCall's
McCall's was a monthly American women's magazine that enjoyed great popularity through much of the 20th century, peaking at a readership of 8.4 million in the early 1960s. It was established as a small-format magazine called The Queen in 1873...
, Redbook
Redbook
Redbook is an American women's magazine published by the Hearst Corporation. It is one of the "Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines.-History:...
and Woman's Day
Woman's Day
Woman's Day is aimed at a female readership, covering such subjects as food, nutrition, fitness, beauty and fashion. The magazine edition is one of the "Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines....
were long known as the "seven sisters". For decades, the Journal had the greatest circulation of this group, but it fell behind McCall's in 1961. In 1968, its circulation was 6.8 million compared to McCall's 8.5 million. That year, Curtis Publishing sold the Ladies' Home Journal, along with the magazine The American Home
The American Home
The American Home was a monthly magazine published in the United States from 1928 to 1977. Its subjects included domestic architecture, interior design, landscape design, and gardening....
, to Downe Communications for $5.4 million in stock. Between 1969 and 1974 Downe was acquired by Charter Company
Charter Company
The Charter Company of Jacksonville, Florida was a conglomerate with more than 180 subsidiaries that was in the Fortune 500 for 11 years beginning in 1974 and ranked 61st in 1984 before it sought bankruptcy protection in late 1984 and spiraled into obscurity....
, which sold the magazine to Family Media Inc., publishers of Health
Health (magazine)
Health is an American magazine focused on women's health. It was purchased by Time Inc. in 1991. The company now operates as a part of Time's Southern Progress Corporation. The magazine's topics range from diet and recipes to fashion tips and dealing with life issues such as stress...
, in 1982 when the company decided to divest its publishing interests. In 1986, the Meredith Corporation acquired the magazine from Family Media for $96 million. By 1998, the Journals circulation had dropped to 4.5 million.
Features
Knapp continued as editor until she was succeeded by Edward William Bok in 1889. However, she remained involved with the magazine's management, and she also wrote a column for each issue. In 1892, it became the first magazine to refuse patent medicine advertisements. In 1896, Bok became Louisa Knapp's son-in-law when he married her daughter, Mary Louise CurtisMary Louise Curtis Bok Zimbalist
Mary Louise Curtis Bok , was the founder of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. She was the only child of the magazine and newspaper magnate, Cyrus Curtis and Louisa Knapp Curtis, the founder and editor of the Ladies Home Journal...
.
The most famous cooking teacher of her time, Sarah Tyson Rorer
Sarah Tyson Rorer
Sarah Tyson Rorer was an American pioneer in the field of domestic science.-Biography:She was born at Richboro, Pa., daughter of Charles Tyson Heston, a pharmacist, and Elizabeth Sagers. Rorer received her early education in East Aurora, New York, and was educated in cooking at the New Century...
served as LHJ first food editor from 1897 to 1911, when she moved to Good Housekeeping.
In 1936, Mary Cookman, wife of New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
editor Joseph Cookman
Joseph Cookman
Joseph ‘Joe’ Cookman was an American journalist, writer, critic and a founder of The Newspaper Guild.-Career:His professional career began in 1922 in New York City where he convinced the City Editor of the New York Telegram later known as the New York World-Telegram to give him a job as a...
began working at the Ladies' Home Journal. She was named Executive Editor and remained with LHJ until 1963. She was known throughout most of her career as Mary Bass
Mary Bass
Mary Cookman Bass was an American journalist, author, and executive editor of the Ladies' Home Journal from 1936 to 1963.-Childhood and Early Years:...
.
In 1946, LHJ adopted the feminist slogan, "Never underestimate the power of a woman", which it continues to use today.
The magazine's trademark feature is Can This Marriage Be Saved?, a popular column in which each person of a couple in a troubled marriage explains their view of the problem, a marriage counselor
Relationship counseling
Relationship counseling is the process of counseling the parties of a relationship in an effort to recognize and to better manage or reconcile troublesome differences and repeating patterns of distress...
explains the solutions offered in counseling, and the outcome is published; it was written for 30 years starting in 1953 by Dorothy D. MacKaye under the name of Dorothy Cameron Disney. MacKaye co-founded this column with Paul Popenoe
Paul Popenoe
Paul Popenoe was an American founding practitioner of marriage counseling. In his early years, he worked as an agricultural explorer and as a scholar of heredity, where he played a prominent role in the Eugenics movement of the early twentieth century.- Biography :Born as Paul Bowman Popenoe in...
, a founding practitioner of marriage counseling
Relationship counseling
Relationship counseling is the process of counseling the parties of a relationship in an effort to recognize and to better manage or reconcile troublesome differences and repeating patterns of distress...
in the U.S. The two co-authored a book of the same name in 1960. Both the book and the column drew their material from the extensive case files of the American Institute of Family Relations in Los Angeles, California.
William Ladd Taylor
William Ladd Taylor was an American illustrator, born at Grafton, Mass. He studied art in Boston and New York, and in Paris under Boulanger and Lefebvre in 1884-85. His drawings, many of which first appeared in magazines, are essentially narrative in type and show keen understanding of human...
were featured between 1895 and 1926; the magazine also sold reproductions of his works in oil and water-color.
Editors
- Louisa Knapp CurtisLouisa Knapp CurtisLouisa Knapp Curtis , sometimes known only as Louisa Knapp, was the author of a column, and later, the separate supplement included with the magazine, Tribune and Farmer, that in 1883 would become a separate magazine, the Ladies' Home Journal, which still is published.Her column in the Tribune and...
(1883-1890) - Edward William Bok (1890-1919)
- H. O. Davis (1919-1920)
- Barton W. Currie (1920-1928)
- Loring A. Schuler (1928-1935)
- Bruce Gould and Beatrice Gould (1935-1962)
- Curtiss Anderson (1962-1964)
- Davis Thomas (1964-1965)
- John Mack Carter (1965-1973)
- Lenore Hershey (1973-1981)
- Myrna BlythMyrna Blyth-Biography:She was born in New York and graduated from Bennington College in 1960.Myrna Blyth is the former editor-in-chief and publishing director of Ladies' Home Journal. She was the founding editor and publishing director of More magazine. She was also Director of Magazine Development for the...
(1981-2002) - Diane Salvatore (2002-2008)
- Sally Lee (2008-present)
Writers
- Cynthia May AldenCynthia May AldenCynthia May Westover Alden , commonly known as Cynthia W. Alden, was an American journalist, author and New York municipal employee.-Biography:She was born in Afton, Iowa...
- Mary BassMary BassMary Cookman Bass was an American journalist, author, and executive editor of the Ladies' Home Journal from 1936 to 1963.-Childhood and Early Years:...
- Kathryn CaseyKathryn CaseyKathryn Casey is a true crime writer, novelist and journalist. Author Ann Rule has called Casey "one of the best in the true crime genre."-Early life and education:Born in Wisconsin, Casey settled in Texas with her family in 1980...
- Joan Younger Dickinson
- Julia MagruderJulia MagruderJulia Magruder, was an American novelist. Most of her novels are love stories in which the heroine must face obstacles in pursuit of her goal to find true love. Several of her novels were serialized in the Ladies' Home Journal...
- Helen Reimensnyder MartinHelen Reimensnyder MartinHelen Reimensnyder Martin was an American author. She was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, studied at Swarthmore and at Radcliffe colleges; and married Frederic C. Martin in 1889...
- Olivia Mackenzie Zecy
Current staff
- Sally Lee, Editor-in-Chief
- Kate Lawler, Executive Editor
- Jeffrey Saks, Creative Director
- Margot Gilman, Deputy Editor
- Julie Bain, Health Director
- Erica Metzger, Beauty Director
- Lorraine Glennon, Senior Editor
- Louise Sloan, Senior Editor
- Sue Owen Erneta, Fashion Editor
- Tara Bench, Food and Entertaining Editor
- Beth Roehrig, Home Editor
- Catherine LeFebvre, Senior Online Editor
External links
- Ladies' Home Journal official site
- Online archive of the covers of many early issues