1930's
Life Magazines from the 1930's
By the end of the 1930s, America was still in the throes of the Great Depression and the rest of the world was going to war. By the end of the 1940s, nothing would be the same. Flipping through the pages of LIFE Magazines from 1940 to 1949 is like watching the world change before your eyes. Sections like “LIFE on the Newsfronts of the World” chronicled the weekly development of the war in Europe, and Life Magazine editors devoted ever greater numbers of pages to events leading up to America’s entrance into World War II. For years, Americans read of the conflict in the pages of LIFE Magazine as outsiders. Then came December 7, 1941 – “a date which will live in infamy.”
Beginning with the first issue of LIFE Magazine after the Pearl Harbor attack, you can see a shift in American culture. Cover photos, with few exceptions, feature strapping soldiers, American flags, or beautiful women. Even the advertisements went to war, with handsome men in uniform selling soap and encouraging the purchase of war bonds by the dozen. War-time issues of LIFE Magazine offer a unique look into domestic life in America during WWII. Instead of 24-hour news coverage, families read about battles well after they happened. A moment-by-moment, first-hand account of The Battle of the Bulge, complete with diagrams, is chronicled in the January 8th issue from 1945. Lighter moments, like the soldiers’ improvised “Spaghetti Bowl” football game and parade held in snowy northern Italy, are left out of most history books, but from the pages of LIFE Magazine they offer you a special look into life for soldiers in the 40s. From The beaches at Normandy to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, LIFE Magazine is a treasure trove of information and photographs for WWII enthusiasts.
War might have been the main event, but life as usual didn’t cease to exist for Americans. Movie reviews of classics like National Velvet and Citizen Kane; profiles of stars like Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck and Judy Garland; and biographies of baseball legends all give a peek into how Americans at home kept morale high. Walt Disney makes a surprising number of visits to LIFE’s pages during the forties, both for full-length features like Dumbo and for his series of war-themed short films. In the years after the war, LIFE Magazine and America settled in for a new time of prosperity, peace, and growth during the 1950s.
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May 11, 1937 Look Magazine Beauty
Starting at: $19.95
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May 25, 1937 Look Magazine Stunt Men
Starting at: $19.95
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June 8, 1937 Look Magazine Hara-Kiri
Starting at: $19.95
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June 22, 1937 Look Magazine FDR
Starting at: $19.95
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July 6, 1937 Look Magazine Stunt Lions
Starting at: $19.95
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July 20, 1937 Look Magazine Movie Censorship
Starting at: $19.95
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August 3, 1937 Look Magazine Kissing
Starting at: $19.95
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August 17, 1937 Look Magazine Tennis
Starting at: $19.95
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August 31, 1937 Look Magazine Garbo
Starting at: $19.95
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September 14, 1937 Look Magazine Sports for Girls
Starting at: $19.95
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September 28, 1937 Look Magazine Koringa
Starting at: $19.95
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October 12, 1937 Look Magazine Cow Girl
Starting at: $19.95
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October 26, 1937 Look Magazine Football
Starting at: $19.95
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November 9, 1937 Look Magazine Circus
Starting at: $19.95
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November 23, 1937 Look Magazine Joann Crawford
Starting at: $19.95
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December 7, 1937 Look Magazine Wallis & Edward
Starting at: $19.95
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January 4, 1938 Look Magazine Lily Pons
Starting at: $17.95
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January 18, 1938 Look Magazine Pirate Lafitte
Starting at: $17.95
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February 1, 1938 Look Magazine Sonja Henie
Starting at: $17.95
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February 15, 1938 Look Magazine Bowling
Starting at: $17.95
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March 1, 1938 Look Magazine Most Beautiful Chinese Girl
Starting at: $17.95
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March 29, 1938 Look Magazine Beauty Tricks
Starting at: $17.95
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April 12, 1938 Look Magazine Robin Hood
Starting at: $17.95
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April 26, 1938 Look Magazine Pet Dogs
Starting at: $17.95
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May 10, 1938 Look Magazine Colored Eggs
Starting at: $17.95
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May 24, 1938 Look Magazine Brides of 1938
Starting at: $17.95
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June 21, 1938 Look Magazine Tennis Helen Wills
Starting at: $17.95
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July 5, 1938 Look Magazine Spies
Starting at: $17.95
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July 19, 1938 Look Magazine Marlene Dietrich
Starting at: $17.95
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August 2, 1938 Look Magazine Movie Censorship
Starting at: $17.95
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August 16, 1938 Look Magazine Plastic Surgery
Starting at: $17.95
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August 30, 1938 Look Magazine Duke of Windsor
Starting at: $17.95
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September 13, 1938 Look Magazine Yellowstone NP
Starting at: $17.95
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September 27, 1938 Look Magazine Swing Dance
Starting at: $17.95
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October 11, 1938 Look Magazine Quintuplets
Starting at: $17.95
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October 25, 1938 Look Magazine Men with Wings
Starting at: $17.95
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November 8, 1938 Look Magazine 20 Years of War
Starting at: $17.95
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November 22, 1938 Look Magazine Claudette Colbert
Starting at: $17.95
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January 3, 1939 Look Magazine Duke and Dutchess of Windsor
Starting at: $14.95
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January 31, 1939 Look Magazine Yvonne Duval Strapless
Starting at: $14.95