1950's
Life Magazines from the 1950's
By the 1950s, Life Magazine had made a name for itself as the country’s leading news magazine. LIFE photographers were and are respected as some of the best photojournalists in history. Their tenacity and talent for getting the best story helped them show America coming to terms with its new role as leader of the free world.
The atomic bomb placed America at the forefront of scientific advancement. LIFE Magazine ran multi-issue features on the nature of the universe, the origins of man, the growth of civilization, and even new advancements in medicine. During a time when outer space captured the national imagination, LIFE ran stories about the legitimacy of flying saucer sightings (“Have We Visitors from Space?” from April 7, 1952) and America’s first astronauts (1959). Even after the USSR launched the first man-made satellite, Sputnik, before American scientists could launch their own, LIFE Magazine spent pages and pages extolling the virtues of America’s space program.
Movies we call classics today, including musicals like “Singin’ in the Rain” and “Guys and Dolls” (which LIFE Magazine featured on the cover of the April 21, 1955 issue), can be found in reviews and advertisements in LIFE Magazine issues throughout the 1950s. Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe, both featured on LIFE Magazine covers throughout the decade, illustrate the two faces of sex appeal during the 1950s – the free, sensual bombshell and the demure, classic beauty. Even handsome, young politician John F. Kennedy and his beautiful wife would capture American imaginations from LIFE Magazine’s pages.
Other stories captured the essence of a nation coming to understand a new definition of morality, and LIFE Magazine had no problem exploring any controversy that arose. A heart-wrenching account of Anne Frank’s life after her capture was first given in the pages of LIFE Magazine in August of 1958, reminding the American public of the dangers of discrimination. The epic Brown vs. Board of Education decision on the desegregation of schools prompted a 5-issue series on segregation in America that highlighted both sides of the issue, ending with a poignant plea to end segregation on Biblical grounds authored by a young Billy Graham.
In 1959, America began its involvement in Vietnam, a move that would dictate the political and social climate of the country for decades to come. A whole generation of young people who learned to rebel with rock ‘n roll and civil rights marches were about to change the world in a very real and sometimes violent way, and LIFE Magazine would follow them into the turbulent 1960s.
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January 2, 1950 Life Magazine Midcentury issue
Starting at: $17.95
Out of stock
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January 9, 1950 Life Magazine Actress Norma de Landa
Starting at: $17.95
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January 16, 1950 Life Magazine Ice skating prodigy
Starting at: $17.95
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January 23, 1950 Life Magazine Woman wearing mans shirt
Starting at: $24.95
Out of stock
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January 31, 1950 Look Magazine Pat Curran
Starting at: $15.95
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January 1, 1951 Life Magazine GE's Charles Wilson
Starting at: $17.95
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January 8, 1951 Life Magazine Janice Rule
Starting at: $17.95
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January 15, 1951 Life Magazine Rose Parade marshal
Starting at: $17.95
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January 16, 1951 Look Magazine Jean Simmons in snappy red and yellow beach fashions
Starting at: $15.95
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January 20, 1951 Saturday Evening Post Benjamin Franklin - bust and quote
Starting at: $16.95
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January 22, 1951 Life Magazine U.S. air defense, woman
Starting at: $17.95
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January 27, 1951 Saturday Evening Post Gathering Wood
Starting at: $16.95
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January 29, 1951 Life Magazine Betsy von Furstenberg
Starting at: $17.95
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January 30, 1951 Look Magazine Gloria Swanson
Starting at: $15.95
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January 1, 1952 Look Magazine Bathing suit model
Starting at: $15.95
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January 7, 1952 Life Magazine Horsetail vs. poodle, hair styles
Starting at: $17.95
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January 12, 1952 Saturday Evening Post How to Use Chopsticks
Starting at: $16.95
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January 14, 1952 Life Magazine Augustus John
Starting at: $17.95
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January 15, 1952 Look Magazine Beachcomber
Starting at: $15.95
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January 19, 1952 Saturday Evening Post Benjamin Franklin - bust and quote
Starting at: $16.95
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January 21, 1952 Life Magazine Eisenhower is running
Starting at: $17.95
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January 26, 1952 Saturday Evening Post Ice Skating on Pond
Starting at: $16.95
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January 28, 1952 Life Magazine Triple talent
Starting at: $17.95
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January 29, 1952 Look Magazine Ingrid Bergman
Starting at: $15.95
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January 3, 1953 Saturday Evening Post "Weighty Matters" (Rockwell)
Starting at: $24.95
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January 5, 1953 Life Magazine $15,000 house
Starting at: $17.95
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January 10, 1953 Saturday Evening Post Snow Angels
Starting at: $16.95
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January 12, 1953 Life Magazine Attire for Majorca, fashion
Starting at: $17.95
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January 13, 1953 Look Magazine Bob Hope and Bing Crosby dancing in Scottish kilts
Starting at: $15.95
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January 19, 1953 Life Magazine Cabinet designates
Starting at: $17.95
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January 24, 1953 Saturday Evening Post Telling Mom About Her Date
Starting at: $16.95
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January 26, 1953 Life Magazine Fashion stylist Sigrid Soelter
Starting at: $17.95
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January 27, 1953 Look Magazine Bishop Sheen, Little girl with cancer
Starting at: $15.95
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January 31, 1953 Saturday Evening Post Playing House
Starting at: $16.95
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January 2, 1954 Saturday Evening Post Last Train Home
Starting at: $16.95
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January 4, 1954 Life Magazine U.S. economy, rocket
Starting at: $17.95
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January 11, 1954 Life Magazine Debutante wardrobe
Starting at: $17.95
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January 12, 1954 Look Magazine Lovely lady with a flower in her hair, in Hawaii, Pat Crowley
Starting at: $15.95
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January 16, 1954 Saturday Evening Post Benjamin Franklin - bust and quote
Starting at: $16.95
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January 18, 1954 Life Magazine Strategy session
Starting at: $17.95