''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

that ran until 2016 and was last published by the

Meredith Corporation Meredith Corporation was an American media conglomerate based in Des Moines, Iowa, that owned newspapers, magazines, television stations, and websites. Its publications had a readership of more than 120 million and paid circulation of more than ...

. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading

women's magazines This is a list of women's magazines from around the world. These are magazines that have been published primarily for a readership of woman, women. Currently published *''10 Magazine (UK), 10 Magazine'' (UK – distributed worldwide) *''Al Jam ...

of the 20th century in the United States. In 1891, it was published in Philadelphia by the

Curtis Publishing Company The Curtis Publishing Company, founded in 1891 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, became one of the largest and most influential publishers in the United States during the early 20th century. The company's publications included the ''Ladies' Home ...

. In 1903, it was the first American magazine to reach one million subscribers. In the late 20th century, the rise of television caused sales of the magazine to decline as the publishing company struggled. On April 24, 2014, Meredith announced it would stop publishing the magazine as a monthly with the July issue, stating it was "transitioning ''Ladies' Home Journal'' to a special interest publication". It became available quarterly on newsstands only, though its website remained in operation. The last issue was published in 2016. ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was one of the Seven Sisters. The name was derived from the Greek myth of the "seven sisters", also known as the

Pleiades The Pleiades (), also known as Seven Sisters and Messier 45 (M45), is an Asterism (astronomy), asterism of an open cluster, open star cluster containing young Stellar classification#Class B, B-type stars in the northwest of the constellation Tau ...

Early history

The ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was developed from a double-page supplement in the American newspaper ''Tribune and Farmer'' titled ''Women at Home''. ''Women at Home'' was written by

Louisa Knapp Curtis Louisa Knapp Curtis (October 21, 1851 – February 25, 1910) (also known as Louisa Knapp) was an American columnist and the first editor of the ''Ladies' Home Journal'' from 1883 to 1889. It became one of the most popular magazines published in th ...

, wife of the paper'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 Knapp dropped the last three words in 1886.

Edward William Bok

Knapp was succeeded by Edward William Bok as ''LHJ'' editor in late 1889. Knapp remained involved with the magazine's management, and she also wrote a column for each issue. In 1892, ''LHJ'' 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 Curtis Mary Louise Curtis (August 6, 1876 in Boston, Massachusetts – January 4, 1970 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)Bok, Edward W. (1920) ''The Americanization of Edward Bok''. Lakeside Classics edition, R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co., Chicago, Illinois ...

. ''LHJ'' reached a subscribed circulation of more than one million copies by 1903, the first American magazine to do so. Bok served until 1919. The features he introduced was the "Ruth Ashmore advice column", written by Isabel Mallon. In the 20th century, the magazine published the work of

muckraker The muckrakers were reform-minded journalists, writers, and photographers in the Progressive Era in the United States (1890s–1920s) who claimed to expose corruption and wrongdoing in established institutions, often through sensationalist publ ...

s and social reformers such as

Jane Addams Laura Jane Addams (September 6, 1860May 21, 1935) was an American Settlement movement, settlement activist, Social reform, reformer, social worker, sociologist, public administrator, philosopher, and author. She was a leader in the history of s ...

. In 1901, it published two articles about the early architectural designs of

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...

. The December 1909 issue included a comic strip which was the first appearance of Kewpie, created by Rose O'Neill. Bok introduced business practices of low subscription rates and inclusion of advertising to offset costs. Some argue that women's magazines, like the ''Ladies' Home Journal'', pioneered the strategies
magazine revolution
. Edward Bok authored more than twenty articles opposed to

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

which threatened his "vision of the woman at home, living the simple life". He opposed the concept of women working outside the home,

women's clubs The club movement is an American women's social movement that started in the mid-19th century and spread throughout the United States. It established the idea that women had a moral duty and responsibility to transform public policy. While wome ...

, and education for women. He wrote that

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

would lead women to divorce, ill health, and even death. Bok solicited articles against women's rights from former presidents

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...

and Theodore Roosevelt (though Roosevelt would later become a supporter of women's suffrage). Bok viewed

suffragists Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

as traitors to their sex, saying that "there is no greater enemy of woman than woman herself."

Later history

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was a venue for the government to place articles intended for homemakers. The annual subscription price paid for the production of the magazine and its mailing. The profits came from heavy advertising, pitched to families with above-average incomes of $1,000 to $3,000 in 1900. In the 1910s, it carried about a third of the advertising in all women's magazines. By 1929, it had nearly twice as much advertising as any other publication except for the ''

Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine published six times a year. It was published weekly from 1897 until 1963, and then every other week until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely circulated and influ ...

'', which was also published by the Curtis family. The ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was sold to 2 million subscribers in the mid-1920s, grew a little during the depression years, and surged again during post-World War II. In 1955, each issue sold 4.6 million copies, and there were approximately 11 million readers.

Seven Sisters

The ''Journal'', along with its major rivals, '' Better Homes and Gardens'', ''

Family Circle ''Family Circle'' was an American women's magazine that covered topics such as homemaking, recipes and health. It was published from 1932 until the end of 2019. Originally distributed at supermarkets, it was one of the " Seven Sisters," a grou ...

'', ''

Good Housekeeping ''Good Housekeeping'' is an American lifestyle media brand that covers a wide range of topics from home decor and renovation, health, beauty and food, to entertainment, pets and gifts. The Good Housekeeping Institute which opened its "Experiment ...

'', ''

McCall's ''McCall's'' was a monthly United States, American women's magazine, published by the McCall Corporation, that enjoyed great popularity through much of the 20th century, peaking at a readership of 8.4 million in the early 1960s. The publication ...

'', ''

Redbook ''Redbook'' is an American women's magazine that is published by the Hearst Communications, Hearst magazine division. It is one of the "Seven Sisters (magazines), Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines. It ceased print publicatio ...

'' and ''

Woman's Day ''Woman's Day'' is an American women's magazine that covers such topics as homemaking, food, nutrition, physical fitness, physical attractiveness, and fashion. The print edition is one of the Seven Sisters (magazines), Seven Sisters magazines. ...

'', were known as the Seven Sisters, after the

women's colleges Women's colleges in higher education are undergraduate, bachelor's degree-granting institutions, often liberal arts colleges, whose student populations are composed exclusively or almost exclusively of women. Some women's colleges admit male s ...

in the Northeast. For decades, the ''Journal'' had the most circulation of the Seven Sisters, 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'' and the magazine ''

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."American Home", Library of Congress Catalog. History ...

'' to Downe Communications for $5.4 million in stock. Between 1969 and 1974, Downe was acquired by

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. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in late 1984, e ...

. In 1982, it sold the magazine to Family Media Inc., publishers of ''Health'' magazine.

Protest

In March 1970, feminists including

Susan Brownmiller Susan Brownmiller (born Susan Warhaftig; February 15, 1935 – May 24, 2025) was an American journalist, author, and feminist activist, best known for her 1975 book '' Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape'', which was selected by The New ...

held an 11-hour sit-in at the ''Ladies' Home Journal''s office, with some of them sitting on the desk of editor John Mack Carter and asking him to resign and be replaced by a woman editor. Carter declined to resign; he was allowed to produce a section of the magazine that August. Other activists continued the protests.

Redesign and circulations

In 1986, the

acquired the magazine from Family Media for $96 million. In 1998, the ''Journal'''s circulation had dropped to 4.5 million. The magazine debuted an extensive visual and editorial redesign in its March 2012 issue. Photographer

Brigitte Lacombe Brigitte Lacombe (born December 23, 1950, in Alès, France) is an American photographer based in New York City. In May 2009, she published a collection "Lacombe anima/persona" with her photographs covering her work from 1975 to 2008. Her work has b ...

was hired to shoot cover photos, with

Kate Winslet Kate Elizabeth Winslet (; born 5 October 1975) is an English actress. Primarily known for her roles as headstrong and complicated women in independent films, particularly period dramas, she has received numerous accolades, including an Ac ...

appearing on the first revamped issue. The ''Journal'' announced that portions of its editorial content would be

crowdsourced Crowdsourcing involves a large group of dispersed participants contributing or producing goods or services—including ideas, votes, micro-tasks, and finances—for payment or as volunteers. Contemporary crowdsourcing often involves digit ...

from readers, who would be fairly compensated for their work. The magazine made the decision to end monthly publication and relaunch it quarterly. At the same time, the headquarters of the magazine moved from New York City to

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

. Meredith offered its subscribers the chance to transfer their subscriptions to Meredith's sister publications. The magazine had a readership of 3.2 million in 2016. Also in 2016, Meredith partnered with Grand Editorial to produce ''Ladies' Home Journal''. Only one issue was created.

Features

The American cooking teacher

Sarah Tyson Rorer Sarah Tyson Rorer (18 October 1849 – 27 December 1937) was an American food writer and pioneer in the field of domestic science. Rorer has been described as the first American dietitian. Biography She was born in Richboro, Pennsylvania, the ...

served as ''LHJ'''s first food editor from 1897 to 1911, when she moved to ''Good Housekeeping''. In 1936, Mary Cookman, wife of ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...

'' editor

Joseph Cookman Joseph Cookman (February 6, 1899 – August 12, 1944) was an American journalist, critic and a founder of The Newspaper Guild. Life and career Early life Born in 1899, in Batley, England, Joseph was the oldest of three children born to John ...

, began working at the ''Ladies' Home Journal''. In time, she was named its Executive Editor, and she remained with ''LHJ'' until 1963. In 1946, the ''Journal'' adopted the 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?" In this popular column, each person of a couple in a troubled marriage explains their view of the problem, a

marriage counselor Family therapy (also referred to as family counseling, family systems therapy, marriage and family therapy, couple and family therapy) is a branch of psychotherapy focused on families and couples in intimate relationships to nurture change and de ...

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 Bowman Popenoe (October 16, 1888 – June 19, 1979) was an American marriage counselor, eugenicist and agricultural explorer. He was an influential advocate of the compulsory sterilization of mentally ill people and people with mental disa ...

, a founding practitioner of marriage counseling in the U.S. The two jointly wrote a book of the same title 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. MacKaye died in 1992 at the age of 88. Subsequent writers for the feature have included

Lois Duncan Lois Duncan Steinmetz (April 28, 1934 – June 15, 2016), known as Lois Duncan, was an American writer, novelist, poet, and journalist. She is best known for her Young adult fiction, young-adult novels, and has been credited by historians as a pi ...

and Margery D. Rosen. The illustrations of William Ladd Taylor were featured between 1895 and 1926; the magazine also sold reproductions of his works in oil and watercolor.

Editors

(1889–1889) * 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 Blyth (1981–2002) Part 1 of the article appears at https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22386499/genetic_genius_part_1/ . * Diane Salvatore (2002–2008) * Sally Lee (2008–2014)

Other notable staff

* Cynthia May Alden * Mary Bass * Eleanor Hoyt Brainerd *

Kathryn Casey Kathryn Casey is an American writer of mystery novels and non-fiction books. She is best known for writing ''She Wanted It All'', which recounts the case of Celeste Beard, who married an Austin multimillionaire only to convince her lesbian lover ...

Christine Frederick Christine Frederick (February 6, 1883 – April 6, 1970) was an American home economist and early 20th century exponent of Taylorism as applied to the domestic sphere. She conducted experiments aimed at improving household efficiency, as well a ...

* Florence Morse Kingsley * Julia Magruder * Isabel Mallon *

Helen Reimensnyder Martin Helen Reimensnyder Martin (October 18, 1868 – June 29, 1939) was an American author. Early life and education Martin was born on October 18, 1868, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She was the fifth child born to Reverend Cornelius and Henrietta ...

* Jane Nickerson *

Sylvia Porter Sylvia Field Porter (June 18, 1913 – June 5, 1991) was an American economist, journalist and author. At the height of her career, her readership was greater than 40 million people. Early life Porter was born in Patchogue, New York, on Long I ...

* Eben E. Rexford * Gene Shalit * Mark Sullivan * Gladys Taber *

Dorothy Thompson Dorothy Celene Thompson (July 9, 1893 – January 30, 1961) was an American journalist and radio broadcaster. She was the first American journalist to be expelled from Nazi Germany, in 1934, and was one of the few women news commentators broadc ...

Cover gallery

File:LadiesHomeJournal1902-07.jpg, July 1902 cover by George Gibbs File:Ladies home journal 1906 12 a0.jpg, 1906 Christmas cover File:Ladies Home Journal-Vol 30-seq 75.tif, February 1913 cover File:Ladies Home Journal 1900.jpg, March 1915 cover File:Ladies Home Journal March 1922.jpg, March 1922 issue illustrated by N. C. Wyeth

References

External links

*
''Ladies' Home Journal'' official site

Online archive
of the covers of many early issues. . {{Authority control Monthly magazines published in the United States Quarterly magazines published in the United States Defunct women's magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1883 Magazines disestablished in 2016 Meredith Corporation magazines Magazines published in Iowa Magazines published in New York City Mass media in Des Moines, Iowa

Early history

Edward William Bok

Later history

Seven Sisters

Protest

Redesign and circulations

Features

Editors

Other notable staff

Cover gallery

References

Further reading

External links