The History and Evolution of Magazines
From its earliest pages to contemporary independent publications and zines.
Pamphlets to Periodicals
Magazines didn’t start as the thick, shiny issues you see on shelves today. They began life as small printed booklets — pamphlets, chapbooks, almanacs — little collections meant to share ideas, stories, and news.
One of the first real “magazines” popped up in Germany in 1663: Erbauliche Monaths-Unterredungen (“Edifying Monthly Discussions”). A few years later, France gave us Le Mercure Galant (1672), mixing news, poetry, and short fiction. That blend of information and entertainment set the tone for what magazines would eventually become.
By the 1700s, titles like The Spectator and The Tatler were shaping public conversation with regular essays. Over in the U.S., The Gentleman’s Magazine (1741) even helped cement the word “magazine” as a catch-all “storehouse” for all kinds of content.
When print went big
Fast-forward to the late 1800s and early 1900s — printing was cheaper, literacy was up, and magazines exploded in popularity. Mass-market titles were everywhere, from polished general-interest magazines to the gritty pulp magazines, printed on cheap paper and packed with adventure, romance, mystery, and bold illustrations.
These were the binge-worthy reads of their day — affordable, portable, and designed to be devoured.
The small but mighty “little magazines”
While mass-market mags ruled the newsstands, smaller, independent titles were carving out their own space. These “little magazines” focused on experimental literature, art, and ideas you wouldn’t find in mainstream pages. They gave writers, poets, and artists a platform outside the big publishing houses.
The birth of zines
Then came the DIY revolution. In the 1930s, sci-fi fans began making “fanzines” — self-published, photocopied or mimeographed magazines dedicated to their favorite stories and ideas.
By the 1960s and ’70s, cheap copying tech fueled the Mimeo Revolution. Underground artists, poets, and activists were creating their own small runs, sharing them at shows, through the mail, or hand-to-hand. Zines became a way to connect, rebel, and bypass the gatekeepers.
Punk, Riot Grrrl, and beyond
The punk movement of the ’70s and ’80s cranked zine culture into high gear. Punk zines weren’t polished — they were raw, fast, and fiercely independent. They covered bands, politics, and scene gossip, and they spread ideas across countries in a way social media does now.
In the ’90s, the riot grrrl movement layered in feminist urgency, swapping personal stories, art, and manifestos through zines. These weren’t just publications — they were lifelines for connection.
Zines for everyone
Over the decades, zines became a safe space for voices often ignored by mainstream media. Queer zines, drag zines, political zines, art zines — all rooted in self-expression and community. Today, they’re collected by libraries, displayed in galleries, and traded at zine fests around the world.
And even in our screen-heavy world, indie mags and zines are thriving. Titles like Apartamento, Moss, and Toothache remind us that print is alive, tactile, and worth slowing down for.
Why This History Matters for FORMA.
Magazines and zines aren’t just things you flip through once — they’re snapshots of a time, a place, a feeling. At FORMA., we design wall-mounted displays that turn those printed pages into art for your walls. Because the issues you love shouldn’t live in a stack or a storage box — it deserves to be seen, celebrated, and part of your everyday space.
Whether it’s a decades-old punk zine or a brand-new indie mag, FORMA. is here to give print the space it deserves.
Read some more about the history of print!