The last time I rounded up JCK covers from the 1950s, I struggled to find five that missed the mark.
I had no such trouble as I combed through the 1956–59 archives. I could have easily put 10–15 more covers on this list, but the human eyes can take only so much pain and suffering.
Here the six I thought were the worst offenders to magazine design:
July 1956
This cover would have been right at home in the 1980s. That is not a compliment.
August 1956
That is not a typo. This is the cover of the August issue.
July 1957
Very much like a bad penny, this guy showed up on a couple of covers during this era. Nothing says economics and finance like a poorly drawn gremlin banker.
August 1957
I asked JCK editorial assistant Stephanie Schaeffer what she thought about this cover. Her response: “Frightening.” That about sums it up.
January 1959
Putting a phone on the cover of the magazine might have been a running joke in the art department at that time. At least I hope so.
February 1959
Because when you think of Easter jewelry, you think of baby poop–colored religious geometric shapes.
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