Jeff read Cosmo

Jeff Chambers, the original editor and publisher of The Vindicator, was an avid reader of Cosmopolitan Magazine and was mightily impressed when the new fangled technology became available in 1896 making it possible to print an affordable color magazine.

Cosmopolitan, by the way, has change a great deal since the late 19th century. Those early issue had a great many more words in them and considerably less skin.

Having worked with printing presses since he was a teenager in his native Virginia, Chambers appears by his Jan. 17, 1896 article about the new issue of Cosmopolitan he had received to have been very impressed with the advancements made in color printing.

Failing to notice the magazine had dropped the article from its name, Chambers wrote the January 1896 issue of “The Cosmopolitan” included “as a frontispiece a water-color… which has probably never been excelled even in the pages of the finest dollar French periodicals.”

“The cover of The Cosmopolitan is also changed, a drawing of a page length, by the famous Paris artist Rossi, in [lithographic] colors on white paper takes the place of the manilla back with its red stripe. Here after the cover is to be a fresh surprise each month.”

We cannot help but wonder how surprised Chambers would have been to see the covers of today’s Cosmo.