Good Housekeeping, one of the so-called seven sisters of women’s magazines, was founded on May 2, 1885 by Clark W. Bryan. It was a fortnightly then became a monthly magazine (and continues today, famous for the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval; the current version redesigned by Louise Fili Ltd). It was handsomely designed with covers, by among others the illustrator Coles Phillips, whose moderne style, underscored by his signature use of negative space, especially for this 1917 edition, was just one highlight of his sophistication—as well as his use of color, pattern and progressive design methodology.
The magazine included many luminary writers over its long run, including Somerset Maugham, Edwin Markham, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Frances Parkinson Keyes, Virginia Woolf, and Evelyn Waugh. But it was also, in addition to such star male artists as Howard Chandler Christie, James Montgomery Flagg, Edward L. Chase, a key outlet for female illustrators including Jesse Wilcox Smith, Rose O’Neill (The Kewpies) and Rita Senger.
Coles Phillips, illustrator
Jesse Wilcox Smith, Illustrator
Rose O’Neil, author and illustrator
Rita Senger, illustrator
