National Geographic Magazine Is 128 Years Old

A look back at Vol. I, No 1.

It took several decades for photos to appear alongside articles in National Geographic magazine. And the publication’s trademark yellow border framing the cover wouldn’t be displayed until even later, 1910.

So what filled the very first issue, published this month in 1888? Per a fun item by Kristin Romney, one of the half-dozen featured articles, about that year’s historic blizzard, encompassed a stupendous level of subject-matter expertise:

The Great Storm of 1888 is considered “the deadliest, snowiest, and most unusual winter storm in American annals,” dumping more than five feet of snow in parts of New York, and leaving more than 400 dead.

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