Munsey's Magazine, June 1915

Munsey's Magazine cover announces "The Wonderful Summer Playgrounds of America," promoting domestic tourism across the continent. A landscape photograph depicts a serene lakeside or riverside vista with forested shores, positioned beneath bold sans-serif typography. The cover text promises readers encounters with "the call of sea and mountains, the varied charm of lake and river and forest, the marvels of glacier and geyser and cañon." Munsey's, founded in 1889, pioneered the mass-circulation pulp magazine format—cheap, illustrated periodicals sold by the millions at newsstands. By 1915, the magazine blended adventure narratives with tourism promotion and celebrity features, reaching eight million readers. Its accessible pricing and visual sensationalism established the template for pulp genres that would flourish throughout the twentieth century.