The three front covers in my last post are from The Philadelphia Inquirer's Sunday novel insert. They share three characteristics: a man and a woman, the woman is looking away and the man is looking at the woman. Tension in the air. The woman has doubts and the man is concerned. What about the rest of the Inquirers that I own? Here is an inventory.
- one woman, no man 6
- more than one woman, no man 4
- one woman and one man 19
- one woman, two or more men 7
- more than one woman, one or more men 3
Thirty-two have one woman. All the rest have at least two women including four where the women have equal status and three with the focus on one woman. The message is clear. Women were the likely readers of the inserts. Further evidence is Book of the Month Club 1947 readership which was 65% women, 35% men. This remains the case today generally although there is not as large a difference.
Here are three women only covers.
January 24, 1943 - Ladies in Boxes by Gelett Burgess (Alliance Book, 1942)
November 28, 1943 - The Quiet Lady by Norman Collins (Wm. Collins, 1942 as Anna)
May 23, 1943 - Air Force Girl by Renee Shann (Carlton House, 1942)
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