Der Bazar was a fashion magazine which was published in Berlin, German Empire, in the period 1854–1933. Its subtitle was first Technische Muster-Zeitung für Frauen.[1] Then it was changed to Illustrirte Damen-Zeitung (Illustrated Women's Magazine) from 1 January 1857.[1] It is one of the earliest examples of a multilingual magazine.

Der Bazar
Cover page of Der Bazar dated 1856
Categories
Frequency
  • Biweekly (December 1854–January 1857)
  • Weekly (January 1857–1933)
PublisherLouis Schäfer publishing company
Founded1854
First issue10 December 1854
Final issue1933
CountryGerman Empire
Based inBerlin
LanguageGerman

History and profile

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Der Bazar was launched on 10 December 1854 as a biweekly magazine[1] and was based in Berlin.[2] Its publisher was owned by Louis Schäfer.[1][3] However, it was Antonie von Cosmar who suggested establishing Der Bazar.[1] She was a playwright and novelist.[1] From 1857 the magazine was redesigned, and its subtitle was modified, and the frequency was switched to weekly.[1] Der Bazar folded in 1933.[4]

Content

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The magazine covered fashion-related news and illustrations, as well as suggestions to retailers on methods of selling clothes to women.[5] Der Bazar featured illustrations of ballroom outfits as clothing advice to its readers in its first January issue every year.[5] The magazine also published articles on cosmopolitan lifestyles, home life and aesthetics.[3]

Editions and circulation

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Der Bazar enjoyed international readership and had editions in other languages.[3] By 1863, in addition to 105,000 copies in German annually, it sold 50,000 copies in English, 32,000 in French and 15,000 in Spanish.[1][3] The magazine also published editions in Dutch, Russian, Italian, Hungarian and Czech, and claimed to be the most widespread journal in the world with a circulation of over half a million.[1] By 1891 it was the best-selling women’s fashion and home magazine in Germany, targeting primarily middle to upper class women.[2]

Der Bazar had many spin-offs and inspired many women's magazines.[4] A notable example was the American fashion magazine Harper's Bazaar, which employed some of the content of Der Bazar following its foundation in 1867.[1][3][6] Another magazine inspired from Der Bazar which republished its fashion content was Magyar Bazár, a Hungarian fashion magazine based in Budapest.[7] The Dutch edition of Der Bazar was De Gracieuse which was published in Leiden between 1862 and 1936.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Marianne Van Remoortel (2017). "Women Editors and the Rise of the Illustrated Fashion Press in the Nineteenth Century". Nineteenth-Century Contexts. 39 (4): 269–295. doi:10.1080/08905495.2017.1335157. hdl:1854/LU-8518574. S2CID 220356178.
  2. ^ a b Ruxandra Marcu Looft (August 2012). Mobile Ideas and (Im)mobile Subjects: Women Writers and Women's Fashion Magazines in Nineteenth-Century Germany and Austria (Thesis). Washington University in St. Louis. pp. 3–5. doi:10.7936/K73J3B2V.
  3. ^ a b c d e Ruxandra Looft (Winter 2017). "Unseen Political Spaces: Gender and Nationhood in the Berlin and Paris Fashion Press during the Franco-Prussian War". Journal of European Periodical Studies. 2 (2): 46–48. doi:10.21825/jeps.v2i2.4812.
  4. ^ a b c Marianne Van Remoorte (2021). "Scissors, paste, and the female editor: the making of the Dutch women's magazine De Gracieuse (1862–64)". Women's History Review. 30 (4): 555–573. doi:10.1080/09612025.2020.1773041. hdl:1854/LU-8669739. S2CID 219926334.
  5. ^ a b Philipp Jonke (2021). "Off the Rack. The Production of Fashionable Female Bodies in Early 20th Century Berlin". Trajectories. 14. doi:10.4000/trajectoires.5983. S2CID 237879658.
  6. ^ Winifred Aldrich (2003). "The Impact of Fashion on the Cutting Practices for the Woman's Tailored Jacket 1800-1927". Textile History. 34 (2): 167. doi:10.1179/004049603235001580. S2CID 191468588.
  7. ^ Zsolt Mészáros (2021). "The Magyar Bazár (1866–1904) and the Literary Salon Hosted by the Wohl Sisters in Budapest". Journal of European Periodical Studies. 6 (1). doi:10.21825/jeps.v6i1.15630. S2CID 237749346.
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