Magazine cover of The Masses featuring largescale illustration of a woman’s head and shoulders, printed in brown, red, and green on a darker green background

The Masses
New York: Masses Publishing Company, September 1917
Rare Book Division

The Masses

Published from 1911 to 1917, the socialist monthly magazine The Masses served as an important megaphone for left-wing thought in the United States. In its pages, contributors including John Reed, Max Eastman, Louise Bryant, and Floyd Dell championed not only workers’ rights but also a host of progressive causes such as birth control, racial equality, women’s suffrage, and the protection of civil liberties. 



While its editorial matter leaned toward political and social revolution, the graphic content of The Masses was no less groundbreaking. Indeed, throughout its publication run—which coincided with the flowering of modernism in the United States—readers of the magazine were granted early exposure to works by innovative artists including Stuart Davis, John Sloan, Arthur B. Davies, Carlo Leonetti, and Pablo Picasso.

: Rare Book Division

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