Vasárnap (1891–1892), the First Picture Magazine (Supplement) Published In Szabadka

Abstract

The publication of the weekly Szabadság, which was launched in January 1883 and mainly dealt with social and cultural topics, struggled with financial difficulties in the early 1890s. The solution to boost the number of subscribers was found in attaching Vasárnap, a picture magazine, free of charge to the issues published between June 28, 1891, and March 27, 1892. This, mostly belletristic supplement, played a pivotal role in the history of the press in Szabadka. It was with this supplement that the readership was first introduced to modern photo reproduction techniques and new forms of press illustrations. By systematizing the image material of Vasárnap and analyzing the characteristics of the use of photographs, the research considered the origin of the published graphic elements, the procedures of making printing stereotypes and their executors, as well as the characteristics of editing (page setup, size, orientation) and content (subject, role, and relation of the graphic elements to the textual content). Finally, the researcher with reference to the photos differentiates between the concepts of illustrations with photos, event photos and photo reports.