On June 1, the online edition of Vanity Fair posted a preview of the cover of its July 2015 print edition. It was a photo of the athlete formerly known as Bruce Jenner, with the caption “Call me Caitlyn.”

    Jenner had already come out as a transgender woman in an interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC’s “20/20,” but the Vanity Fair cover seemed to make it official, if the overwhelming response it got on the Internet is any indication. The entertainment website The Wrappublished a company-wide memo from Vanity Fairpublisher Condé Nast that laid out all the details.

    “In the last 24 hours, our colleagues at Vanity Fair broke a number of internal records with their Caitlyn Jenner July cover story,” it said. “With 13.1 million organic video views, we had our best video day ever. And, VanityFair.com generated its highest-ever single-day traffic with more than 9 million unique visitors. The story was trending on Twitter within the first 10 minutes of being live and on Facebook within the first 2 hours – and continues on Day 2 to be number 1 on Facebook and number 3 on Twitter”

    People can be forgiven for being skeptical about whether this online frenzy will translate into actual sales of the magazine. After all, it was less than a year ago that The New York Times reported that magazine sales — in particular, celebrity magazine sales — were in a state of sharp decline, and the numbers they cited for the first half of 2014 were grim.

    “Newsstand sales of People, InStyle and US Weeklydropped by nearly 15 percent in that time, compared with the same period in 2013,” the newspaper reported. “In Touch Weekly’s newsstand sales declined by 23.5 percent,Star Magazine by 21.8 percent and Life & Style Weeklyby 21.7 percent. People StyleWatch suffered a 32.8 percent decline. Even highbrow celebrity titles were challenged;Vanity Fair had an 11.8 percent decline.”

    The print edition of July’s Vanity Fair doesn’t hit newsstands until Tuesday, June 9, so until then, any speculation about the effect of the Internet response on sales is a purely academic exercise. But if the past is any indication, an eye-catching cover can sell a lot of magazines, and sometimes the cover itself is remembered long after the article and the rest of the issue are forgotten.

    Fortune takes a look at some of the most unforgettable magazine covers in publishing history and how much they sold. Most appeared on the American Society of Magazine Editors’ October 2005 list, “ASME’s Top 40 Magazine Covers of the Last 40 Years;” those that weren’t were either published after 2005 or simply seemed too important to leave off. Unless otherwise noted, all sales figures were provided by the Alliance for Audited Media, a nonprofit organization that verifies circulation information for online and print publications. (People and Time are owned by Time Inc., which owns Fortune.)

    6月1日，《名利场》网站提前发布该杂志2015年7月刊的封面，照片中的人物是前知名运动员布鲁斯·詹纳，而图注为：“叫我凯特琳”。

    此前在接受ABC电视台《20/20》栏目采访时，詹纳便已经透露，他变性为女人了。但此次登上《名利场》封面可以看作是首次正式亮相，网上的火爆反应足以证明。娱乐网站The Wrap刊登了《名利场》出版商康泰纳仕集团的一份内部备忘录，和盘托出了其中种种细节。

    “在24小时内，我们《名利场》杂志的同事们凭借这篇关于凯特琳·詹纳的封面报道打破了不少互联网纪录。我们的视频获得了1310万次单日点击，是集团有史以来最高的一次。另外，《名利场》的官网VanityFair.com创下了有史以来最高的单日访问量，吸引了超过900万名独立用户。这个故事在发布后的10分钟内就开始在Twitter上被疯转，2小时内就在Facebook上火了，而且第二天它依然是Facebook上排名第一、Twitter上排名第三的新闻。”

    有人可能怀疑，仅凭这个封面在网络上的火爆，是否能够真正带动这份杂志的销量？这种怀疑也是情有可原的。毕竟就在不到一年前，《纽约时报》就曾报道过，杂志特别是名人类杂志的销量正在急剧下跌， 2014年上半年美国杂志销售数据着实惨淡：

    “《人物》、《InStyle》和《美国周刊》的销量与2013年同期相比下跌了15%。《每周接触》的销量下跌了23.5%，《明星》杂志下跌了21.8%，《生活与时尚周刊》下跌了21.7%，《人物时尚观察》更是下跌了32.8%。就连格调甚高的名人杂志也遭受了挑战，《名利场》的销量比上年同期下跌了11.8%。”

    不过假若以史为鉴，一个吸引眼球的封面的确能帮助杂志社大幅提高销量。有时候，一个好的封面甚至能够跨越时间，在人们脑海里留下永恒的记忆，哪怕他们早已淡忘了文章甚至杂志本身。

    在本文中，《财富》选取了一些出版史上最令人难忘的杂志封面及其销量数据。其中大多数都登上过美国杂志编辑协会（下文简称ASME）2005年10月发布的“40年40大杂志封面排行榜”。部分未登上该排行榜的杂志封面，要么是在2005年后刊出的，要么就是因为其重要性无法忽略而被选入此文。除非另有说明，文中援引的所有销量数据都来自非盈利组织媒体审计联盟。该组织主要负责核实在线媒体和纸质媒体的发行信息。需要指出的是，《人物》和《时代》均为时代集团所有，时代集团也是《财富》的母公司。

    LIFE (August 15, 1969)

    The word “iconic” gets thrown around a lot, but it was the right word for the cover of LIFE magazine’s August 15, 1969 issue. The photo depicted astronaut Buzz Aldrin as photographed by fellow traveller Neil Armstrong, and the issue sold 8,527,600 copies, which was actually down from the previous week, when 8,666,219 sold.

    The publication regained some of its mojo with the August 22 issue, which sold 8,572,569 copies. The cover took the number 13 spot on the American Society of Magazine Editors’ October 2005 list.

    《生活》（1969年8月15日）

    “经典”这个词早已被用滥，不过用它来形容《生活》杂志1969年8月15日刊的封面却恰如其分。封面中的人物是宇航员巴兹·奥尔德林，摄像者是与他一同登月的尼尔·阿姆斯特朗。这一期杂志共卖出了8,527,600份，但其实这个销量还要低于它上一期的8,666,219份。

    就在一周之后，8月22日刊的《生活》杂志又卖出了8,572,569份。该封面在ASME的榜单上排名第13位。

    National Lampoon (January, 1973)

    National Lampoon was a humor magazine founded in 1969 by Harvard Lampoon’s Henry Beard, Douglas Kenney and Rob Hoffman. It became known for its biting humor and poor taste, which were personified by its January 1973 cover, which sold 617,883 copies.

    The magazine eventually went on to sell one million copies of its 1974 “Pubescence” issue, according to The Daily Beast, but sadly, what comes up must come down. Its last gasp came in November 1998, in the form of the fittingly named “Failure” issue.

    《国家讽刺》（1973年1月）

    《国家讽刺》是一本幽默类杂志，由《哈佛讽刺文社》的亨利·彼尔德、道格拉斯·卡尼和罗伯·霍夫曼于1969年创办。该杂志以尖锐的讽刺和低级趣味而闻名，这一点从它1973年1月刊的封面上就可见一斑，这一期杂志共卖出617,883份。

    据《野兽日报》报道，《国家讽刺》在1974年凭借一期名叫“青春期”的封面故事，突破百万销量大关。遗憾的是凡事有起必有落，它的最后一期于1998年11月刊出，那一期的封面故事名叫“失败”，这倒是很契合它当时的境遇。

    The New Yorker (March 29, 1976)

    The New Yorker was founded in 1925 by journalist Harold Ross, who said that it would not be ''edited for the old lady in Dubuque,'' according to The New York Times. Well, it became world-famous anyway, and even the aforementioned old lady is familiar with at least a couple of its attention-grabbing covers, such as the one on the March 29, 1976 issue, which sold 489,613 copies.

    Created by artist Saul Steinberg, "View of the World from Ninth Avenue" was the rare magazine cover that made the jump to wall hanging. It can be found in the apartments of those certain New York City residents who take great pride in their hard-won, stubborn parochialism.

    《纽约客》（1976年3月29日）

    据《纽约时报》报道，《纽约客》杂志创立于1925年，它是由记者哈罗德·罗斯创办的，罗斯称，它不是一本为“住在迪比克的老太太们编辑的杂志”。不管怎样，它后来真的成为了一份享誉世界的杂志，就连罗斯说的那些“老太太们”至少也会记住其一两个有代表性的封面，比如1976年3月29日的这张。该期杂志共卖出了489,613份。

    这张封面是由艺术家索尔·斯坦伯格创作的，名叫“从第九大道看世界”。历史上只有极少数的杂志封面获得了被人放大并挂在墙上的待遇，它就是其中之一。你在一些纽约客的公寓里还可以看到这张画，当然，公寓主人对自己顽固的“老纽约客”作风还是挺洋洋自得的。

    Rolling Stone (January 22, 1981)

    The cover of Rolling Stone's January 22, 1981 is adorned by a photo of ex-Beatle John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono. The issue sold 1,040,197 copies, and as was the case with Caitlyn Jenner’s photo, Annie Leibovitz was the photographer.

    Hours after the photo was was taken, Lennon was shot dead outside of his home by a deranged fan named Mark David Chapman. It took the top spot on the American Society of Magazine Editors’ October 2005 list and remains one of the most iconic photos ever taken, on or off of a magazine cover.

    《滚石》（1981年1月22日）

    这期封面照片中的人物，是前甲壳虫乐队主唱约翰·列侬和他的妻子小野洋子。该期杂志共售出1,040,197份。巧合的是，这张照片与凯特琳·詹纳的《名利场》封面照都出自摄影师安妮·莱柏维茨之手。

    就在拍完这张照片几小时后，列侬在自家门外被一个名叫马克·戴维·查普曼的精神病患者开枪击中头部。该封面在ASME的排行榜上高居首位，它也是有史以来最经典的照片之一。

    National Geographic (June, 1985)

    Known as “Afghan Girl,” journalist Steve McCurry’s photograph of 12-year-old Afghani refugee Sharbat Gula was the result of a five-minute session in 1984. It wound up on the cover of the June, 1985 issue of National Geographic and became "the most memorable image that we have ever published," according to William Allen, the publication’s former editor-in-chief.

    "It was one of those incredible, amazing moments in photography where everything comes together," McCurry told USA Today in 2002, and the issue sold 10,422,984 copies. In 2002 the photographer found Gula living in Afghanistan, fully grown and the mother of three children, and he said that she had no idea that the photo had been so widely circulated.

    《国家地理》（1985年6月）

    这张被称为《阿富汗少女》的照片出自记者史蒂夫·麦柯里之手，是他1984年在一个阿富汗难民营里驻足5分钟后的作品。照片中的少女名叫莎巴·古拉。这张照片登上了1985年6月的《国家地理》，该杂志的前总编威廉·艾伦称它是“我们刊登过的最难忘的形象”。

    麦柯里在2002年对《今日美国》表示：“在摄影艺术中有一些惊艳的时刻，一切元素都齐备了，而它就是这种时刻之一。”这一期的《国家地理》共售出了10,422,984份。2002年摄影师麦柯里在阿富汗找到了当年的少女，此时的古拉已经长大成人，成为了3个孩子的母亲，而她却丝毫不知自己的那张照片曾经传遍全世界。

    Vanity Fair (August, 1991)

    Another Annie Leibovitz photo run by Vanity Fair that got people’s tongues wagging appeared on its August 1991 cover. It featured actress Demi Moore, naked and seven months pregnant, and it generated plenty of discussion, not all of which was positive. Despite the controversy, or because of it, it sold 1,127,521 copies.

    The number two photo on the American Society of Magazine Editors’ October 2005 list, it inspired other celebrities to bare all while they still had a bun in the oven. Such celebrities as Cindy Crawford, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera all appeared nude and pregnant on magazine covers, and Kourtney Kardashian posted a similar photo to her Facebook page, saying, "To me, nudity is not something to be ashamed of. I'm at my best when I'm pregnant."

    《名利场》（1991年8月）

    安妮·莱伯维茨另一张照片出现在《名利场》1991年8月刊。在照片中，女演员黛米·摩尔挺着怀孕7个月的肚子全裸出镜。这张封面引发了热议，但并非所有的回应都是正面的。尽管褒贬不一，该期杂志仍创下了1,127,521份的销量。

    该封面也高居ASME排行榜的第二位，它也开启了名人发布怀孕裸照的先河。此后辛迪·克劳馥、小甜甜布兰妮和克里斯蒂娜·阿奎莱拉等明星的怀孕全裸照都登上了杂志封面。名媛考特妮·卡戴珊还在她的Facebook页面上传了一张类似照片，并说：“在我看来，裸露并不是值得羞耻的事。我在怀孕时也是最美的。”

    People (September 15, 1997)

    Diana, Princess of Wales died in a car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997. A beloved public figure, the outpouring of grief that ensued was immense, and it’s not surprising that the September 15, 1997 issue of People magazine, which featured her on the cover, sold 5,206,999 copies.

    That issue was not the first time she had appeared on the cover. According to the American Society of Magazine Editors, who ranked this one at number 36 on its October 2005 list, she had appeared on the cover ofPeople magazine 52 times.

    《人物》（1997年9月15日）

    1997年8月31日，威尔士王妃戴安娜于因一场车祸，香殒巴黎。作为一位广受欢迎的公众人物，她的死让公众深感悲痛。因此，以黛安娜为封面的《人物》1997年9月15日刊创下5,206,999份的销量也就不足为怪了。

    这其实并不是黛安娜王妃第一次登上《人物》封面。据ASME统计，戴安娜王妃曾登上《人物》杂志封面52次之多。而这张照片也登上了ASME排行榜的第36位。

    New Yorker (September 24, 2001)

    In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, newspaper and magazine covers almost uniformly showed gut-wrenching images of the Twin Towers engulfed in smoke and flames. The New Yorker, however, took a different approach.

    It enlisted artist Art Spiegelman, who created a simple, black-on-black image that captured the heartache New Yorkers felt in the days after the attacks. The issue sold 984,697 copies and is the number six cover on the American Society of Magazine Editors October 2005 list.

    《纽约客》（2001年9月24日）

    911事件爆发后，各家报纸和杂志的封面几乎清一色地采用了双子大楼在烟火中崩塌的揪心照片，而《纽约客》却独辟蹊径，采用了一种不同的方式。

    该杂志请艺术家亚特·斯皮格曼用深浅不同的黑色，画出了纽约人在袭击几天后的悲痛心情。该期杂志共售出984,697份，该封面也登上了ASME排行榜的第6位。

    Entertainment Weekly (May 2, 2003)

    March 2003 was not a great time to be a Texan opponent of the Iraq War. Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines found this out when she told a London audienceduring one of their concerts, "We don't want this war, this violence, and we're ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas."

    Back at home, the war was still nine days away and very popular, and Maines’ statement was greeted by the sound of their CDs being destroyed at events organized for that express purpose. Again, not a great time to be a Texan opponent of the Iraq War.

    The group addressed the situation on the cover of the May 3, 2003 issue of Entertainment Weekly, where they appeared naked and adorned with some of the more creative slurs that had been lobbed their way, such as "Saddam's Angels" and "Dixie Sluts." The issue sold 1,738,522 copies.

    《娱乐周刊》（2003年5月2日）

    对于反对伊战的德州人来说，2003年3月可不是个好时候（美英联军于2003年3月20日发动伊拉克战争）。南方小鸡组合的娜塔丽·麦恩斯在伦敦一场演唱会上向观众表示：“我们不想要这场战争，这种暴力，我们为美国总统也是德克萨斯人而感到羞愧。”

    回到美国后，战争还有9天才开打，而且支持伊战的舆论也很流行。由于麦恩斯在伦敦的声明，有人甚至专门组织活动销毁她们的CD。看来，这段日子对于反对伊战的德州人来说，还真的不是个好时候。

    该组合通过2003年5月3日的《娱乐周刊》封面解决了这个问题。她们在这期封面中全裸出镜，身上写满了人们对她们的一些最具创意的诋毁，比如“萨达姆的天使”和“德州荡妇”等等。这期杂志共售出1,738,522份。

    Time (May 21, 2012)

    The May 21, 2012 issue of Time covered attachment parenting. If you don’t know what that is, it’s a technique “based in the practice of nurturing parenting methods that create strong emotional bonds,” according toAttachment Parenting International.

    All fine and good. But all that most people saw when they looked at the magazine cover was a fully-clothed boy of about four or five years old standing on a chair to breastfeed.

    The issue certainly got noticed, and it sold 3,277,211 copies. It also spawned numerous parodies, such as a lampoon of the cover featuring the monster from the “Alien” movies, with the boy on the chair being impregnated by the “facehugger” creature.

    《时代》（2012年5月21日）

    《时代》杂志2012年5月21日刊封面故事的主题是“亲密育儿法”。这是什么东东？根据亲密育儿国际的权威定义，它是一种“能产生强烈的情感联系的育儿方法”。

    听起来还挺不错的。但人们在这期杂志封面上看到的，却是一个四五岁大的男孩子，穿得整整齐齐地站在椅子上吃奶。

    这期杂志显然够抓人眼球，共售出了3,277,211份。不过这张照片也掀起了大量恶搞风潮，比如有人在小男孩身边PS了一只电影《异形》里的怪兽，站在椅子上的男孩正在接受“怪兽”哺乳。（财富中文网）

    译者：朴成奎

    审校：任文科