What Was on the Cover of the Final Issue of Life Magazine?
The cover of the final issue of Life magazine’s original weekly run featured the titles “The Year In Pictures 1972” and “Special Double Issue.” The words appeared in white against a black background containing a random listing of words in red, including “Olympics,” “Godfather” and “Peace” in assorted typeface.
The final issue of the magazine was dated December 29, 1972, and contained articles about President Nixon’s visit to China, the war in Vietnam and dissident Russian author Alexander Solzhenitsyn, along with a farewell message to readers.
While the positioning of these words was random, the word chosen for the lower right-side corner was, simply and poignantly, “Goodbye.”
Time Inc. resurrected the magazine as a monthly publication between 1978 and May 2000, and featured premature baby Jason Michael Waldmann Jr. under the title “Born Too Soon” on its final cover.
