Illustrés

Illustrés is a term used to describe illustrated periodicals—newspapers and magazines whose pages combine textual reporting with visual material. The label is especially associated with 19th- and early 20th-century publications in Europe and North America, where images were a central feature of news and culture.

Historically, illustrés emerged from the demand to make current events more immediate and accessible. Early images were produced as wood or steel engravings, inserted into print as the technology allowed. Later, halftone processes and photography enabled more frequent and realistic reproductions. Color printing, through chromolithography and related methods, broadened their appeal. The combination of images and text helped convey complex stories and added emotional impact, shaping readers’ understanding of events from wars to disasters and fashion to science.

Notable examples include L'Illustration in France, a prominent weekly founded in the 1840s, and the Illustrated London News in Britain. In the United States, titles such as Harper’s Weekly and other illustrated journals played similar roles. These publications built large readerships by delivering timely visuals alongside reportage, cartoons, and illustrations by artists and engravers.

Impact and legacy: Illustrés contributed significantly to the development of visual journalism and media literacy, creating a shared cultural imagination around contemporary events. They helped standardize the practice of illustrated reporting, influencing later photojournalism and the visual language of news. With the rise of radio, cinema, and television, many traditional illustrated weeklies declined or transformed, but the concept persists in modern magazines and digital media that emphasize imagery to accompany text.