Burda Magazine, 1978

Burda is a famous name in the sewing world. For over seventy-five years, the company has published a monthly fashion magazine with sewing patterns included. It was begun by Aenna Burda, wife of a German publishing magnate, in 1950. By the mid sixties it had a subscription base of over a million. During the Gorbachev reforms, it was translated in Russian and published in the Soviet Union, the first Western fashion magazine to achieve such a status. In 1995, the first Chinese edition was launched. Now it is distributed all around the world and published in seventeen different languages. These days Burda Style also has an active on line presence. A German friend brought me two old Burda Moden (Burda Fashions) from her mother’s extensive collection. They are a fascinating read. While today’s Burda Style deals almost exclusively with clothes, in 1978 it was more of a typical women’s magazine. It opened with a letter from Aenne Burda on edifying topics—in my two issues they are on the…