I don't know about you but historical trivia is a particular interest of mine. I'm always interested to find out the, usually very practical, reasons for why things are the way they are in our modern world.
This brief artical from Print magazine has some lovely examples of early magazines that are also the primary source for historical information on printing, design and typography.
During the 19th century an increase of printed materials fostered the rise in trade magazines. The content centered on information for the craft and profession. The Inland Printer was created in October 1883 “as a local trade magazine for the booming mid-western printing industry,” states an website entry for the Rockwell Center For American Visual Studies. It started small but within a decade this little monthly became the bible of the printing industry and has become a primary source of historical information...Read more
-Sean