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On Eve of LA Weekly’s 40th Anniversary, Here’s an Amazing Digital Archive of Old Covers

This cover came out in the 80’s/

[dropcap size=big]R[/dropcap]emeber when the LA Weekly was a voice to be reckoned with? There was once a time that you'd sit at the barbershop with all the old veteranos who were reading some Spanish-language rag, or old copies of Time, and you'd be there with this large, dirty tabloid painting the insides of your fingers in cheap ink.

Well we've hit the motherload. We found an archive of old covers of the LA Weekly put together by J. J. Englender over at ADSAUSAGE. The Weekly was actually founded in December 1978 as a free alt-weekly by publisher Jay Levin. The magazine quickly became a voice for L.A. street and youth culture, and frequently challenged the status quo before crumbling last year and firing 95 percent of its staff.

This cover is from Jan. 27, 1988.
This cover is from June 29, 1999.
This cover is from 1999/Photo by Whoever.
This cover is from Dec. 12, 1980.
This cover is from June 12, 1979.
This cover is from March 14, 1980.
This cover is from Oct. 11, 1991.
This cover is from Dec. 29, 2001.
This cover is from April 29, 1983.
This cover is from Nov. 19, 1982.
This cover is from Sept. 3, 1982.
This cover is from Jan. 15, 1982.
This cover is from Dec. 4, 1981.
This cover is from Nov. 20, 1981.
This cover is from Oct. 2, 1981.

See the full archive here.

RELATED: The L.A. Taco Interview ~ Brian Calle, Publisher of L.A. Weekly, Answers Critics

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