75 Years in Covers

IT BEGAN at a seminal moment--Sept. 7, 1929, a scant seven weeks before the great stock market crash and with a warning of "the inevitable adjustment that draws near." But in that design era, BusinessWeek's cover gave no explicit hint of what was inside. Early in the 1930s, however, the concept of the cover story took hold, and as the magazine tracked business--and the world--the cover began to mirror not just significant trends and events but also the evolution of design. Whether photography, illustration, or a skillful blend of graphics and language, covers trace the move from typewriters to computers and the Net, from Depression to wars and the horrors of 9/11, and corporate triumphs and foibles all along the way.