Models Protest Coronet Magazine, 1946

In 1946, six protesters in their black dresses marching outside the Coronet magazine’s Chicago office. The models were protesting because Coronet, a general interest magazine that published from 1936 to 1971, was switching from using models on the cover to illustrations that were more in the Normal Rockwell vein.

The photos, taken by LIFE’s photographer Wallace Kirkland, show they carrying signs with slogans such as “Coronet Unfair to Cover Girls” and “David Smart is a Meanie!” Smart, also the co-founder of pioneering men’s magazine Esquire, was the publisher of Coronet.

The models eventually leaving the sidewalk and making their way into Smart’s office for a confrontation so unserious-looking that he seems to have appreciated the stunt as much as anybody.

(Photos by Wallace Kirkland/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock, via LIFE)