The Dawn of Cuban Art Deco: Rare Social Magazine Covers of the 1910s ~ Vintage Everyday

April 9, 2026

The Dawn of Cuban Art Deco: Rare Social Magazine Covers of the 1910s

April 09, 2026 1910s, illustration, newspaper & magazine, work of art

Founded in 1916 by brothers Conrado Walter and Oscar H. Massaguer, Social was far more than a high-society chronicle, it was the intellectual and artistic heartbeat of early 20th-century Cuba. Most notably, it served as the gateway for the Art Deco movement into the island and made global history as the first publication to utilize photolithographic printing. Operating until 1938, the magazine’s journey was a turbulent one, marked by periods of silence as its directors and contributors faced exile and imprisonment for their bold stances.

While Social catered to the sophisticated elite, Conrado Massaguer famously used its pages to satirize the very class it served, blending haute couture with sharp social critique. The magazine was the unofficial voice of the Minorista Group, a collective of intellectuals at the forefront of Cuba’s cultural and political life. Within its vibrant pages, readers found a revolutionary mix of avant-garde poetry, philosophical essays, and art reviews alongside reports on motor racing and interior design.

Social is remembered as a pioneering force that didn’t just follow trends, it defined Cuban identity and modernism for an entire generation. Below is a collection of rare Social magazine covers from the 1910s.