Written By: Eliza Berman
As magazine titles go, LIFE is perhaps the most all-encompassing in the history of periodicals. Though the magazine specialized in facets of human life from war to fashion and culture to politics the editors more than dabbled in the lives of our four-legged (and slithering and winged) friends. Someone in the art department clearly had a soft spot for dogs, but mice, lorises, triggerfish and walruses all had their turns on the cover, as well. For their contributions to science and cinema, agriculture and plain old human companionship, animals more than earned their ample coverage in LIFE though they probably couldn’t have cared less.
Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LizabethRonk.
February 8, 1937 LIFE Magazine cover
LIFE Magazine
March 1, 1937 LIFE Magazine cover
LIFE Magazine
April 26, 1937 LIFE Magazine cover
LIFE Magazine
July 26, 1937 LIFE Magazine cover
LIFE Magazine
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LIFE Magazine
December 12, 1938 LIFE Magazine cover
LIFE Magazine
April 3, 1944 LIFE Magazine cover
LIFE Magazine
September 9, 1946 LIFE Magazine cover
LIFE Magazine
September 23, 1946 LIFE Magazine cover
LIFE Magazine
November 4, 1946 LIFE Magazine cover
LIFE Magazine
August 23, 1948 LIFE Magazine cover
LIFE Magazine
January 31, 1949 LIFE Magazine cover
LIFE Magazine
October 8, 1951 LIFE Magazine cover
LIFE Magazine
November 30, 1953 LIFE Magazine cover
LIFE Magazine
December 22, 1952 LIFE Magazine cover
LIFE Magazine
March 22, 1954 LIFE Magazine cover
LIFE Magazine
November 8, 1954 LIFE Magazine cover
LIFE Magazine
November 24, 1958 LIFE Magazine cover
LIFE Magazine
March 16, 1959 LIFE Magazine cover
LIFE Magazine
June 27, 1960 LIFE Magazine cover
LIFE Magazine
February 10, 1961 LIFE Magazine cover
LIFE Magazine
March 1, 1963 LIFE Magazine cover
LIFE Magazine
June 19, 1964 LIFE Magazine cover
LIFE Magazine
January 6, 1967 LIFE Magazine cover
LIFE Magazine
December 5, 1969 LIFE Magazine cover
LIFE Magazine
January 30, 1970 LIFE Magazine cover
LIFE Magazine
