Collier's illustrated weekly. Woman's number, New York, November 15th, 1902 - poster
The pattern
This still is filed under Issue-as-product mood sell.
Define
The issue is sold as a feeling: a face, a color field, a stance. Not as a table of contents.
Mechanism
Mood as SKU. The reader buys the atmosphere and trusts the articles will match. Zoning and figure do the listing's job.
Verdict
We publish a periodical or drop and the buyer chooses identity before they choose an article.
Why it works
The furniture supplies the grid: three bays, two filled with figures and one filled with type, so the words are read as part of the picture rather than as a caption. Turning both women inward aims every sightline at the centre column, the cheapest way to force a reader to the offer. The two costumes do the segmentation work, riding and motoring, telling a woman which kind of woman the issue is for before she reads a single word.
Steal this when
Reach for this when an announcement has no news in it and the audience definition is the only interesting thing you have. Build a frame, park representative people in it, and let the empty slot hold your copy.