World's First Magazine

On the website oddee.com I came across a listing of the "world's firsts". In that list was what is considered to be the world's first known magazine "first published in 1731, in London". It's strange to see a magazine cover look like an insert of a classic novel. One of the first things that threw me off was that there was an obscene amount of text on the cover with what appears to be roman numbers listing what one will find throughout the pages. I suppose in history the table of context was the cover page. Everything is positioned in the center with no real design layout esthetic aside from the illustration of "St. John's Gate. Considering how time consuming it was in those days to put together a historical recount or just simply write a story by means of woodblocking and typesetting, appreciation for such is inevitable for me. It appears as the type made up most of the design. Where you placed it, how big one made it, how bold should it be, should it tilt.....these are all questions that still go on today but with more elements to add to the equation. THanks to Photoshop, photographs, the options of glossy or matted paper types, distortion of typeface through computer programs, the layering of images, the evolvement of open and negative space....I mean the opportunity to be creative are endless. ( and, I might add, effortless in most ways)