LIFE Magazine – February 5 1951

This original LIFE Magazine from February 5, 1951 features **New York City Police Commissioner Tom Murphy** on the cover, placing readers directly inside the news, personalities, style and visual culture of 1951. The cover gives the issue immediate display appeal, while the complete magazine preserves LIFE’s original photography, reporting and advertising from the period.

Inside, the issue extends well beyond the cover with coverage including **The Week’s Events** and **Korean War Era**, along with LIFE’s regular mix of current events, photography, entertainment, science, culture and modern living. For collectors, historians, gift buyers and anyone researching the early 1950s, this issue offers an authentic week-by-week record of how Americans saw their world at the time.

Inside This Issue

• New York City Police Commissioner Tom Murphy — The cover centers on New York City Police Commissioner Tom Murphy, giving the issue a distinctive 1951 visual identity.
• The Week’s Events — LIFE’s weekly news section records major American and international developments from this point in 1951.
• Korean War Era — The issue comes from the height of the Korean War and reflects the military and political atmosphere of the period.
• Cold War America — National-security, defense and foreign-policy concerns shape LIFE’s reporting throughout 1951.
• Photography — Original LIFE photojournalism captures people, places and events with the magazine’s signature visual style.
• Entertainment and Culture — Movies, theater, radio or television coverage reflects mid-century American popular culture.
• Science and Modern Life — LIFE’s science and modern-living departments document changing technology and everyday life.
• February 1951 — An original weekly snapshot of American life, advertising, news and culture from February 1951.

Original LIFE Magazines are authentic issues published between 1936 and 2000.