TL;DR
ShopLurker Labs has posted a Show HN project that catalogs New Yorker covers and exposes per-cover entries with several image-comparison options. The listing spans dozens of covers (late 2023 through 2025) and surfaces labels for comparison modes such as average, difference, perceptual and wavelet measures plus color.
What happened
A ShopLurker Labs page collects New Yorker cover entries by date and artist and exposes options to examine visual similarity. The listing runs chronologically from late 2023 into December 2025 and includes named contributors such as Barry Blitt, Christoph Niemann, Victoria Tentler-Krylov, Malika Favre and many others. For each cover the interface shows a set of comparison labels — rendered in the listing as All and individual modes referred to as Avg, Diff, Perceptual and Wavelet, together with Color — suggesting multiple ways to compare or filter covers. The page itself is presented as a Show HN item and appears to be an exploratory catalog rather than a formal research paper. Details about the underlying algorithms, data licensing, or whether source code is available are not provided in the source.
Why it matters
- Organizes a large set of magazine art chronologically, which can help design researchers and historians spot patterns.
- Exposes multiple image-comparison labels that could let users explore different notions of visual similarity (average, difference, perceptual, wavelet, color).
- Collecting artist-by-date metadata makes it easier to search or browse covers by illustrator or issue date.
- A public listing can serve as a starting point for further analysis, curation, or discussion of illustration trends.
Key facts
- Project appears on ShopLurker Labs and was shared as a Show HN item.
- Published timestamp in the source: 2026-01-06T20:22:43+00:00.
- Listing entries run at least from 2023-12-11 through 2025-12-29 in the visible excerpt.
- Each cover entry shows an artist name and date alongside comparison labels shown as All (Avg – Diff – Perceptual – Wavelet) and Color.
- Many recurring illustrators appear in the list, including Barry Blitt, Christoph Niemann, Victoria Tentler-Krylov, Malika Favre and others.
- Some entries list two cover attributions (for example, Cindy Sherman alongside “Eustace Tilley” by Rea Irvin).
- The page is structured as a chronological index of covers rather than a long-form explanatory article.
What to watch next
- Whether the project publish(es) methodology details or source code — not confirmed in the source.
- If the dataset will be expanded beyond the visible date range or opened for download — not confirmed in the source.
- Any follow-up posts or documentation that explain how the Avg, Diff, Perceptual and Wavelet comparisons are computed — not confirmed in the source.
Quick glossary
- Perceptual distance: A class of image-similarity measures designed to approximate how humans judge differences between images; implementations vary.
- Wavelet: A mathematical function used to decompose signals or images at multiple scales; wavelet-based measures can capture texture and structure.
- Average (Avg) comparison: A simple image comparison approach that typically aggregates pixel values; exact meaning depends on implementation.
- Color metric: An approach that compares color distributions or histograms between images to quantify similarity in palette or tone.
Reader FAQ
What is this project?
A ShopLurker Labs page that lists New Yorker covers by date and artist and displays options labeled for different image-comparison modes.
Who built the comparison tools?
not confirmed in the source
Does the page provide the underlying code or methodology?
not confirmed in the source
What time span do the listed covers cover?
The visible excerpt runs from at least December 2023 through December 2025.
2025-12-29 Lorenzo Mattotti All ( Avg – Diff – Perceptual – Wavelet) – Color 2025-12-22 Luci Gutiérrez All ( Avg – Diff – Perceptual – Wavelet) – Color 2025-12-15 Pierre-Emmanuel…
Sources
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