(FORTUNE Magazine) – When FORTUNE first appeared in February 1930, only one name got special billing on the table of contents: Margaret Bourke-White. In those days Henry Luce, co-founder of Time Inc., didn't give writers bylines in his magazines; that he gave pride of place to a photographer only underscored his vision of FORTUNE as a magazine built of far more than just words. Weighing in at over two pounds, with an 11 1/2-by-14-inch format, high-quality paper stock, and lavish gravure printing, the first issue of FORTUNE set out to be exactly that.

As for the photographs, Luce saw them not as adjuncts to the text but as integral to the stories themselves--an idea that immediately distinguished FORTUNE within the business press. The magazine quickly became known for offering creative latitude to its photographers, attracting some of America's most accomplished.

The influence of FORTUNE's photography extended to the shape of the art form itself; the magazine has often been credited with helping develop the genre of industrial photography. And it certainly contributed to the history of journalism: Luce decided to continue his experiment by creating a magazine devoted almost entirely to photojournalism. Life was launched in 1936, and many FORTUNE photographers helped to make it one of the great publishing successes of the century. This photo essay has been selected from "Picturing Business: The Photography of FORTUNE, 1930-1965," an exhibition at New York City's International Center of Photography through May 15.