In this special edition in celebration of the centennial of the Brazilian Society of Dermatology, the authors take a retrospective look at printed Brazilian dermatology from the very beginning onward, showing evidence of descriptive dermatology with rich discussions, illustrations and advertisements of medications much used at the time, such as bismuth for the treatment of syphilis, before the discovery of penicillin. This retrospective covers up to the current days, when publications in the Brazilian Annals of Dermatology have reached the modern era in electronics, science and layout as well.