It's full of fabulous sweaters and some pretty wonderful photography. Some photos feature everyday scenes, like this one (love the kerchief):
Others are somewhat stranger, like this elegant woman with her super-sleek hair and sweater and that incongruous bunny. I think the designers were trying to make a point about the angora yarn used in the sweater, but I'm not convinced that it was the right call.
I also found a booklet of small projects from 1942. There are items for everyone in the family, from lacy collars and bedjackets for Mom to sweater vests and socks for Dad and plenty of projects for the kids, too (think stuffed dolls and woolly accessories).
I also nabbed a couple of magazines from the 1950s:
Woman's Day dates to August of 1953 and Modern Needlecraft is from Fall 1956. This particular issue of Woman's Day does not have many knitting patterns, just a three-way interchangeable sweater set, but it is absolutely full of articles about cooking, home design, and fashion as well as ads, which are fascinating themselves. I find it so interesting to look through magazines like this with an eye to their design and layout. This sort of mundane, ephemeral history is so rich in detail. I especially enjoyed the article entitled "Will Your Child Visit The Moon?" and its accompanying instructions for making space helmets out of everyday household items:
Crafters could cut out the logo at the bottom of the page and paste it to the finished helmet, which would most definitely have taken a lot of time and patience (and glue!) to make. The construction diagrams in the "how-to" section are more like engineering plans than craft instructions.
As an aside, did you know that Woman's Day was the official store magazine of the A&P? I did not until I looked through this copy. That explains the abundance of grocery-related ads and the inexpensive cover price of 7 cents. According to Wikipedia, the magazine was first sold in stores in 1937 and had a circulation of 3,000,000 by 1944 and 4,000,000 in 1958 when A&P sold the magazine to Fawcett Publications. It was sold a few more times and, of course, is still published today. There's a little history to consider next time you're waiting in the check-out line at the grocery store.
In contrast, Modern Needlework has a fifty-cent price and is loaded with knitting patterns for everyone, even the dog. I especially love this ad on the inside front cover. Look at that pair! Those stripes! That skiing sweater!
My last find was a card of unused vintage wooden buttons with a great Art Deco feel. I'll stash these away until I reach the '30s, I think.
Good finds!
ReplyDelete