Old Magazine Treasures
We found a number of old suitcases left by the previous owner of our house which were left in the attic. Never opened them until we were going to throw them out, as they were quite ratty in appearance. One was full of old magazines and newspapers, among them a Life Magazine from October 21, 1940. Price per issue 10 cents. I fantasized about the value until I saw similar magazines at an antique store for $5 apiece. Nonetheless they are fascinating.
The previous home owner was from New Jersey so he subscribed to the N Y Herald Tribune. The Weekly Book Review of January 6, 1946, has a review of a new book by Evelyn Waugh, called "Brideshead Revisited".
The newspaper included the "This Week" magazine supplement, and from February 17, 1946 there was a feature on the "most talked-of young actress on Broadway, Barbara Bel Geddes". We remember her as the matriarch on the TV show Dallas. Another article was on the building of the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. The "manners" column was written by Emily Post herself.
This is immediately post-WWII and the ads are interesting. Sunkist claimed that eating lemons would cure colds. Swift's Allsweet oleomargarine (white, required tinting) would supply 15,000 units of vitamin A; your family will love it. And all the coffee ads touted instant coffee, even though that's been around since 1890.
The real treasure is the Life magazine. The cover features model Mardee Hoff wearing a fancy sweater, as sweaters are featured in this issue.
Mardee Hoff
I checked her out on the internets, and discovered that in 1935 she was selected as having the most perfect figure in America.
1935
When one considers the state of the world in 1940, reading this issue has an unreal quality. There is plenty of war news, but it is presented as "over there" rather than "over here". The strangest series of photos shows Hitler at "precisely the happiest moment of his life", dancing a jig in front of his officers as he hears France is ready to surrender.
We are drafting men but rejecting a huge percentage for small ailments. England is under bombardment. British snipers are learning how to make Molotov cocktails, considered "unsporting" but they are fighting the world's number one cad. Cad!!
At the same time the ads are touting all the material goods the U S has to offer. Cameras, watches, whiskey, cigarettes, furniture, even automobiles. Table radios for $9.95, New 1941 Hudson for $695, fancy shirts for $2. You wouldn't believe the rampant sexism in the ads. At least that, though still there, is made a bit more subtle nowadays.
If you have an interest in this type of history there's plenty of these magazines available on line, but for maximum pleasure haunt antique stores, not only for bargain prices but the option to read them for fun and profit so you know what you're getting.
So what's new and interesting in your world, or at least your kitchen? Here's hoping you have all the best new stuff that American ingenuity can produce. Err, I mean China.
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Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share part of the evening around a virtual kitchen table with kossacks who are caring and supportive of one another. So bring your stories, jokes, photos, funny pics, music, and interesting videos, as well as links—including quotations—to diaries, news stories, and books that you think this community would appreciate. Readers may notice that most who post diaries and comments in this series already know one another to some degree, but newcomers should not feel excluded. We welcome guests at our kitchen table, and hope to make some new friends as well.
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