Body Modification Early 1950s-Fashion

I reckon it's simply advertisement tactics making the large-busted girl appear the smallest. Wouldn't I love to have something like the 'Up and Out' feature for the lady with the 'little' ta-tas. I like mine, very much, but wouldn't mind a bit more bulk. Ok, they're up and out enough, just... barely filling an A-cup. A load of tops/shirts are not terribly flattering. That wasp's waist is pretty bitchin', too, I do, however, appreciate my organs being in their proper places. These images are from a 'Workbasket' magazine from the early 1950s (not sure which year; some totally rad housewife put all of her 'Workbaskets' into handmade books covered in 1950s shelf-paper. For some reason not every 'Workbasket' cover is included. All's swell, though! Lubs up the scans, please, and have a fabulous whatever-time-of-day-it-is-where-you-are. :)

Witch Stitching

In addition to 'ordinary' ephemera, I collect (and utilise, at times, though I'm in the market for a mold-casting kit so I don't have to use unique, antique buttons I'll never see again) old sewing stuff. And doilies. Love doilies. Seriously--I LOVE DOILIES, just ask my bewildered beau. Anyway, here are a few interesting things I thought some of you might enjoy.

Check out that fabulous spiderweb foil! They are very good needles, by the way.

This is one of my coolest, weirdest sewing items. I've never had trouble threading needles--but who could resist a WITCH Needle Threader? Odd that it says 'Printed in Germany' on the instructional sheet, when this was produced well-before The Cold War ended (see the box, which says 'Made in Western Germany'). Oh, er, yes. I'm also obsessed with Cold War stuff.

Now this spiffing little bit of kit is, as you can see, Victorian. I did not snip off that corner--what sort of philistine would do such a thing? They look mighty useful, though, don't they? I will probably take a pair and put them on a garment as a test.

Bitch Slappin', Kid Smackin', and Jet Settin'!

No, Rita Hayworth was probably a lovely woman, and violence is just not at all cool (sigh... even against children, I suppose), it was just a catchy title. I may change it as it is sort of offensive, isn't it? Erm, yes, anyway, onto the ephemera! Be sure to click for the full size; these are postcards (save the student photograph) and have a lot of fascinating details that may be missed in the 'thumbnails'.

1. From the 1946 film Gilda, starring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford.
2. A group of students, photographed in what appears to be the early- to mid-1920s.
3. El Sombrero Motel, Niagara Falls, New York
4. Hotel Sahara, Las Vegas.
5. Stardust Hotel, Las Vegas--nearly double-length postcard!
6. Monterey Court, St Augustine, Florida. (Front of postcard.)
7. Monterey Court, St Augustine, Florida. (Back of postcard.)

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And now... it's back. Smart Knitting Needlecraft! So very many apologies to you for neglecting to continue the scans. I'll do my best to keep it up, as well as chucking a number of other things in here and there for variety. Please enjoy! :)

Cutex, 1921

We're having some visitors this weekend so I've been doing some extra cleaning (that means making things normal), shifting things about... this has given me the rebellious opportunity to find even more time to eff about and slack. Naturally, I've turned to the ephemera for escape/comfort during such periods! Some of it is contained in metal file cabinets, another portion is in a 'banker's box' (sorry, working on that), and yet more exists in a large metal bin. Talking of the latter, well, its contents are what I've been digging into tonight. I am very careful with the treatment of this stuff (again, apologies for the 'banker's box' situation), so the following is a mystery to me: damp. Only one item--which has always given me trouble in various ways--seemed as though someone had misted it from within its folds. No mould, foxing, nothing like that. Just that damp feeling. It affected the two proximate items slightly. I am grateful that this dampishness, only just manifested in the other things.

Scanned here is a leaflet which at one time accompanied a product I do not own ('Cutex Dermatized Powder'). It was not affected much by the phantasmagoric moisture, and actually, neither was the main 'perpetrator' (should have said so by now, the perp's a part of the San Francisco Chronicle called 'Rotagravure Pictorial Section', a regular feature of eight pages, this one from 12 August 1923, will see if I can scan in later).

Right. Here We go with the aforementioned 1921 Cutex leaflet.

Naiads and Dryads

From:


1950s.

Source: that's yours truly again, scanning random ephemera. I want to be the naiad, that lovely nymph in the water...

1956 Hudson Estate (Station Wagon)

From Hudson Family Magazine, a winter issue, I presume. Gorgeous I-wish-it-were-winter cover: bare trees, snow, girl bundled in a wooly kerchief.


Source: moi, scan of ephemera. Oh how encouragingly cool the nights have been as of late...

Moulin Rouge Las Vegas 1955, 'America's First Interracial Hotel'

Really fascinating article on a Las Vegas nightclub/hotel that advertised itself as 'America's First Interracial' hotel. Las Vegas was seriously unfriendly towards non-whites during this era (the place opened May 1955). Sadly, it shut down in early '56. The theories as to the reason for its demise are many. From Smithsonian magazine, January 2013.











Source: Moi (scan)

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Again, I'm not a baby person, but hey-ho, enjoy the goodies.

Smart Knitting Needlecraft - Ephemera 3 quatre

Another scanning session with the knitting, needlecraft, and crochet book/magazine. Good gifts for the holiday season... neat little knitted animals and such. And I'm not into babies, toddlers, or children of any sort. I am keen on these things, however, nod in admiration at those who create them, and happily, yes, keep a menagerie of stuffed/knitted/crocheted animals myself.

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More from the knitting and needlecraft book/magazine.