At our knitting guild meeting last week we had 'vendor night'. If any of our members had knitting related items to sell, they set up a table and we got to buy things from them.
One person brought a whole assortment of very old Needlecraft magazines. Among them were a handful of other old magazines. I tried hard not to squeal when I saw them. I ADORE old magazines. And these were very special. I bought two copies of The Ladies Home Journal. One from 1920 and the other 1924.
Here is the May 1920 issue:
[album 65561 LHJ Cover.jpg]
It measures a whopping 16 by 10 1/2 inches and contains 224 pages!
And it weighs 2 pounds.... I mention this because I have to tell you, reading it was a challenge in ergonomics.
I loved everything about it though. Just everything. It was an education to read it. Were I a high school teacher, I would devote an entire two weeks doing compare and contrast lessons from this magazine. I kid you not.
I hardly know where to begin.
(How about the beginning?)
Good idea.
In the table of contents it lists EIGHT short stories, like this one:
[album 65561 LHJ Novelette.jpg]
Then there were four serial stories also! One would certainly have a sufficient amount of reading to keep you occupied until the next issue came out.
The next thing that just blew my socks off, was the art. Astonishing art. I wonder how many illustrators were kept employed by magazines in those years?? Virtually all the pictures were drawings or paintings. There were very few photographs.
Here's a good example:
[album 65561 LHJ Girls Art.jpg]
An advertisement for 'Wolfhead Undergarments'.
And toiletries...
[album 65561 LHJ Mavis.jpg]
I'll write more about it in the days to follow...
(She has 37 pictures.... I've seen 'em. Again and again and a...)
Don't you have something more constructive to do?
(Nope.)
Just as I thought.
More to come....