23 January 1957 “Increasing Garbage and Increasing Awareness for a 1950’s Gal”

The other day while perusing through my February 1957 copy of Better Homes and Gardens, I noticed this little snippet on wastebaskets.

At first I was drawn in by their darling design and wanted to see what they had to say. When I read the lines: “Trend today is to larger wastebaskets-to take care of the increasing use of paper napkins, plates, towels, place mats, tissue, wrappings.” It got me thinking, as usual.

Here I am happily in 1957. Many new products are available to me and certainly I cannot but help consider my 5o’s homemaker’s life only 10 years prior. Even after the war years, the amount of what I used daily for cleaning and cooking would be seriously half of what I would have today, here in 1957.

I consider my dishwasher, that little gem happily chugging away in the corner of my kitchen. The roll of paper towels at the ready for any spill or cleaning. There is my bright shiny electric stove, heat ready and willing with a turn of a button, no lighting pilots. My icebox, big and roomy and perhaps I’d have a full size freezer as well, stocked to the brim with food. More food than I could have imagined during the lean war years or the prior Depression years.

I’d happily pour myself another cuppa from my electric percolator (no stove top needed here) and enjoy my lovely coffee, hard to come by during the war. I’d pat my up to the minute washing machine and dryer and consider the cold Fall mornings, my hair in pin curls and my goulashes frozen cold pinning clothes to the line. How far I have come, I’d most certainly think.

I’d have the time, now more so than ever before, to relax with my cup of coffee and my magazine. Peruse the items I’d like to add to my lovely rich beautiful life. My husband, as well, would work less hours than his future self in the 21st century, but much less than a chap back in my childhood of the 20’s. I’d have the freedom to enjoy my leisure time in a home paid off in a few years and perhaps a second car in the garage awaiting my every whim. Life, it seems, would be good.

Yet, here I’d sit, an older homemaker, closer to 40 (VERY CLOSE) than 20. I’d remember those war years. Maybe the early days of my marriage, before the war or when hubby was on furlough, sipping our coffee substitute over a single burner alcohol stove, our little apartment done over with the best I could do with make shift spare fabric and a lot of ingenuity. We’d have so much less and more stress from the war, but we also needed less. Perhaps we would talk and dream of those days when ‘this bloody war was over’ and think of a little place, a picket fence and simply happiness.

And, now, I’d think, here we are. I am happy for my dishwasher and that freezer full of food. Heck, there are so many products available, canned exotic fruits from our new state Hawaii (1951) and so much, just so much. Will it always be this way? I might wonder. Had I any children I would consider their futures, imagine their college years and their eventual move towards all I have now, the ease of the modern home, less working hours, a home paid for, good jobs a plenty.

Of course, the modern me, that little pain of the 21st century who always pokes her head into my eden and points out I am just a visitor here, in 1957, and that I cannot remain a permanent fixture forever always bursts my bubble. I need no crystal ball or soothsayer. I know what the world is in the 21st century. I have lived there. It has, in fact, made me increasingly want to close my eyes and turn my back to it and stay here in the 1950’s.

But, even here in my plastic luxury and convienant leisure, I cannot help but think of what we are doing. I see this ad and consider  “the increasing use of paper napkins, plates, towels, place mats, tissue, wrappings” and wonder…when should we stop? When is enough enough. Let’s put on the brakes and work on maintaining what we have for our children and grand children. Do we need more? Do I need a phone in every room in every color? Do I need a phone at all, remember as a child in the 30’s all those years of learning penmanship and letter writing? My trusty dishwasher, do I need it? Sure, electricity is so cheap today, here in 1957, but as I become more dependent upon it for my increasing ‘homemaker’s helpers’ will they ever up the price to make more money? Then, when my daughters can’t imagine a world without those appliances will they just deal with increasing costs?

I would have heard, last year in 1956, about the scientist M. King Hubbert who clearly described how we in the US, now one of the major oil producers, would run out of oil between 1965 and 1970. Sure, he was then considered a laughing stock. And why not, look at all that wonderful petroleum pumping out of the ground in Texas! Why worry. But, I might consider, what if we our US oil supply does go away? What then? What about all those towns and jobs and business in our country where our young G.I.’s are happy to have jobs? What then? What about the towns and all the people and what about our increasing roads and highways built to continue travel and production in our country. I already see our train travel and means of supplies changing over to trucks, cars, and planes. What if….?

I don’t honestly know if we could have some how put the brakes on and made our ‘land of plenty’ last if we only slowed it down and tried to continue the jobs/production and use of our own oil if it would have made a difference. Many think the American way is to grow and grow and grow, but do we grow for the better or for the pockets of a few?

I know that wives today have to work as well as their husbands. They both work longer hours than one in the 1950’s. Their homes are not affordable enough to pay off quicker. And we have SO MANY MORE modern appliances to make our lives ‘easier’ and yet are our lives easier? And if so, are they more enjoyable? Are we getting our ‘bang for our buck’? I honestly don’t know.

When I started my project I had no idea the roads it would take me down. I have found so many things I am proud of and like to re learn from the past. But, along that same journey I have found out things, hidden evil that I wish I could forget and didn’t learn. Things which seem to show a very pointed path to where we are currently and I am not sure, sometimes, if even hiding in the 1950’s is far enough away.

I hope this post is not too bleak. There are so many things I love about my life and the 1950’s but I also know there is so much about the modern world that I feel could be better but I am not sure they can be undone. For, I find many of them, many of these things I don’t like, really began here in my favorite decade. It only we could say, ‘enough, we have it right. Let’s just work on equality for more people and continue to advance medical system, but don’t inundate us with more and more drugs. And please don’t turn farming into a corporate business.” But we have no real time machine and no magic wand.

I have to make my happiness the best way I can. I find the joy in the simple and the skills of the home and land. To bake and cook, to grow and raise my own, to try and make more myself. Yet, for the country as a whole, I find it almost impossible to want to support others in those endeavors as they are not legally allowed to do so. Our local farm was almost shut down, because of more legislature last year that made them have to add more ‘health and saftey’ items that are really in place to shut them down and make it easier for the big corporate farms. I just don’t know.

Perhaps you can add more to my little ran here to make me feel better about our modern times. I am happier for the freedoms enjoyed by women and minorities, but in that same vein it seems the freedoms of the general public seem to be less than before, despite your race, sex, or creed. Have we gone to far? Have we given up too easily to the convienance of the modern world without asking ‘WHY’ or wondering if we need it.

Perhaps, my little moment of wonder would fade as I see the time on the clock. Hubby will be home soon enough and I have to put more clothes in my dryer and then thaw something from my freezer for dinner. Perhaps just a few minutes of the daily Soap Opera…just a few minutes. Would and could this become my life if I were truly in 1957? Would I slowly accept all the ease and watch it wash over me, caring little what happens to the future generations? I don’t know? It is so hard to say. I do know that was at first the joy of petticoats and pin curls sometimes veers into the realm of social responsibility and wonder at my world at large. I wish I could say that I know the 21st century will be an improvement upon what I have here in 1957, buy I am not sure if more legal drugs (Or prescription drugs we call them advertised to us), new diseases possibly caused by our foods and their genetic alterations, and 3-D TV and Cell phones that play movies and books that appear, as if by magic out of thin air on our devices, is better. I don’t know. What if, and I don’t know the answer to this, neither the 1957 nor the 21st century me, what if all the things we come to rely on become too expensive too run because we may have less oil at higher prices? I honestly don’t know.

I do know that a simple trip back to the 1950’s has made me more aware of my modern world than ever watching modern tv and news ever did. And I have to say, it the road ahead for you, my 1957 self, better? I don’t know…

 

 

21 January 1957 “ President Eisenhower Sworn in Again and The Frisbee is Born”

Last night, here in 1957, Dwight D. Eisenhower was sworn in, for his second term as President of the United States. I think listening to this speech and possibly having a discussion about it might be worth a post in its own right later on.

This month the Frisbee was released by the Wham-O toy company (who also released the hula-hoop as well). The gentleman pictured with the space helmet is the actual inventor of the toy. Fred Morrison was a pilot and carpenter.

The story goes he and his then girlfriend were having Thanksgiving at her mother’s home in California in 1937. They began tossing a popcorn maker lid around to entertain themselves. The lid bent, so they snatched a cake pan from the kitchen.

They then sold these at beaches and parks until Mr. Morrison went off to WWII as a bomber-pilot. After the war, he and his wife settled in Southern California and due to the various craze for UFO sightings and all things ‘space age’ he made a plastic version and the toy was officially born. This was called the ‘flyin-saucer’ and he and his business partner sold them around at fairs and such events.

By the mid 1950’s he had designed and made his section edition of the flyin-saucer dubbed: the Pluto Platter, stamped with the names of all the solar system’s planets around its rim. He would go to fairs dressed as you see him above and demonstrate and sell the item.

The famous Toy company WHAM-O got wind of it and In 1957 Mr. Morrison signed over the Pluto Platter rights to Wham-O in exchange for lifetime royalties.

The name “Frisbee” came a little later when some of the Toy company executives were on a trip out to the East coast they noticed college students playing the same game with pie tins from the famous Frisbie Pie Co. in Bridgeport, Conn. These  pie tins had long been popular for tossing on New England college campuses. With a change of spelling to avoid trademark trouble, Wham-O’s Frisbee was born.

19 January 1957 "Guest Blog Sanne: Vintage Jewelry"

Today we are going to enjoy a guest blog from our good friend and fellow Apronite Sanne. She lives in Denmark with her lovely husband and teenage son. She was one of our Apronites of the Month. I hope you enjoy her post about her wonderful collection of Costume and Vintage Jewelry.

Costume Jewelery

I love costume jewellery, especially from the fifties. And it is an elegant an inexpensive way to

spice up your vintage look – or any look. I will not claim that I am an expert, but I have collected for almost ten years, and have learned and read some things, which I will tell you in this guest blog.

Getting Started

You can find a few inexpensive things on flea markets or the internet to add a little glamour and

nostalgia to your look, or you can start a collection. Believe me - one thing often leads to the other!

There are several things to start with:

Pins /

Brooches:

Pins are very vintage and can be used in many ways. In general, if you go for the look and not for

the brand, there are so many darling pins out there to be picked up. A pin can be teeny tiny or very

big, it can have a few or a lot of rhinestones and/or pearls, it can be plated with enamel, gold or silver, it can be figural or sculptural. The choice is yours. If you see a fabulous pin at a flea market– buy it. I still regret some pins I didn’t buy. Watch out for missing or discoloured rhinestones, unless you have some spare at home you can replace them with. If all the stones are discoloured the pin can still be very charming.

Charm Bracelets:

Are very … charming! And very fifties. In the fifties all women collected charms for their bracelet, and for their daughters. I love them, I always wear one, and have a huge collection. They also come in a very large variety, and again if you don’t go for brand you can find them at a reasonableprice. I’ve found lovely charm bracelet at five dollars on eBay! I love the miniatures and the lovely jingle when you wear them. You can collect your own bracelet with charms that means something to you - that symbolized events or places you’ve visited, etc. Or you can buy ready-made theme bracelets. I love the theme bracelets and have many themes to choose from, e.g. travel bracelets, seasonal and holiday bracelets, gardening bracelets, theatre bracelets, religious bracelets, car bracelets, Disney bracelet, etc. etc. Even a kitchen themed bracelet. You can even find “mechanical” charms, which is a charm that has some kind of function or can open and reveal a “secret”.

These are very much fun, but are priced a little higher. I have collected a silvertone

Monet charm bracelet from the fifties only with charms that mean something to me. Ahem, I have to mention that Monet charms became quite addictive, so I have three more bracelets loaded with charms that were just … charming.

Earrings:

Ahhh, my favourite. I don’t go anywhere without earrings. Earrings are also a great starter, since you can find some really nice and inexpensive ones to start your collection. You can find studs for pierced ears, clips and screw backs.

Personally, I don’t like the screw backs, they hurt my ear and they hang, but perhaps it is just my ears that are not suitable for wearing them. The trick should be that you can adjust them. I have earrings in all sizes, from tiny to really huge. If they become quite large and heavy, do wear them with clips, since your piercings will drop, and it will not look nice. A tip for a very fifties look is to collect confetti Lucite earrings. Lucite was used for jewelery during WWII since metal was sparse and used for war purposes. They are inexpensive (often around 5 dollars a pair), very fifties and looks nice for everyday wear. You can find them in every color and with embedded glitter, seashells or other small things – even bugs! Always try them on, look in a mirror if they suit your face and your style. In general, use button earrings for day wear and dangling and glittering for evening wear. Collect some pairs in neutral tones or if your wardrobe is

colour coordinated, buy the colours that match most of your outfits.

Necklaces:

For some strange reason I’m not very much into neclaces, although you can also find them in

every style and look. Pearls are very fifties, and here is a great tip – pop beads! If you don’t know them they are plastic beads with a hole in one end and a tip at the other. You can make every length, you can make matching bracelets and you can even make them in alternating colors. They are inexpensive at e.g. eBay and are very versatile. I always use them for travelling, since I have pearls for whatever look I might want. Be aware if the beads are coated, since they are vintage the coating might peel off.

Rings:

Cocktail rings are also found in every price range and every style. I think rings should be the last

to add to your collection if you want to save. I like rings that matches my outfit, but they most often look like what they are – costume. Not always as elegant as you want.

Seasonal and Holiday Jewellery:

A vintage tradition is to have seasonal and holiday jewellery, so why not collect a few items

for each season and holiday? I can assure you that you will get noticed and receive a lot of

compliments. And you don’t need much for each season/holiday to start with - begin with e.g. a pin and a bracelet. Later you can find more pins, earrings, and perhaps even a necklace. But do only use them at the right season, or else it will look silly. I pack my holiday jewellery away with all the other holiday decoration stuff, and when I unpack it next time it makes me so happy to see it all again.

SCS:

SCS is a serious illness you might start suffering from when you start collecting. SCS is “Set

Completion Syndrome”. When you have a nice pin you want the matching earrings, and then

the matching bracelet, or even necklace. A set always looks nice. A “parure” is a complete set,

which is a necklace, bracelet and earrings, perhaps even a pin. A “demi-parure” is a half set, e.g.

a bracelet and earrings. You will never know if there are more items for your set, but you might be lucky to find something that matches perfectly. Sets are always admired.

Care:

Always put on your jools last and take them off first - which means putting them on after you have sprayed with perfume or hairspray, and take them off before you start bathing or cleansing your face. Never wash or soak costume jewelery pieces, use a soft cloth or a (new) baby toothbrush to clean the items. A baby toothbrush is a great tool to remove old dust, not everything vintage looks nice. ;) Never use chemicals. If a piece is very dirty, make some mild soap water, dip the toothbrush into it, dab it on a cloth so it is only damp, turn the piece upside down and clean it from the downside. Let it dry completely upside down. Moisture kills rhinestones and makes pearls peal.

You might put your jewels in those practical small plastic bags, but don’t zip them, since this mightalso kill the rhinestones. They darken and loose their sparkle.

Inexpensive Brands:

Now I’ve said I don’t look for brands, but two brands are worth mentioning:

Sarah Coventry and Coro. Both have a lovely style (in my opinion) and are still reasonably prices.

Shopping Links:

www.eBay.com – watch out, and ask the seller questions if you are in doubt. Most often the seller

does not know what he/she is selling. Hence you can find some really great bargains.

SmokingRaven (LINK: http://stores.ebay.com/Smoking-Ravens-Vintage-Jewelry) – low price, but

nice vintage jools. Earrings start at 1 dollar. Very friendly service. PS: Her Sarah Coventry jools are

too expensive.

Ruby Lane (LINK: http://www.rubylane.com) and Tias (LINK: http://www.tias.com) – both are

lovely places to buy, and normally the seller knows what he/she is selling, but again, ask questions

before buying.

Eclectica (LINK: www.eclecticala.com) – my personal favourite, she’s an expert and you always

get super friendly service. Do visit her Theme Pages.

See my jewellery collection here: LINK: http://samati.dk/fotos/smykker_uk.htm

And in fact I have some vintage pieces for sale at our Danish version of eBay (LINK: http://

www.dba.dk/brugerens-annoncer/brugerid-1096878), if you are interested in something, do send

me a mail and I’ll translate the text and give you a great price.

And feel free to ask questions, although I have to stress that I’m not an expert.

Sincerely,

Sparkling Sanne

18 January 1957 “A Bit out of Sorts”

Hubby, Gussie, and I played hookie yesterday and spent the day sledding, drinking cocoa in front of the fire, and playing scrabble. It was fun, but tiring and now I an rather late with the wash day (was suppose to be yesterday) and a bit tired. While yesterday I was the free spirit whooping it up down the icy slopes of our ‘coastin hill’, today I am the curmudgeonly ole’ New Englander, cranky and busy.

So, I shall return tomorrow. We have a lovely guest post coming from our fellow Apronite Sanne, which I may post tomorrow. I have a few others of you interested in guest posting. If any others would like to consider it, email me or just comment on this post about it. I rather like ‘sharing the load’ as it were and also hearing from all of you.

I know most of you have your own blogs and sites, but it is nice to touch base here and of course we would link back to your own site. Share the love, isn’t that how it is done in cyberspace? One never knows, when one is a crabby old 50’s housefrau, as I am today.

Good and Happy Homemaking to all today!

16 January 1957 “Q & A Sunday: The Laundry”

I thought we could talk about laundry on this Q & A Sunday. We have come a long way from the days of our great grandmothers.
This copper set in a stone or brick fire heated stove was once part of the Monday Wash day. Water was put in the copper and a fire set under it until the water was boiling hot. The clothes were put in and you used your own power to get the clothes clean. Here is a similar set up with a washing sink and a place for ‘spot cleaning’.
As oil and gasoline was once a new fangled item and not everyone had cars, the stuff was often used in odd ways. This information is from my book “Household Discoveries and Mrs. Curtis’s cook book” which was published in 1908. You can purchase a copy HERE if you are interested.
This section in the Laundry tells you how to clean with Gasoline. It advises such cleaning to be performed out of doors. A good idea, when one considers the flammability of the stuff. By the 1920’s and 30’s this would have been a normal scene. The wringer be a wonderful aid, but good old elbow grease is still a main feature. This lady may have the advantage of a powered washer, though it has to be hand filled and wrung out by hand.
There were also gas powered machines, which though noisy, must have increased productivity immensely.

This Maytag, most likely from the late 1930’s into the 1940’s, shows the move towards electricity. This machine must have seemed a wonder after Granny’s old Gas Powered machine, which worked on the same principal, but was louder and not quite as effective. None the less, it was better than hand churning in great boiling pots or fire heated wash basins. I love how you can adjust the amount of pressure on the wringer wheels for either a heavier piece or a more delicate like mother’s negligee or fathers embroidered pocket handkerchiefs.

Yet, even here in 1957, they are still making and selling the washer/separate ringer models, such as this one.

    I wonder if an older homemaker would just be used to this system from their childhood on, so the idea of getting a new machine that felt familiar was prevalent enough to have these type of washers continue to be produced here into the late 1950’s.
An interesting point, from water use, is that a  typical modern washing machine uses 40 gallons for wash and 40 for rinse. So, when the wringer was used, you saved 40 gallons by simply not needing it to rinse out the clothes.
Here in 1957 they have thought of every contingency to entice sales of new washers. This ad for RIT dye shows how it works even better in a special dye reservoir in this model of washing machine. The decadent 1950’s in me makes me lust after a set like this. The color (which I am willing to bet probably also came in my favorite blue) is wonderful and the sleek yet appealing design makes me covetous. I love the little foot step on the bottom of the dryer to open the door. Why does this not exist on my dryer!
Yet, the part of me that has been growing over these past year’s in the 1950’s has been away from consumerism and materialism. And, in a way, I think there is a precedent here in the 1950s. Especially for a woman of my age. I would have been a War bride. I would have worried after hubby and others while away at war. I most likely would have had a war job and been a part of growing more, canning, doing without. This was a time when we had to rest on our laurels, “make do and mend” , Victory Garden, and just come together to make it all work out. This was pretty much tossed out the window in the increasing consumerism of the 1950s.
I honestly think there would be moments when I, such a War bride, would be in my clean packed Super market, driven in my own new second car, buying prepared foods and all the little plastic novelties that I would stop, remember and think, “Is this why we did it all?” “Is this the freedom we fought for, to buy cheap things made in Japan (that’s where they were made then and Taiwan) and buy and want?” “What of the freedom we made for ourselves when we used less, made more of our own, and had to work together to make do?” There had to be those moments then.
As I begin my adventure into the latter part of that Golden Age of the 1950’s, I am finding myself wondering more and more about my own current time. The more I learn to cook and can and sew and garden and make do with what we have, the more I look about at our mass consumption and almost feel sick. It almost feels like a blight or a mass hysteria of sorts. Perhaps it is just par for the course with my own growing disconnect from the modern world BECAUSE of my project. I mean I am disconnected from the world more, yet I continually find myself happier and better equipped to live the MORE I disconnect and the more I depend on myself.
Therefore, in some way, I do feel genuine in my late 50’s homemaker status that such feelings would surface. I wouldn’t wonder if it all would last, it was all to new to even consider then, but I would wonder if we were making a mistake. If all the effort to fight a war for freedom only to give up our personal freedom of creativity and ingenuity to simple want, greed, and avarice. This would continue to be apparent were I to have an older life child, as I would here in 1957. I would see that child growing up in the early 60’s with so many toys and so much plastic, soda, cereals, candy want want need. This would be compared to my own 1920’s and Depression childhood. The contrasts would be great.
I understand now why those older housewives of the time would wring out their paper towels and let them dry in the sink. They couldn’t do it, they couldn’t use it once and toss it away. They HAD to use it until it was unusable. IT was unthinkable of them to waste. I am beginning to be that person more and more.
I find it so interesting to me that someone of my generation who chose to travel to the time when all the consumerism and desire really began somehow now finds herself wanting, nay desiring more and more to do more myself with less. It is an odd combination, perhaps the two negatives have cancelled one another out and made the positive. And in many ways, I feel it IS a positive, how I have become. Who knows, if there ever is a lessening of oil and we HAVE to return to an older way of life, I will already be half way there. I live most of my days without setting foot in a car. I make most things from scratch and sew my own clothes. I suppose I could just as easily learn to use an old treadle sewing machine with no electricity since I learned to use the electric 1950’s model I now use.
Maybe one day I will find myself using this type of washing machine. Though, I would probably have purchased an unloved old machine with a ringer like this anyway, but the same principal.
No matter where our future takes us, we certainly can see how quickly washing changed in a matter of generations for the homemaker of the 20th century.
Happy Laundry Day and Happy Homemaking.

15 January 1957 “New Vintage Patterns”

I have been exceptionally busy these past two days. Yesterday, however, I found some wonderful new Repro Vintage Butterick patterns. This first I am so excited about. I have been trying to find a top and pencil skirt pattern like this for some time. HERE they are in the Corner Store if you are interested. And HERE as well.
When looking up the number of the pattern to get the image to share with you, the original Butterick 5557 showed up.
Isn’t this one darling. I would love to own this pattern because look how easy the sleeveless number looks to make. Here it is done in the Butterick Pattern Book for Spring 1951. I also purchased this one. I have been trying to find a dress like this with the Dolman sleeve cut into the bodice (as opposed to the sleeve being cut separate and set in and sewn to the bodice). I am not sure which of these two I will use for this month’s dress.
I also got this darling coat pattern. I have never attempted a coat, but this said it was  a very easy. When I checked it out, these are also a dolman sleeve and this swing coat is simply Two pieces cut with darts on the front shoulders and pockets applied to the outside! I am not sure if I will make a coat now for winter, but a Spring coat in some heavy duck would be lovely, don’t you think?
Happy Sewing and Happy Homemaking.

13 January 1957 “A Do It Yourself Coffee Table and Clowns:Once The Darling of The 1950’s”

I thought I would share this lovely little ‘Do-it-yourself’ idea from one of my magazines. It is a very clever mid-century modern design for a coffee table, utilizing a door. I think it could also be made more Early American by some clever painting or decoupage techniques. Or, simply paint it a solid color. I think it would be fun to attach some metal office baskets underneath (you could do this easily when it is turned upside down) so you could store magazines and things underneath out of sight, but easy to get to.
In the 1950’s and earlier, the clown was seen as an endearing character. Usually funny and jovial, though sometimes a sad clown, it represented the fun and excitement of the circus.
Here is a kid’s show featuring a Clown from the early 1950’s:

Clowns played a major role in graphic arts/advertising, children’s books, fabric, wrapping paper, even household items such as lamps and chairs. Even Food was often given these delightful creatures as a theme.
These battery operated toys were very popular during the 1950’s. And of course, the clown played a major role here as well.

The fear of clowns must have come after the 1970’s because I recall, as a small child in the late 70’s, having one of these type of Jack in the box with the clown face.
  These Hazel Atlas Milk Glass tumblers and Cookie jars are Kitsch today, but the bright colors exemplify the 1950’s kitchen palete of red/pinks, soft blue/teal, yellow and red.   They show that the clown was not meant only for children. Many a homemaker would have been proud to have these in her kitchen. These, to my modern sensibilities, are a bit more menacing. Before Ronald, Clowns were still considered good fodder to sell food.And toy clowns abound during this decade. This McCall’s pattern features one as part of this sew your own toy collection. To my old modern sensibilities he almost has a sinister grin, but I think this is due to my modern view of clowns.
Certainly Clowns played a major role as a ‘go-to character’ in arts and crafts. (This thanks to Kitschy Kitschy Koo)  And toys such as these would have been happily received and possibly wrapped in papers such as this.
Today, many of us have a very different view of the clown. We often view them as kitsch or sometimes even menacing and evil. That is probably due to the Poltergeist films where a toy clown attacks the family. There is also the horror writer Stephen King to thank for menacing clowns as well. I am not sure why they recieved that eventual position in the collection of frightening creatures. That is of course unless those children of the 1950’s (who King and Spielberg certainly were) had nightmarish moments as children with toys or bedroom furniture.
Though this looks darling to me it might have frigtened King or Speilberg late at night, with the long shadows cutting across it. Or perhaps the moonlight hit this just so, and nightmares ensued.
We do know that the Clown was one of the major choices for children’s Halloween costumes, both in the happy variety and the clown’s wayward cousin, the HOBO .
Even the art world was subject to these characters as we see in this 1955 painting by the artist Bernard Buffet. He was a French Expressionist and was a member of the anti-abstract group "L 'homme Témoin”. I suppose the irreverence of representational art in the form of the clown was their way to counter the growing popularity of Abstraction in the 1950’s.
Since that time, the clown has made many appearances in art, often with much irony or again with the ability to menace either out of fear or fear of good taste.
Any way you slice it, the clown elicits some response. There is no middle ground for these bright characters. You either coil in fear, raise your nose in disgust of Kitsch, or hold out your arms in a ‘Gimme Gimme’ stance, wanting to take them home with you.
I have a love hate relationship now after living two years in the 1950’s. My once clean cut hatred has become a see saw response of joy and disgust. Again, a response for sure, no hum-drum indifference.
How do clowns make you feel?

12 January 1957 “TV Bloopers, Saturday Evening Post, and Transfers”

Addendum to this POST: I don’t know how I didn’t see this before, but I just found out that I had over 100 comments that were awaiting moderation. Now, I don’t know how this happened as I have no moderation on. I think there may be a new moderation for spam that is just now standard with blogger. But, when I saw so many lovely comments just sitting there waiting, I really felt bad. I don’t know how to turn that off, so any help with that would be great. Thanks and sorry if your comment never appeared on a post.
I thought this mildly amusing. This year, on the “To Tell The Truth” show, there was a blooper. Shows at this time are filmed lived in front of a studio audience. So, of course, there is no ‘cut and do-over’. In some ways this almost lent a more ‘reality’ to TV at the time. While today our ‘reality TV’ is heavily scripted and edited, but I digress.
Now, to understand this blooper you must understand this segment of the show. Three individuals each give the same name. One of them would, of course, be this person, often someone somewhat famous (as in this blooper episode Mickey Sullivan-A well known football coach)  Then the celebrity guests are given an affidavit of the real person and  have to try and guess who is ‘Telling the Truth”. In this clip the first fellow apparently gave his REAL name, not the false name. So, of course, Hilarity ensued.

I see this cover of last weeks (January 5 1957) Saturday evening post has mention of the Hungarian Revolt. I spoke of it briefly at the end of 56, never quite finding the right way to do the entire subject justice. Knowing what I do from the over seas newsreels of the time, I wonder how American received it. If it, in any way, made them feel more joyous of their own freedoms at the time and if it also began to worry them to try and keep an eye on those said freedoms. I don’t own this magazine, so cannot read the article. Maybe I can get my hands on a copy sometime.
Also, the illustration is adorable. I love the slim sheath dress of the surprised hostess and that, presumably, men wore suits to dinner parties. I also love the wallpaper in the room. It looks to be a sort of Plum background with Hydrangea’s or lilacs and paired with the greenish yellow doors, wow, they knew how to use color in the 1950’s.
 Speaking of color, this 1957 McCall’s of iron on transfer/appliqués are adorable. The bright color and simple shapes are such a part of this decade. I also love how perspective is always played with. The little cakes’ odd football shape contrasting the circular plate. These are the types of images I have been immersed in the past two years and so, of course, are highly influencing my own art. My current Children’s book being heavily influenced by color and odd perspective. It is rather freeing, actually.
These little designs must have been darling used as in the picture, on bedspreads, clothing or as wall art. I also noticed, again here, how clowns were perceived much differently than today. Today there seems to be a general consensus that clowns are either creepy, kitsch, or nightmare fodder. Perhaps  much of that is owed to the Poltergeist movies and Stephen King. But, sublimely ignorant of such things here in 1957, I have begun to look at clowns a little differently.
That will have to wait until tomorrow, because as technology often does to me, I had just inserted many clown images and text and it randomly shut down not saving any of it. It is very frustrating indeed! So, tomorrow: Clowns.

Now to close with, I am not sure if any of you would be interested to follow along, but this is the actual calendar days for 1957. Thought it might be mildly interesting to compare.
Happy Homemaking.