3 February 1955 "Robots, Retro Dye, Cakes, Cards, and Crazy Neighbor"

Not much news here in 1955, but here are some interesting things, none-the-less:

Here is an advertisment showing a new personal movie camera format. Looks like widescreen to me.

Hubby was telling me he saw a book about robotic technology today (2009) and that the view of robots in japan are of friendlier and often heroic figures. Yet, in U.S. sci-fi etc they often are viewed as attackers/outsiders or turning against their creators. It is a funny and interesting view of our two cultures. I wonder if it is because our own young country has always had a class system in flux we? We have not had thousands of years of servant/master situations to allow us to build up an idea of a friendly and happy servant. Afterall our own country was based on upheaval and turning against those who once helped us, so perhaps we expect it of our machines? And our ideas of Freedom are often tied up with uprising and power struggle. I mean we founded our contry by leaving behind a country that told us what to do. We then were aided by a people who we helped somewhat then turned on them. We brought in people to be our slaves and they had to gain their freedom through war. So, it follows I suppose, that we just assume or friendly robot servants and soldiers will rise up against us, I mean we did it, right?

I thought this was in interesting view of robots from the UK. This is from a 1953 magazine showing yoy how to build this friendly turtle robot that apparently entertains your child. Good thing it isn't an American Robot Turtle, or it might turn on poor little sally there.

Robby the robot from Forbidden Planet, one of my favorite scifi movies, though it does not come out until 1956.

It seems even aliens are out to get us, as seen in the 1950 movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still" Also quite good and meant to be one of the early classics of the genre. Although in this case (and perhaps in the case of the robots) we do have to realize the horror of WWII. Outsiders coming onto your soil to destroy you was not that far fetched. The artwork from the Science Fiction world is all quite interesting and rather telling. It certainly, in a more representational way, shows the country and the worlds fears in Post War times. The 'High Art' was doing similiar things in its very abstraction. The denial and upheaval of old ways. A distrust of what had been. But, I digress...

Today I recieved these little darlings in the mail (thanks ebay). This will coincide with my sewing/dress making. I want to get some good sturdy white cotton for dresses and dye the fabric. I can't imagaine a more vintage finished product. They will definitely be Authenitc colors. I was excited, too, by the colors, my favorites Blue and Browns. I will post before and after results of the fabric and of course the eventual dresses made from them. Perhaps I will use some of the left over fabric for curtain ties or pillow accents in one of the room redecorating. If it works out, I will hunt out more of these. It is wonderful how ebay is really a sort of time-machine department store. And think of all the lovely things that would have ended up in landfills can now grace the shelves of such crazy people as myself! Don't you love the graphics? In 1955 money the .20 cent box would have cost $1.57. That is cheaper than the RIT I can still buy at my local grocery store. Again, cheap clothes at Old Navy have made making clothes not as cheap, but in so doing have made generations of people skill-less and helped China to continue to be horrors to their own people. But, I won't get into politics, not now anyway.

Here is another 'new' treat I just received from a friend. It was sitting idle on her shelf, but I can tell you this little book will get a good going over by me! I think I am going to attempt to bake every one of the cakes in this book (it is like a little 40 page pamphlet). This will be the first one and this Sundays cake. Doesn't it look scrumptious!

I found this wonderful old anniversary card that I just adore and had to share with you. When I first looked at it I thought how appropriate to my year! I love that her 'crazy new dish' she tries out is some odd vegetable medly. I know I definitely might sometimes seem like that sad little woman with the yellow dress, though it is less complaining and more "Guess what I did today? I ironed all your shirts!" Of course the novelty has not yet worn off. My hats have certainly never cost $50.00 ( or actually $392.00), but the sweet sentiment at the end definitely tugged at my housewife heart strings.

One last thing I found of interest today in one of my old cookbooks was this entry. It was bittersweet. I am not sure what it is like where any of you live, but around here, neighbors do not drop by and welcome the newcomer. This concept, in fact, seems so foreign to me it might as well be a recipe for prune whip to take on the next Lunar Landing.

However, we have a new house going up on some land sold one house over from us. We have been watching its progress for the past months and when I saw this it hit me. WHY NOT? What is stopping me from throwing together a cake or a casserole and 'popping by'?

I can see it now: There I am tottering up the bumby unfinished drive in my heels. My full skirt swinging with the effort of my casserole dish. My hat, gloves and fur trimmed coat, bright as a new penny. Hair done and lipsticked. What would I look? Who can know? Do any of you think I should give it a try? It could be high summer before it is liveable and anyone has moved in so I could even invite them to a barbque. If you had just built a new house in a neighborhood and this nutcase carrying a casserole in heels and full skirt showed up, would you talk to her? Would you even answer the door, or hide behind the sofa wondering if you had moved into a bad episode of the Twilight Zone?

2 February 1955 "TV, Coke, Nutrition, and Interiors"

2 February 1955: First Presidential news conference on network TV - Dwight Eisenhower on ABC.

Until 1955, Coca-Cola was available only as a soda fountain drink and in 6 1/2-ounce glass contour bottles.
1955 saw the debut of the King Size (10- and 12-ounce) and Family Size (26-ounce) glass contour bottles in the U.S., marking an important step in giving people more options to meet their needs.

I just bought the 8 oz. glass bottle 6 packs they have at our local grocery store. Unfortunately there is not diet soda until TAB in 1962, but with only 8 oz. of soda (1 cup) not too many calories. I love the feel and weight of the small bottle. It seems appropriate to my year, however the 8 oz. is even bigger than the original bottle.

Here is a real swell video showing the evolution of the coke can from 1955 to present: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1062118640244&oid=8605796091

I had decided to include some of the dietary information in one of the main cookbooks I use, then someone had commented on my last blog that they would like to see this, so here it is. This is only a small portion of the info, but I will include more in the future.

I really find it interesting that the daily amount of calories seems quite high and yet I don't think we had the obesity problem we have today in this country. Of course, after rationing in WWII I guess we were heading towards the eventual outcome as we began to stuff ourselves on the overabundance of food.

In post-WWII USA, the diet industry took off like a rocket. Diet books muliplied and monopolized the bestseller list. Metracal and other good substitute products were introduced very successfully as were national weight-reducing chains. Women were the primary targets of these marketing strategies.
Here we even see advertising giving various options for the low-calorie lifestyle.

With this new concern over calories and eating properly comes exercise. And, if you are a housewife in middle america that can only mean one thing. Jack Lalanne. Here he is talking about a diet plan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuW3RfWJ1H0

Here is a great site that has most of his shows. This is the site I am using to start my 1950's exercise program: http://jacklalanne.com/tv.html

"Between 1951 and 1985, LaLanne presented fitness and exercise advice on television. "The Jack LaLanne Show" was the longest running television exercise program. It began as a local program on San Francisco's ABC television station, KGO-TV, and was eventually carried on the ABC network nationwide. Critics said the show would last less than six weeks, but it ended up lasting 34 years. In 1959, LaLanne recorded Glamour Stretcher Time, a workout album which provided phonograph-based instruction for exercising with an elastic cord called the Glamour Stretcher."

Here he is in 1954. In 1955 (age 41): Jack swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco while handcuffed. He is still alive today at 94.
I have been a good girl this week, and here is this mornings breakfast: black coffee and dry toast. It is hard to cook bacon, eggs, and pancakes, as I did this morning for hubby, and not want to snack. I am determined, however, as the fashions of 1955 have really inspired me to finally drop those pounds I have been chasing around for the past few years.

Now, speaking of food, I am still cooking using recipes in my book, no modern meals of bulger wheat etc. Last night I made a really good Vegetable au gratin dish. My cookbook tells you how to make vegetables au gratin and then it is up to you WHAT vegetables. I did green beans, potatos, and peas. They were SO yummy.
Here is what it looked like before I dished it up. The bread crumbs were quite tasty mixed into it.

Today was a Gussie day. As it is washday, I did (am still doing) the laundry. In the America's Housekeeping Book under the Household Employees chapter it suggests: "Experienced homemakers will tell you that if the employee does the washing and ironing, the homemaker must assume a major share of the other housekeeping jobs on laundry days." I, in fact, did the reverse. I did the laundry while 'Gussie' cleaned, shopped for the meal, prepared it and cleaned up afterwards. I have to say I am getting used to having the help. I am hoping that the interest 'Gussie' has in the project will last the year out.

With no dishes to do and a wonderful warm meal to be served up, I even had time to 'dress for dinner'.

Having had the freedom to go out shopping, I did.

I found this wonderful vintage metal step stool at one of my antique haunts. It is so perfect for the kitchen redo. Obviously I have to repaint the seat, but I am hoping I can find a matching red to this color as I believe it is the original paint. I want splashes of red to go along with my robins egg blue and touches of yellow. I can't wait until this and the 'new ice box' get to dwell in the kitchen. Do any of you have vintage kitchens?



I also stopped at our local Sherwin Williams paint store. I love it as it seems very 1950's to go to a store dedicated to paint and wallpaper instead of HomeDepot. They have a nice line of vintage paint colors. So, I nabbed these two great brouchures fot the 1950's. I think the cover artwork is so nice.

This scan is not completely true to one of the palletes in the brouchere, but you can get the general idea. I am thinking of this pink as the main color of my new sewing/laundry room. I think a very girly pink confectionary room would be fun in a smaller space and one in which I will only use sometimes. What do any of you think?
I also bought five of these boxes. I know they are not vitage, but I think they definitely have a vintage feel. I can see them on a shelf to hold patterns and ribbon and zippors etc. They have great little metal tag holders on the front. Don't you love the image on the top of the box? I hope it isn't too modern. I have some wonderful vintage wallpaper I found today that is too delicate to actually cover walls, but I think I will use it for hat boxes for my closet as well as some for my sewing room and some in the kitchen redo maybe on some tins or maybe to line the back of a cabinet. The color in the scan is not very true to the real color, but you get the idea.

I also found a wonderfrul vintage repro new plaid wallpaper in taupe and soft blues and greens that I might use in the living room which is going to become the library. There will be pics when I get to that. I really want to do wallpaper. It is making a comeback today and would be quite normal to use in the 1950s.

Well, I need to post this as I have to get back to my laundry. I think I have done far too much galavanting about today. I won't take the time to edit, so you will excuse me I hope. Have a great day.

31 January & 1 February 1955 "Actresses, Advertising, Art, Dinner, Dessert, and a New Baby!"

Here is the time magazine from 31 January 1955. Grace Kelly (not yet Princess Grace) graces the cover, if you forgive the pun.

There is an interesting article about her entitled "The Girl in White Gloves". It goes on to say how she is quite different from the garish flashy do-anything bottle blonde actresses of the day. That she comes from money (albeit new money) seems to help her play that role of being choosy with her choice of roles. She is an interesting creation and very American, I think.

Her father became rich through owning the largest brick works in Philidelphia. He was the son of a farmer and became a brick layer who segwayed into a large company. He went to Henly(england) to row in 1920 but was refused as he was "not a gentleman" as he had "worked with his hands". He later went on to beat the Henley winner at the olympics and he sent his sweaty rowing cap to King George as a sort of, "I told you so". His son, who went to Penn State, later righted that wrong winning at Henly in 1947.
They were an interesting family: The American Dream of coming up from nothing and then outdoing the upper classes. This was the formula that was needed to make a 'Grace Kelly'. From Farmer to Princess in Three Generations, now that is American Ingenuity!

There is another article in this issue rather interesting. Entitled: "Death of a Salesman?", it espouses the fall of the radio announcer to the new movement of television ads. It is interesting to see that in 1955 commercials did not just jarringly interrupt your show:

"Manhattan Adman Frank Egan explains that the new trend is simply an effort by sponsors to make commercials as painless as possible for viewers: "In radio you could use a musical bridge between the entertainment and the message so that the commercials didn't seem so abrupt and jarring. But on TV, if you interrupt audience attention to plunge into a commercial, viewers get resentful." For this reason nearly all TV hosts and masters of ceremonies are supposed to ease the way into the sales message".

On NBC's Oldsmobile Spectaculars, Actor Lee Bowman dresses up in evening clothes for the sole purpose of saying: "And now, ladies and gentlemen, here is Ed Herlihy with a message from our sponsor . . ."

Although they are doing it to make you buy products, it is nice that they started the idea of advertising on television with the consumers comfort in mind and to make sure that the audience was presented with someone well-dressed and groomed. In 2009 advertising on tv is having to evolve now that tivo exists. More product placement is required to grab the viewer. I wonder if the return to the 'sponsered' show is on it's way? We shall see.

On the Art scece, there is an interesting article on Ben Shan, an artist I am really just beginning to learn about. He became perhaps the best, and most depressing, painter of the Great Depression. Shahn was raised in a Brooklyn slum, where the local toughs forced him to portray favorite athletes on the pavement with chalk. His review seems to express that he has begun to mellow in his age, as evidence by this bit from the Time article:

"One of the nation's most admired artists last week showed what he had accomplished in his last 25 years of painting. The retrospective exhibition at Manhattan's Downtown Gallery proved that in the past quarter century the art of burly Ben Shahn has mellowed and broadened with the man. The bristling dark mustache of his fiery youth has faded to white, and now it screens more smiles than scowls. At 56, after many storms, Shahn seems to have entered a calm sea."

What I find interesting is this: Here is an image from his Depression heyday entitled, "scabbies are welcome" from 1937. You can see how dark and desolute the painting. The general air of quiet desolution is evidenced by none of the figures facing the viewer.

Next, you see this painting from Post war 1947 entitled: "Vanity". It's as if you can see one of the characters from the previous paintings, having survived the war and the Depression, getting ready for the new bright decade of promise; the colorful background, the smile on his face.

Now, in 1955 when this article is written, we see this image entitled: "Beautitudes" It seems more dark and disjuncted than his Depression work. There he was mirroring the present day, their sad desperation, but the figures had a quiet human dignity to them, they 'fit' into their dim landscape. Here, the figure not only seems to be unaware of his landscape, which is no more than a bare sky and stylizied wheat field, He does not look at the viewer, nor himself, but down and seems to be attacked by heavy thoughts not unlike Hitchcocks Birds (which won't come out until 1963)

I think it is intersting to see that an artist, who is often a mirror of society, is somewhat disillisoned by the present day. The hope he had after the war has slipped into a sort of melaise.

This photograph from January 22 1955 reveals a similar sentiment. The Pentagon announced a plan to develop ICBMs(intercontinental ballistic missiles) armed with nuclear weapons. The beginning of the Modern world is upon us.

Now, to the more particular problems and successes of the home.

Last night was Saturday's 1950 night. It was suppose to be at my vintage friends house this week, as we switch off on Saturdays, but she has company coming today and wanted to keep the house clean and ordered, so I did it again here.

The menu was Chicken-Fried Pork Chops. (I used a 3/4 cup cornmeal and 1/4 cup flour instead of the crackers and I added Dried Oregano, Rosemary, and Parsley to the mixture)

Scalloped tomatoes, which was a great use of some leftover toast from breakfast. And Greenbeans with pearl onions.

I am not making my 'sunday cake' today, as I made a pie yesterday for dinner. I wanted to try something I felt was very 'modern 1950's' This recipe with it's canned pears and prepared graham cracker crust seemed to fit the bill. I did use a fresh lemon for the peel and I also juiced the same lemon for the lemon juice. This was my first attempt at meringue and it turned out lovely and I was quite proud. I slipped a bit of almond extract into the egg whites when I was beating them and it added a nice warm mellow taste to the sharpness of the pear and lemon. It was funny, as I felt this was a 'cheating' dessert for me. Although it was definitely home-made, the fact that I used canned pears and a prepared crust, there was still alot of 'home-made' in it. It was a hit and it was lovely, if I do say so myself, and I DO!
I am quite proud of how this merigue looks. Don't be fooled by the pie tin, this is indeed a homemade pie, but the crust came premade in the tin.
Here is a shot of my one and only piece (part of my diet: one piece of my weekly cake/pie/dessert) with a cup of tea.

Now, on the home interiors front, I have to show off my new 'Baby'. It is far from finding it's home in my kitchen yet and is in fact now relegated to the shed until it can get cleaned and the door sanded and repainted. It is a 1950's Frigedaire Deluxe. I know I know, it uses alot of electricity. I have gone over and over again as to wether this is a bad decision for the bills. I think after it is installed we will just moniter the bill to see how much more it has added. I am willing to take an additional amount out of my food or entertainment budget each month to allow it to live in my kitchen. Perhaps I am going crazy with my need to surround myself with vintage things, but I do think it is a beautiful machine. I have heard they will last forever.
Look how pretty she is inside. Can't you just see my milk bottle and vintage juice jars in here? My vintage glass pyrex refridgerator dishes will also look a treat all tidily stacked and filled with leftovers and marinading awaiting dinners, right?
This is the door and it has alot of stoage. That top bit that says eggs folds down and safely holds quite a bit (we go through a LOT of eggs around here).

The freezer door is really pretty, too, I think and it's quilted pattern makes me think of a Chanel purse. There is even a real metal ice cube tray. It has that ingenious lever you pull to release the cubes. I am planning on doing a lot of daily shopping so I don't need a big freezer here, however, I may want to get the must have accesory for any 1950s housewife: the "DeepFreeze" as they were called. A large freezer. I am not sure if I need one, but we shall see.
Look how lovely the handle is and it makes such a wonderful noise when you open it. This bit pulls down to open the door. So much beauty amongst function.

So, do any of you think I am crazy or do you like the idea of more vintage items?

Well, I am going to enjoy the rest of my sunday. I did not have Gussie yesterday (had to serve myself and set table and prepare etc) but did have her this morning. So, as I was working away on this post my kitchen was being cleaned, dishes put away, clean swept and mopped floor and a nicely arranged bowl of fruit on the kitchen table. Ahhh to be middle class in 1955, sometimes it is sweet.

30 January 1955 "Poet, Pulp, and Patterns"

Although I know this is current news, but John Updike died on the 27th of January and I just now found out from my husband (again, no modern news and such for me except what hubby mentions.)
This is a picture of him in 1955, which I was lucky enough to find. Though I would not be too familiar with him this year, some of his poetry and short stories were about in magazines. His famous 'Rabbit' series wouldn't be started until 1960. He was a great poet and writer. This year has really brought me to face with my mortality. It is a good thing, I think, as so many of us just get up and schlub through our days as if they are never ending. Well, really we better do and enjoy what we can, they are not here always. I am glad for this project and know that what I gain this year in knowledge, fun, experience, and yes even the blues and sadness, are going to be important to me as I grow old.

This is from a poem Updike wrote last year (2008)

It came to me the other day:
Were I to die, no one would say,
'Oh, what a shame! So young, so full
Of promise - depths unplumbable!
Instead, a shrug and tearless eyes
Will greet my overdue demise;
The wide response will be, I know,
'I thought he died a while ago.'
For life's a shabby subterfuge,
And death is real, and dark, and huge.
The shock of it will register
Nowhere but where it will occur.

This is also a nice poem ( I hope you don't mind my putting these in) and although this Updike poem was not published until 1960 in the new yorker, it was in response to experiments done this year in 1955 by Clyde L. Cowan and Frederick Reines called the Neutrino Experiment. This experiment confirmed the existence of the antineutrino—a neutrally charged subatomic particle with very low mass

Cosmic Gall

Neutrinos they are very small.

They have no charge and have no mass

And do not interact at all.

The earth is just a silly ball

To them, through which they simply pass,

Like dustmaids down a drafty hall

Or photons through a sheet of glass.

They snub the most exquisite gas,

Ignore the most substantial wall,

Cold-shoulder steel and sounding brass,

Insult the stallion in his stall,

And, scorning barriers of class,

Infiltrate you and me! Like tall

And painless guillotines, they fall

Down through our heads into the grass.

At night, they enter at Nepal

And pierce the lover and his lass

From underneath the bed—you call

It wonderful; I call it crass.

R.I.P. John Updike.

It is funny and interesting how much of the modern world is being made here in 1955. The computer, medicine, tv, advertsing, grocery stores, premade foods, the list goes on. What is so very normal to all of us only began this short while ago.

Here is some interesting pulp, another modern ideal:

I guess this is the equivalent of Maxim magazine in my time. I LOVE that bathing suit however. I think if and when I return to 2010 there will NOT be a return to lowrise pants, skirts, bathing suit bottoms. I love never having to worry about bending over and wondering if my behind is sticking out. I also like displaying the fact that woman have waists!

It looks like if I wanted to read this little deadly, I'd have to keep it hidden. I can see me now, slipping into the pantry with a biscuit in my apron pocket and a cup of tea. I look around and casually saunter over to the tins of extra Flour. With a deft hand, this book slids out, slighty powdered from its hiding place. I lean against the counter, eyes glued to the dog-earred and well worn page, sliding the biscuit from my pocket to my lips. I nibble, wide-eyed, unwary of the abstract pattern the crumbs are making on my apron front.

"Mrs. -" calls out Gussie, "Do you want me to start on the Living room drapes...Mrs.-?"

"Cheese it! It's Gussie!", A quick jerk, spilling tepid tea and biscuit crumbs, my forbidden contraband plops down into the flour bin in an attempt to hide my guilty pleasure. Until another time, my steamy friend. Perhaps a sneek at you while the iron steams away and the washer hides my shame with its dull thud thud thud.

Or something along those lines, anyway! It does look a steamy book.

Speaking of Pulp, my husband (besides collecting vintage typewriters) collects vintage scifi pulp mags. This is intersting for me. He came into my sitting room the other day with these two little mags. One is from December 54 so only a month old and I think the other is from March. It is interesting, as I am sure my husband would have been reading these in 1955 as well as he has read them now. Only, of course, they would have been new.

I was really excited about the art. I am really getting into the modern art of the times, De Kooning, Pollack etc. It is an era of art that I have never bothered to really study other than what I was required to do at university (I studied art history). The contrast between pulp art/advertising art (which is rampant in 1955)/ and High art is quite striking. More future study for me! And more, hopefully not boring, discussions in the future for you. I hope you like art!

Here is breakfast this morning. As you can see, I am really into as much accuracy as I can manage. The milk bottle is authentic old milk bottle. It recieves my milk the second I get it home from the grocery store. It seems normal for me now to see it in the 'icebox' and to feel the weight of it as I am baking or pouring it out for hot cereals. I also love the oj glass container. I have two of these and one always has oj the other keeps tart pink lemonade for whiskey sours (our family version anyway) for cocktail hour with hubby, after work but before dinner. The gold star pattern on it is SO 1950's. I think I may need a vintage 'ice box' for these to live in, what do you think?

Yesterdays hateful errand of car repair (brake job) resulted in a fun day out with my vintage friend. We had a blast. Although she is not doing this project perse, she has been inspired to now dress vintage most of the time. You can often overhear us discussing the differing merits of an open-bottom girdle (which I prefer) to the more 'stay in place' power of a full legged affair (to much bother in the bathroom if u get my drift). It really helps having a kindred soul. It makes those times when I feel 'out of my time' less when I feel I have a fellow time travelor. It is making this project more fun and really chaning our realtionship as friends and coherts in vintage lifestyle.

After the afternoon of car repair we treated ourselves with a trip to Joanne fabrics as Vogue patterns were on sale for 3.99!! They are usually 27.50!! (that is .51 cents and 3.51 respectively in 1955 money) I love the way this pattern looks. It also has the evening gown pattern which could be a runner up for the April Opera Gown, but not sure yet.

Tomorrow I will start putting in bits and bobs of what I am learning from the interior design books of the times. I thought it might be a fun little excerpt every other day with pics and ideas an such. I know I LOVE looking at interiors and such. Do any of you?

Until tomorrow and thank you again for all your lovely comments on my 'blue day'.