When I started this blog two years ago I had great intentions. I wanted to curate my extensive collection of primary vintage and antique source material, throw in some interesting suggestions for books written from 1910 – 1960, along with a historical novel or two from today, and generally make this a great place to hang out from yesteryear, but in the present time. And that didn’t quite happen.
What did happen was that I fell down the rabbit hole of research. I love research. I love to read, and dig, and burrow, and assemble – which is why I have all this awesome primary material to begin with. It’s what I pull out on rainy days, with a cup of hot coffee or tea to keep me warm as I read. When I turn the pages of these magazines, books, and leaflets, they transport me to another time. That’s what I wanted to bring to you, here.
I don’t have a staff, or an assistant, or a photographer. It’s just me, sitting with a pile of magaazines, books, kitchen implements, favorite recipes, vintage fabric, and a dream. The dream still lives, and I still have all those stories and pictures and recipes.
So let’s try this again, now that I’ve returned from the rabbit hole of endless research. Let’s explore how people lived, cooked, played, created, and sang. Let’s see what they read, what they wore, what they loved. And let’s take the best of those things and bring them into the modern day so that they aren’t lost to the dust of time. Because that would be a shame.
Next time: A correspondance school changes their ad style and it alters their future in 1919. It’s a fascinating story, and I’m going to give you the entire first ad that they ran.
