too skinny

It seems that with each new year come new diet products. We're bombarded with promises of a "new you" and hundreds of ways to get your bod ready for the beach just in time for summer. When was the last time you saw an ad like this?

This ad promises not only "solid, naturally attractive flesh" but along with that "new charm and a new winning personality." All in six weeks.

Happy new year! :)

Source: Woman's World, June 1937

1930s quilt project

I recently finished my second quilting effort. When I learned from my grandmother a few years ago, I chose a standard nine patch for my starter quilt. For this one, I chose a 1930s pattern from the Kansas City Star series called 'Weathervane.' I used 1930s feedsack reproduction fabrics in various shades of pink. I'm so glad to get it finished and really like how it turned out:

Depression era quilts are particularly interesting to me because the women who created them had so little to work with. An excellent video on 1930s quilts can be found here. It's filled with pictures and stories- including information on the scandalous 1933 Chicago World's Fair quilt competition!

Holiday Dresses - 1933

I came across this ad for Christmas dress patterns in a 1933 craft magazine. The 30s has always been my favorite decade in terms of style. I love the long, bias cut dresses. Of these, I think I like the black and white one the best. It would be gorgeous in black velvet with white satin at the top.  So Myrna Loy!

Source: The Home Arts Magazine, December 1933

happy thanksgiving

Here is some footage from a Macy's parade in the 1930s. Such interesting balloons-I wish I could see them in color. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!

1930s beauty tips

These tips are from a 1939 booklet I have from Linit laundry starch. It has several pages of other uses for the starch besides laundry. The manufacturers suggest using it in facial masks as well as bathing in it. In this booklet, they offer other helpful beauty advice, such as slapping yourself to avoid a double chin:

Many of these are actually good tips, such as drinking plenty of water and using lemon juice as a bleaching agent. I'm not sure how effective those ankle exercises would be though. :)

new shop, new look

 Hello all- I've been a busy bee working on a new Etsy shop which I started last week. I've been changing the look of  things around here as well. I'll still be posting vintage recipes and ads, as well as shop updates and other vintage finds. In the meantime, here is a random ad I found in a 1933 magazine for Crayola Crayons. Notice it's marketed to women for use in craft projects like lamp shades and curtains!

 

Anyone ever tried any of these craft projects? :)

Listerine Ad - 1933

Source: Needlecraft The Home Arts Magazine, September 1933

LUX Soap Ad - 1933

Source: Needlecraft: The Home Arts Magazine, February 1933

Grand Operas - 1936

2 cups sugar
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
4 Tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup broken pecans
4 squares Baker's chocolate

Combine sugar, cream, milk, corn syrup, and salt, and heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture boils, stirring constantly. Continue cooking, stirring constantly. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until a small amount of syrup forms a soft ball in cold water (234 degrees F). Cook to lukewarm (110 degrees F) and add vanilla. Beat until mixture begins to thicken; then add nuts and continue beating only until mixture loses its gloss. Turn at once into greased pan, 8x8 inches. Cool. Heat chocolate over boiling water until partly melted; then remove from boiling water and stir it rapidly until entirely melted. Pour over candy. Cool until firm. Cut in squares. Makes 64 pieces.

Source: Chocolate Candies You Can Make, copyright 1936, General Foods Corporation

Lifebuoy Health Soap Ad - 1937

Source: Woman's World Magazine, April 1937

Ham With Orange - 1937

6 servings fried ham (1 1/2 lbs.)
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups orange juice
Parsley
2 to 3 oranges for slices

Fry ham. Add flour to 2 tablespoons of fat from frying ham and cook until lightly browned. Add orange juice, stirring well to avoid lumps. Cook 5 minutes or until sauce is thick. Pour sauce around ham on serving dish. Garnish with parsley and orange slices. Serves 6.

Source: Sunkist Recipes for Everyday, copyright 1937, California Fruit Growers Exchange, Los Angeles, CA

Date and Cheese Bread - 1930s

4 cups all-purpose flour
5 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons shortening
1/2 cup grated cheese
3/4 cup molasses
3/4 cup dates
1 1/2 cups milk

Sift the flour with the baking powder, soda, and salt 3 times; rub in the cheese and the shortening, stir in the chopped dates, pour in the milk combined with the molasses. Mix thoroughly. Turn into well buttered bread pan and smooth out with the back of a spoon dipped in cold water. Bake about 1 hour in a moderate oven (350). Rub the top with butter, let cool in pan placed on a cake rack so that the air circulates under it.

Source: Grandma's Old Fashioned Molasses Recipes, copyright 1930s, Boston Molasses Company,                    Boston, MA

Dutch Cherry Cake - 1937

1/4 cup margarine, melted
2 cups canned red cherries
1 1/2 cups sifted flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, separated
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 teaspoons baking powder

Drain cherries, saving juice. Sift flour once, measure, add baking powder, salt and 1/2 cup of sugar and sift together three times. Beat egg yolks and combine with milk, vanilla and melted margarine. Add liquids to flour all at once and beat until smooth. Fold in cherries and egg whites which have been beaten until stiff, but not dry, with remaining sugar. Bake in well buttered pan 7 x 11 x 1 1/2 inches in moderate oven (350) 50 minutes or until done. Serve either hot or cold with hot Cherry Sauce on top of cake. Serves 10 to 12.

Cherry Sauce

1 Tablespoon margarine
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup juice from cherries
1 cup cherries

Bring cherry juice to a boil. combine cornstarch, sugar, and cold water and add to hot juice. Stir constantly until sauce boils. Remove from heat and add margarine, almond extract, and cherries. Serve over cake.

Source: Cakes and Cookies With Personality, copyright 1937, by The Best Foods, Inc., New York, NY

How to Remove Spots and Stains - 1930s

Source: Homekeeper's Helper, Keokuk Medicine Company, 1930s

Prince of Wales Cake - 1930

1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs (keep whites of 2 for frosting)
1 cup sour cream
2/3 pound of raisins
1 tsp soda
2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/2 cup oil

Wash the raisins well in warm water, first dividing them and keeping one-third apart from the rest. Dry them with a cloth and spread out for a few minutes. Then put them through a food chopper, the two portions separately, putting aside the one-third for the frosting.

Mix together the brown sugar, yolks of 3 eggs and white of 1 egg. Add the sour cream and the larger portion of raisins. Stir in the dry ingredients which have been sifted together and add the oil. Bake in a moderate oven (350) in a loaf pan for 50 minutes, or in a shallow one for 35 minutes. Cover with a boiled frosting to which 1/3 pound of chopped raisins has been added.

Source: Everyday Recipes, copyright 1930, The Wesson Oil People, New Orleans, LA

Italienne Sandwich - 1936

1 small green pepper
1 small onion
2 Tablespoons butter
1 cup canned tomatoes
salt, pepper
toast
fried eggs
Swiss cheese, grated

Chop the green pepper and onion fine; cook slowly in butter. Add tomatoes and cook until reduced one-half. Season. Spread the sauce 1/4 inch thick on fresh toast. On each slice of toast place a fried egg. Partially cover the top of each egg with grated Swiss cheese. Place under low broiler heat until cheese is slightly melted. Serve piping hot.

Source: Favorite Recipes from Marye Dahnke's File, copyright 1936, Kraft-Phenix Cheese Corp. 

Lemon Meringue Pie - 1930s

1/2 cup water

7 Tablespoons cornstarch

1 1/2 cups water

1 1/4 cups sugar

3 egg yolks, slightly beaten

1 lemon (grated rind and juice)

1 Tablespoon butter

1 Baked Pie Shell

Mix 1/2 cup water and cornstarch to thin paste. Combine 1 1/2 cups water and sugar in top of double boiler and bring to boil over direct heat. Add cornstarch paste and cook until mixture begins to thicken; return to double boiler and continue cooking until thick and smooth (15 minutes). Pour over slightly beaten egg yolks, return to double boiler, and cook 1 minute longer. Add lemon rind and juice and butter and blend well. Cool and pour into pie shell. Top with meringue. (see below)

Meringue:

2 egg whites

6 Tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla or 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Beat egg whites until stiff, but not dry. Add sugar gradually, beating constantly. Add vanilla or lemon juice. Pile lightly on filling in baked pie shell. Bake in slow oven (325) for 15 minutes or until firm and delicately browned.

Source: What Shall I Cook Today?, Spry Shortening, 1930s, Lever Brothers Co.

Sea Dream Salad - 1930s

1 package Lime Jell-O

1 cup warm water

1 cup grated cucumber

1 Tablespoon vinegar

1 teaspoon onion juice

Dash of cayenne

1/2 teaspoon salt

Dissolve Jell-O in warm water. Add cucumber, vinegar, onion juice, cayenne, and salt. Force through sieve. Turn into mold. Chill until firm. Cut in squares and serve on crisp lettuce. Garnish with mayonnaise. Serves 6.

Source: 48 New Jell-O Recipes, copyright 1932, General Foods Corp.

Vegetable Croquettes - 1930s

2 tsp. butter

2 T. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

Few grains pepper

1/3 cup evaporated milk diluted with 3 T. water

1 tsp. grated onion

1 cup left-over vegetables, chopped and drained

Melt butter in double boiler. Add gradually the flour, salt and pepper that have been mixed with diluted milk to form a smooth, thin paste. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly to prevent lumping. Add vegetables. cool and shape into croquettes. Roll in cracker meal or fine bread crumbs, then in undiluted evaporated milk and again in crumbs. Fry in deep fat (380 degrees) until brown. Makes 6 croquettes.

Recipe taken from Sego Recipes, 1930s, Sego Milk Products Company

French Fried Onions - 1935

2 large Spanish onions
1/2 pint of milk
1/2 cup of flour, or little more
1/3 teaspoon salt

Peel onions and sift flour and salt into a bowl. Cut onions into slices about 1/4 inch thick. Separate the rings and soak in milk; then lift and drop into flour and salt. When floured, drop into deep fat, heated to temperature of 380 degrees. If you do not have a thermometer, test heat of fat with a cube of bread. When it browns in 60 seconds, the fat is the right temperature. When the onions are cooked to a golden brown, remove and drain on unglazed paper to absorb fat; then serve. Serves 4.

Source: Be An Artist At the Gas Range: Successful Recipes By the Mystery Chef, copyright 1935 by Longmans, Green & Co.