1940s

Bus Routes to the Muny and Guarantors of the 1943 Opera Season

This entry is part 13 of 13 in the series St. Louis Municipal Opera 1943

It appears as if bus service to the Muny at Forest Park during World War II was very comprehensive! Bus service extended as far as Gravois and Hampton, Grand and Holly Hills, 3rd and Washington (downtown), Florissant and Kingshighway, and Delmar and DeBalviere… a pretty wide radius!

Also in these last few pages of the 1943 St Louis Municipal Opera program, besides ads, was the list of large donors who gave to the Municipal Theatre Associations guarantee fund. It reads like a long list of old St. Louis society’s who’s-who and includes Adolphus Busch II and his son, August Buch (of the Anheuser-Busch brewery). It’s interesting to see who the early supporters of the Muny were!

A Brief History of the St. Louis Municipal Theater Association (as written in 1943)

This entry is part 2 of 13 in the series St. Louis Municipal Opera 1943

Old St. Louis Businesses

This entry is part 3 of 13 in the series St. Louis Municipal Opera 1943

These pages of the Municipal Opera Silver Anniversary program contained small ads for local companies that had been in business for 50 years and 75 years or more, as of 1943! This showcased St. Louis businesses that had started before 1869 and 1894. I wonder how many are still in business?

1940s St. Louis Municipal Opera Seating Chart and Ads

This entry is part 4 of 13 in the series St. Louis Municipal Opera 1943

This set of scans of the 1943 St. Louis Municipal Opera Theater Program includes the seating chart and seat prices in an advertisement for C.L. Finot Inc. Concessionaires. It looks like during WWII, The Muny seated 10,000 people and you could get front section box seats for two dollars, or sit in the back section for 25 cents. This was my favorite page in this set.

St. Louis WWII Business Ads

This entry is part 5 of 13 in the series St. Louis Municipal Opera 1943

Here are more pages of WWII business ads from the 1943 St. Louis Municipal Opera program. This starts with an advertisement for The Gatesworth (and the Walnut Room), and with the synopsis for The Great Waltz underneath.

WWII Patriotic Ads for St. Louis Businesses

This entry is part 6 of 13 in the series St. Louis Municipal Opera 1943

Synopsis of The Great Waltz and more 1943 St. Louis Business advertisments

This entry is part 7 of 13 in the series St. Louis Municipal Opera 1943

Here are more St. Louis beer and brewery advertisements and the synopsis of The Great Waltz from the 1943 St. Louis Municipal Opera Program.

Advertisers in these pages included: Falstaff Brewing Company, Manhattan Coffee, Efficiency Service Co (employment specialists), Griesedieck Brothers Brewing Company, The Circus Snack Bar at the Forest Park Hotel, and the Gaylord Container Corporation.

1940s ads for St. Louis Businesses

This entry is part 8 of 13 in the series St. Louis Municipal Opera 1943

A bit of St. Louis Beer History and various 1940s Advertisements

This entry is part 9 of 13 in the series St. Louis Municipal Opera 1943

4 more pages of scans from the St. Louis Municipal Opera 1943 season. These include WWII-era ads for Hyde Park Beer, Coca Cola, Tums, and Kieffer Cleaners. The cleaners advertisement has prices listed, which I think is pretty interesting.

Four pages from the 1943 Municipal Opera Program

This entry is part 10 of 13 in the series St. Louis Municipal Opera 1943

These next four pages of the 1943 St. Louis Municipal Opera program were packed with advertisements! Monsanto Chemicals had a full page ad, “Streamlined Flavor” appealing to World War II sensibilities:

World War 2 advertisements

This entry is part 11 of 13 in the series St. Louis Municipal Opera 1943

Here are four more pages scanned from the 25th anniversary program of the St. Louis Municipal Opera (now known as The Muny).

The Zodiac Cocktail Lounge and Bar at the Chase Park Hotel advertised Neil Bondshu and his Society Orchestra, Mary Raye and Naldi, Don Tannen (Russian Comedy Song Star), and “Snow White” Sensational Wizard of Tap with Bobby Swain and his “Note-ables”. Entertainment nightly with Joe Karnes and Betty Barr (satirical songs and piano styling). This was probably my favorite advertisement of these pages, because they really gave me a flavor for the type of WWII nightlife and entertainment available here in St. Louis.

1940s theater program advertisements

This entry is part 12 of 13 in the series St. Louis Municipal Opera 1943

Here are 4 more pages out of the 25th Anniversary Program for the 1943 season at the St. Louis Municipal Opera (The Muny). The St. Louis Municipal Opera was started in 1918, and 1943 was the 25th (Silver Anniversary) Season. Included is an advertisement for the musical romance “Rosalie”, an ad for Hunter Meat Food Products (out of East St. Louis Illinois), Philip Morris Cigarettes, Alpen Brau Beer (and KMOX) promotional advertisement, and an ad for Nu Grape Soda (bottled locally by American Soda Water Co.).

Silver Anniversary of the St. Louis Municipal Opera – 1943 Season Program

This entry is part 1 of 13 in the series St. Louis Municipal Opera 1943

Bustlines and Derriers in Pinup History

This entry is part 26 of 31 in the series CheeseCake Pinup Magazine - 1953

“It’s the inevitable cycle…. in 1910 it was the bust, and cleavage went down to the limit. In the 1920s the sex emphasis was on the legs. In the 1930s it veered to the back and posterior. In the 1940s it concentrated on the bust again. And now we are back to the bottom.”

Last pages of The Language of Fashion

This entry is part 1 of 21 in the series The Language of Fashion - 1939 Fashion Dictionary

What a cool treasure, to find a fashion book published at the dawn of World War II. It’s been interesting to expand my fashion vocabulary, and to learn so many new things about the history of fashion.

Brief History of McKays Shoes

This entry is part 19 of 26 in the series 1924 St. Louis Fashion Pageant

A couple in the 30s, and then again in the 40s or 50s

Mary doesn’t remember her aunt being very wealthy, and doesn’t know if this first picture from approximately the 1930s is her wedding photo to her second husband, or was just a special occasion photo. Either way, both of them look rather uncomfortable in...

1940s Style Pinup

This entry is part 2 of 23 in the series Carondelet Historical Society Project

This 1940s dress was such fun to photograph! It has red buttons down the front and an abstract polka dot pattern. I put a smart black hat on the model. Like many dresses of the era, it was unlined and meant to be worn over a slip or under=dress. We borrowed a rolling red wooden storage box as the only prop with this simple set. I love the model’s exaggerated “cheesecake pinup” expressions! She did her own makeup and hair, too.

Wearing a 1930s or 1940s satin dressing gown

This entry is part 4 of 23 in the series Carondelet Historical Society Project

Patriotic Pinup in the Willys Jeep

This entry is part 8 of 13 in the series Vintage Car Workshop

This was an impromptu and unplanned patriotic pinup set done at my Retro Car Workshop! Pinup model Nikki borrowed a cute polkadot 1940s styled dress, matching red beads, and got her hair done pinup style by another model. I did her retro makeup (including putting the faux lashes on). Nikki is one of the first models I worked with, for the Carondelet Historical Society historical fashion project, and it was great to get to work with her again and see how far we’ve both come in the past few years!

Double Exposures in the Garage

This entry is part 11 of 13 in the series Vintage Car Workshop

I love shooting double exposures in spooky settings such as this mechanic shop! Linzy Anna is styled WWII period in an authentic, vintage 1940s, cotton side zipping blue dress. She looks like the ghost of a girl, coming back to haunt the 1950s car that she tragically died in.