Jessica Murray

World War 2 advertisements

Posted by Jessica Murray | Jun 14, 2021 | Misc. Ephemera | 0 |

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

Posted by Jessica Murray | Jun 10, 2021 | Misc. Ephemera | 0 |

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

Posted by Jessica Murray | Jun 6, 2021 | Featured, Misc. Ephemera | 0 |

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

Illustrated 1960s baby shower cards with rhymes inside

Posted by Jessica Murray | Jun 2, 2021 | Featured, Misc. Ephemera | 0 |

This entry is part of 10 in the series 1960s New Baby and Baby Shower Cards

I am just posting the rest of these 1960s baby shower cards all at once! These are vertical new baby welcome cards from that 1962 baby shower. I absolutely love the illustrations on the fronts of these cards, and the cute happy rhymes that are inside!

The mother-to-be wrote what gifts she received on the backs of these cards, which I’ve scanned also.

Here are a few of the baby shower rhymes….

Vintage baby shower card scans

Posted by Jessica Murray | May 29, 2021 | Misc. Ephemera | 0 |

This entry is part 1 of 10 in the series 1960s New Baby and Baby Shower Cards

Here’s a few more scans of cards from the 1962 baby shower. I’ve included the duplicate cards, so that you can see the imperfections, and that the mom-to-be wrote the gifts she received on the back of each card!

Corset and shapewear advertising history

Posted by Jessica Murray | May 25, 2021 | Old Magazine Scans | 0 |

This entry is part 14 of 32 in the series CheeseCake Pinup Magazine - 1953

Advertising to women, by attractive women! Here are some shapewear and corset ads, with a historical perspective. Gilda Grey and “other famous actresses” endorsing a fat reducing cream in 1923. Gypsy Rose Lee endorsing an electric shaver. Warner Brother’s Coraline Corsets of the 1880s(the corset alone was enough to sell it), versus the more straight fronted corseted shape of 1900 (this advertisement with pretty women) in an ad for Armorside Corsets. Finally, an ad for the “modern” 1950s girdle with stockings and garters which flattened both front and bottom, and could be best illustrated in a photograph.

9 Vintage Baby Shower Cards from the 1960s

Posted by Jessica Murray | May 21, 2021 | Misc. Ephemera | 0 |

This entry is part 2 of 10 in the series 1960s New Baby and Baby Shower Cards

This expectant mother must have had a heck of a party in the heat of that August of 1962! This was the baby shower for her first child, and I think it was the first grandchild on either side. It’s always extra special to be first (speaking as the eldest child). Here are 9 different vintage baby shower cards from 1962. I love the gentle, cute, illustrations… and, ofcourse, the rhymes inside!

Marilyn Monroe – the All American Pinup, and more advertising history

Posted by Jessica Murray | May 17, 2021 | Old Magazine Scans | 0 |

This entry is part 17 of 32 in the series CheeseCake Pinup Magazine - 1953

Enjoy these pinup pictures of Marilyn Monroe, declared “The All American Pinup” by the 1953 issue of Cheesecake – An American Phenomenon. Jane Russell said that “Marilyn is the most female girl I know”, and her only flaws were “a slight thickness behind the knees”.

The next page declares that “American business will spend close to $1,000,000,000 in advertising alone. At least one out of every three advertisements will feature a girl, who is bound to be pretty, shapely, and appealing.

Early 1960s New Baby and Baby Shower Greeting Cards

Posted by Jessica Murray | May 13, 2021 | Misc. Ephemera | 0 |

This entry is part 8 of 10 in the series 1960s New Baby and Baby Shower Cards

What I found most interesting about these early 1960s baby shower and new baby cards, is the frequent golden shoe motif. Also, most of the baby shower cards seem relatively gender-neutral, because ultrasound wasn’t used for sex-determination until the early 70s.

The little rhymes and illustrations inside these baby shower cards are totally cute!

1960s baby shower cards

Posted by Jessica Murray | May 9, 2021 | Misc. Ephemera | 0 |

This entry is part 3 of 10 in the series 1960s New Baby and Baby Shower Cards

These are such cute baby shower cards! I have included the duplicate card designs. This expectant mother got a few cards that were identical but from different people. Two of these 3 cards have illustrations of chubby healthy babies on them. All fluff and happiness and good energy!

Baby shower card scans from the 1960s

Posted by Jessica Murray | May 5, 2021 | Misc. Ephemera | 0 |

This entry is part 4 of 10 in the series 1960s New Baby and Baby Shower Cards

I don’t ever want to have kids, but reading these 1960s baby shower cards just cheers me up! They’re so positive and cute, and fun to say:

A gift for someone Who is due – Hope Baby will like it… And YOU will, too!

Best of luck to all of you, Mom and Dad and Someone New

This shower gift is just for you, and in it you will find, a shower of very good wishes, the warm and friendly kind.”

Baby shower card scans from the early 1960s

Posted by Jessica Murray | May 1, 2021 | Misc. Ephemera | 0 |

This entry is part 5 of 10 in the series 1960s New Baby and Baby Shower Cards

Cute Vintage Baby Shower Cards from 1962

Posted by Jessica Murray | Apr 27, 2021 | Misc. Ephemera | 0 |

This entry is part 6 of 10 in the series 1960s New Baby and Baby Shower Cards

Baby Shower Cards from 1962

Posted by Jessica Murray | Apr 23, 2021 | Misc. Ephemera | 0 |

This entry is part 7 of 10 in the series 1960s New Baby and Baby Shower Cards

These baby shower cards are from a party held on August 14, 1962 in what was then a working middle class neighborhood of St. Louis, MO… I got lucky, the shower invitation was in the box! It was thrown at the mother’s home, by her mom.

“A Baby Shower is on the way, So please jot down the time and day.”

Early 1960s Baby Shower and New Baby Cards

Posted by Jessica Murray | Apr 19, 2021 | Misc. Ephemera | 0 |

This entry is part 9 of 10 in the series 1960s New Baby and Baby Shower Cards

I found these early 1960s Baby Shower and New Baby greeting cards for a girl in with some early 1960s baby clothes. The previous owner swore she didn’t want the cards from her baby shower back… so I kept them and scanned them.
I really love the fonts, and the little illustrations and rhymes inside the cards are too cute!

Pinups in Action Can Draw Clients As Well As Patrons

Posted by Jessica Murray | Apr 15, 2021 | Featured, Old Magazine Scans | 0 |

This entry is part 21 of 32 in the series CheeseCake Pinup Magazine - 1953

Pinups thru out history have been used to sell everything from cosmetics to real estate. Sometimes, they had their origins in the scandalous worlds of peepshows and erotica. The scandalous Gilda Grey, famous for popularizing The Shimmy with her signature song The Shimmy Shewabble, helped sell a reducing cream in 1923. In 1925 she did the shimmy after a meeting to interest buyers in buying Coral Gables properties in Florida. The Shimmy, for which Gilda Grey was famous for, reportedly could be danced properly only with great difficulty and was considered primarily an exhibition dance. Similarly, the Cat Dance by Lilly Christine, had its origins in the realms of peepshows, but she crossed over into mainstream pinup model popularity and helped sell products.

The Florodora Girls & Other Musical Comedy Stars

Posted by Jessica Murray | Apr 11, 2021 | Old Magazine Scans | 0 |

This entry is part 15 of 32 in the series CheeseCake Pinup Magazine - 1953

“Today’s musical comedy stars replace the Grecian bend of The Florodora Girls with abandon, and little else” reads the headline. It mentioned the famous gals who have come from the anonymity of chorus lines, including: Eva Tanguay, Ann Held, Bebe Daniels, Ruby Keeler, Barbara Stanwyck, and Lucille Ball.

Movie Vamps Have Been Pinups

Posted by Jessica Murray | Apr 7, 2021 | Old Magazine Scans | 0 |

This entry is part 16 of 32 in the series CheeseCake Pinup Magazine - 1953

This article discusses how Hollywood press agents can create a national pinup sensation thru posting daringly sensual photos in select magazines. As examples, they point out Theda Bara in the first part of the 20th century, and the “modern” sensation Roberta Haynes.

1920s Christmas gift buying tips and fashions

Posted by Jessica Murray | Apr 1, 2021 | Old Magazine Scans | 0 |

Here’s a 1920s article on gifts to give at Christmas. Because it’s from a fashion magazine, ofcourse the gifts are all wearable. Flapper hats and purses and accessories. A friend of mine scanned these pages from his personal collection, or had them scanned, and then died. I’m sorry.

Art Studies 100 Years Ago Were as Daring as Today’s

Posted by Jessica Murray | Mar 30, 2021 | Old Magazine Scans | 0 |

This entry is part 19 of 32 in the series CheeseCake Pinup Magazine - 1953

Wow. What an interesting 1950s perspective on the history of nude photography! The accompanying pictures include 3 “unusual photos taken about 80 years ago” (i.e., sexy pictures from c. 1870). The full color photo is a realistic modern figure study by Jules Alexander, of a nude woman posed next to an electric fruit slicer.

History of the influence of burlesque on pinup

Posted by Jessica Murray | Mar 28, 2021 | Featured, Old Magazine Scans | 0 |

This entry is part 20 of 32 in the series CheeseCake Pinup Magazine - 1953

Burlesque has provided men with a variety of entertaining pinups. Notably, Ida Bayton’s white violin act in “The Taxi Girls” in 1914, and Lili St. Cyr’s bubble bath striptease that helped land her in 3D movies.

Vintage Clothing Boutique Relaunch – 2021

Posted by Jessica Murray | Mar 28, 2021 | Editorial, My new vintage selling journey, Personal Notes | 0 |

My inspiration and start for reinventing VintageReveries. See the video of my current setup, investments I made, thoughts about mistakes, and more. My next entries will be about re-implementing ecommerce on this site and my experiences selling on different platforms.

Pinup Gals of World War I and World War II: Mary Pickford and Betty Grable

Posted by Jessica Murray | Mar 27, 2021 | Old Magazine Scans | 0 |

This entry is part 18 of 32 in the series CheeseCake Pinup Magazine - 1953

In World War I, Mary Pickford became the favorite pinup of soldiers when she dressed in uniform and toured the nation selling Liberty Bonds. In World War II, “demand for it [pictures of Betty Grable”] ran as high as 20,000 per week…”. “Able Grable”‘s legs appear in Army topographic maps designed to teach recruits how to hit their mark.

How World War I and World War II influenced womens fashions

Posted by Jessica Murray | Mar 25, 2021 | Featured, Old Magazine Scans | 0 |

This entry is part 29 of 32 in the series CheeseCake Pinup Magazine - 1953

Pictures of women in World War I and World War II. How early feminism and wars influenced women’s fashions.

How Politicians Shaped the Female Form

Posted by Jessica Murray | Mar 23, 2021 | Old Magazine Scans | 0 |

This entry is part 30 of 32 in the series CheeseCake Pinup Magazine - 1953

THIS is a very interesting article about how politics and politicians shaped women’s fashions during the first half of the 20th century. The early feminist movement asked for many changes, among them suffrage, easy divorce, property laws, and equal education. This resulted in a fashion trends that were mannish, including the no-curves, flat chested, flapper girl of the 1920s. This article goes on to call Victoria Claflin Woodhull a “political freak” (who ran for presidency in 1872), and pacifist Jeanette Rankin whose only winning two terms in congress corresponded with declarations of war (1917 and 1941). The caption under Woodhull says that she ran on a free love ticket.