Back in 2011, I got to borrow this World War II Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC and later WAC) uniform with matching garrison cap from a local historical society.
This was my first shoot for the Carondelet Historical Society, and the first picture from this first shoot is my favorite.
Here’s various ads for Studebaker cars from the 1920s, the Pierce-Arrow French Brougham, Rauch & Lang worm drive, and Reo 5th and 6th cars and sedans (from 1913).
I can see why the Studebaker is such a classic. The luxurious illustrated advertisement style is distinct. Well bred dogs to go with a well bred car. Stylish women. These early 1920s Studebaker ads are all about luxury.
Did you know that Charles Dana Gibson drew characterchures and cartoons? From these sketches, it seems that he was quite the observer of every day life in Victorian and Edwardian America.
This Civil War era photo album had names with the pictures! Fewer soldier pictures than the previous album, and quite a few missing photos. The bell hoop skirts and formal poses…!
Where was modeling going in the 1950s, and what would future fashion trends hold? The main point of this article seemed to point out the sheer diversity of pinup models and beautiful women. An interesting picture was one of Rita Hayworth without makeup, and then made up. One of her movies, “An Affair in Trinidad”, was chosen by the National Photographers Association as “the sexiest and most provocative motion picture still ever made”.
This first article about the history of women in sports seems to claim that women are 2 inches taller (in 1953) than they were in 1850 because they’re free to exercise and play sports!
Wow. What a cool series of pinup and burlesque star history!
I’m not sure if there’s much of a point to the words in these pages, but the pictures show the history of fashion and burlesque with pictures including
I believe that these are pictures of Confederate Soldiers from the Civil War. This album also included pictures of women, children, and non-uniformed men. I was told that all these people were from St. Louis, or relatives of people living in St. Louis. Such fascinating untold stories… I’ll let these pictures speak for themselves!
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.
I had just 3 days to scan two Civil War era photo albums! Here are the front, back, and sides. I’m officially kicking off the digital downloads section of my shop with these high res scans. Inside were dozens of pictures of women, children, and Confederate soldiers… but that’ll be my next post!
Here are 2 pictures of Seymour’s Regiment Band, from the early 1900s. Charles Seymour was a famed conductor and soloist in St. Louis at the time, and I wonder if this was the band he led.
These were in a mixed album of early 1900s St. Louis photos that I scanned. One of these shows the civil courts building under construction, with just the steel beams up, which was completed in 1930 (so this picture would have been c. 1929). Another old photo is dated 1910 and appears to be a group photo of men in the Teamsters Union.
This article claims that Annette Kellerman was groundbreaking in making more practical swimwear acceptable… and did you know that shorts for women were invented in the 1930s?
The article covers women’s baseball with interesting pictures showing women’s baseball teams from World War I and the 1950s (including pictures of Ruth Engle and Doris Sams), and also pictures of figure skaters and golfers to contrast fashion trends of the first part of the 20th century.
This page features a sexy photo of contralto singer and 1930s San Francisco radio personality Nola Day, a native of Iceland.
According to The Magic Key of RCA Radio Program: “NOLA DAY, NBC contralto, who has appeared as a Magic Key guest, is a native of Iceland but was brought to the United States when she was a baby. She grew up in Tacoma. When she was still in her teens she joined a touring organization that gave entertainments in the logging camps in the Northwest. At the end of a two-years’ tour Nola went to Portland, Oregon, and after a year’s vocal training she was selected as a soloist with the Portland Symphony Orchestra. Later she went to Seattle where she sang in “The Vagabond King,” and later proved her vocal versatility by singing with a dance orchestra. When KOMO, Seattle, put on its first transcontinental over NBC, Nola took part. This was her radio debut. She later became a member of the NSC staff in San Francisco. At present she is with NBC in New York.”
Enjoy the song lyrics on this page below. I’ve tried to find audio/video to go with each song, but without much success.
Ginger Rogers graced the front cover of the October 1935 edition of Popular Songs Magazine. It advertised the lyrics to over 30 popular songs of the mid-1930s!
On the inner cover was a full page illustrated advertisement for diamond engagement rings, wedding rings, watches, and other jewelry for men and women wanting great values by Royal Diamond and Watch of 170 Broadway, NYC. You could could get a diamond engagement and wedding ring set for only $29.75 (approximately $525.12 in 2016 dollars).
The Perfolastic shapewear had a money back guarantee if it did not reduce your waist and hips by 3 inches, and an offer to send a free sample of the perforated elastic material that the girdles were made from. This illustrates the ideal 1930s silhouette of narrow waist and hips, with a small to medium bust.
…
Here’s an interesting history of pinups in advertising! Showing pictures of billboards from the 1800s-1950s, with a focus on pretty girls in beer advertisements.
The next page shows samples of pretty women used to advertise books and, the latest thing, record album covers. Even classical music “moves off the shelves” faster when an attractive woman is pictured on it!
Here is an interesting history of tobacco advertisements using pretty women and pinups as bait, and to gain broader social acceptance of smoking cigarettes! To explain changes in tobacco advertising, you have to take a historical perspective, which this article explains best. Briefly the history of tobacco ads (according to this 1953 article):
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.
You must be logged in to post a comment.