Ladies Home Journal

Lighting strikes twice. With little free time the past weekend for our usual jaunts to flea markets or garage sales, we still managed a quick stop at one of our favorite little antique stores. I’m not naming names, this place already has lots of traffic, and good turnover on stock. Always filled with the unusual, we find antique hardware, books, architectural gems, and advertising pieces.

This trip I grabbed a Perlick brass beer tap faucet, some door and furniture hardware, an advertising bottle opener shaped like a lady’s leg, and some decorative caps from hot water radiators originally from an old school house, and this fascinating book titled “The American Magazine” by Amy Janello and Brennon Jones published in 1991 by John Abrams Inc. of New York, and still available from Amazon.com

To refresh my readers, my fascination with old magazines started when we purchased a 1930s cottage style home about ten years ago. It was in dire need of redecorating. While browsing in an antique shop, I found several magazines from the period 1927 to 1939 and bought them to examine the backgrounds on ads, illustrations in articles and feature stories to determine the fashion and coloration of furnishings from the same period our house was built. But it was the ads and art work that proved to be the hook that led to my continuing to explore for more. Until the end of the 1930s, graphic artists and illustrators provided incredible cover art, with delightful subjects and vibrant colors.

The book, “The American Magazine”, provides an insight into the greatest of these illustrations, and photographs that have shaped our impressions of the world, and moved us toward political and social change. Over 575 illustrations and a time line that covers 250 years of magazine publishing from 1741 includes the date of first publishing. Well written and filled with tidbits of knowledge, it is a great addition to your coffee table collection. This book’s magnificent cross indexing allows for a quick reference to selected subjects. Photos and illustrations are as stunning as the originals and the narrative provides smooth reading with loads of information(1893 the first full color ad)( 1890 the first Ladies Home Journal). It is not a price guide.

The subjects covered in American magazines range from the hilarious “Mad” to the controversial “Ken” of the late 1930s with many addressing social, and political agendas. Your own interest in old issues may be as practical as mine when I started to collect or it might dovetail another collection such as a Coke collector framing the famous Christmas Santa ads, or looking back at the wonders of inventions in “Popular Science.” Possibly your interest in history leads to the articles defining the pressing social and political problems in “Ken” or “Delineator”. Do you collect vintage clothing, with the fashions of the Twenties Flapper styles as your specialty? Others may enjoy reading the works of famous writers such as Hemingway, Whitman, or collect the illustrations of Winslow Homer, Fredrick Remington, Joseph Pennell, or Norman Rockwell.

And now the second lighting bolt out of the blue…. when we were about to leave the shop owner mentioned some old magazines and was I interested? Three more “Ken” for my growing collection.

One never knows when luck will be on your side, or is it diligence and determination and not luck, that drives the collector to continue the search for the “holy grail” of his or her obsession?

A fellow blogger, Deanna, has piqued my curiosity with her latest article. She writes of finding unusual, and sometimes monetary, treasures in old boxes of greeting cards, antique books and vintage magazines she had purchased. Since we have copious amounts of all of these, it gave me the incentive to rush down to our basement and check out our inventory.

After several hours of scoping out ”old paper”, there were some treasures to report. Let’s see what I found.

First of all, Deanna is right – those old greeting cards are charming. While I found no money inside, I did discover a few cute notes; one friend berating herself for not remembering a loved one’s birthday! Another card from the 1950s was addressed to “Pookie” from ‘Hug-a-Bug”, awwww.

Inside a Ladies Home Journal magazine from the 1940s, I found a single playing card. It shows Uncle Sam with an American Eagle and streamers that read “Keep ‘em Flying.” Planes hover overhead. No doubt a reference to supporting our troops in World War II.

Inside a book by Charles Dickens called “Christmas Stories”, I found two ‘book-marks.’ One was a business card from the West End Tavern in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, boasting of “real beer” and sandwiches. It also reads “Table Service for the Ladies.” The phone number of BLuemound 9718, really adds to its age!

Further back in the book was a tiny envelope. It was from the Sheridan Motel in Cudahy, Wisconsin (a nearby suburb of Milwaukee.) This little envelope was left on a pillow with a welcome message and a “God speed on your way” sentiment. Presumably to leave a gratuity for the service people, this hotel guest chose to mark a page in her book instead.

Another book brought forth a cloth patch! It was in a Robert Louis Stevenson Reader, quite old, but the patch was for Winter Olympics in 1972 for the Boy Scouts. Not sure of the correlation there.

While scouring through a very interesting magazine from the early 30s called “Modern Priscilla” I found a notecard with “Your Omen for Today.” With a 1929 copyright by the Automaton Corp. of Cleveland, Ohio, it gave a ‘fortune’ to the reader.

A large book called “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” held a ticket stub from a Ringling Bros., Barnum & Bailey Circus, in 1974. Further back I found a playing card with Joe Schmidt-Linebacker of the Detroit Lions (1953.) The original deck of cards was for all the NFL teams (some teams have changed locations, many their logos.)

A 1930s magazine called “Country Gentleman” held a surprise! Inside was a green ‘ribbon’ from a local high school. It reads “Don Bosco 1^st in State.” Nice shape too, even though it is vintage.

Probably the best came in a box of greeting cards for kids. Resting at the bottom of the box, was a post card from 1932, to a lady in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was from 20 Mule Team Borax (Pacific Coast Borax Co.) It is a typed card thanking her for her vote on their best radio program. The winner – by a landslide – was Death Valley Days. It was ’signed’ by “The Old Ranger.” He stands before a microphone marked “NBC.” Nice collectible!

I should mention that I also found a few dead bugs, a pressed flower or two, and a Kleenex, but those were tossed out! I will definitely keep looking for these ‘hidden treasures.’ Who knows what is behind the next page?