Practical Householder
It doesn't take a lot to distract me from any attempts to become a Domestic Goddess. I live in the house where I grew up. My parents lived in this house from 1959 and in 2000 they had a house built in its garden, where they now live.
Of course, when they moved out, they didn't take all their old junk with them and from time to time I dare to look at it. I don't exactly clear it, just look at it, go all nostalgic, shuffle it about and put it back.
And so 'twas this afternoon - whilst trying to tidy up ready for Christmas, I came across Practical Householder January 1957, and a fascinating read it is too.
Ah, 1957, when men were men, and stood with a saw in their hand looking butch, and women wore frilly aprons and gazed at them adoringly. Well, that's what happens in this magazine. It's full of fascinating products - "A Simply Made Breakfast Tray" " A Domestic Boiler Guard" "A Simple and Inexpensive Clothes Horse" "A Simply Constructed Coal Bunker", or, for the more ambitious: "Making a Refectory Table".
To keep the whole place spotless, the husband could buy Frilly Apron all the latest gadgets and I particularly enjoyed the adverts for these.
Women give it no rest!
Day in and day out, it is hard at work.
You take its efficiency for granted - it is your vacuum cleaner.
Ask your wife about it - she uses it every day for cleaning carpets, furniture, stairs, curtains easily and without any fuss.
But are you sure your cleaner is safe and really efficient? Compare it with the latest Vactric. If you haven't bought a cleaner yet, see a Vactric first.
Fill in this coupon and we'll let you and your wife know all about the latest Vactric models which you can still buy on easy terms. Top-price allowed on your old cleaner.
(Note to wives: If he needs any extra persuasion, tell him about the optional spray-gun attachment!)
And there's a lot of this kind of thing:
When you discover how easy it is to cover up old-fashioned wooden surfaces with FORMICA laminated plastic, you'll get ambitious.
Yes, indeed, for that is what happened to my parents. Thrilled by the advent of Formica and its ilk, they took this Victorian house and ripped out all its period features, such as the fireplace and the carved wooden banisters and replaced them with late 1950s and early 1960s easy-to-clean fittings.
As a small child (a very, very, very small child, I hasten to add) I really regretted the loss of the fireplace and the banisters. But to the Communist, in particular, anything Victorian was old and dreary and he wanted to look to the future. Which, in some things, was good - but in others it wasn't.
I've always liked the feel of this house - friendly and comfortable and welcoming, I like to think - but visually it's a real clash of styles. And magazines such as Practical Householder were to blame. It was not one shilling and threepence well spent.
Of course, when they moved out, they didn't take all their old junk with them and from time to time I dare to look at it. I don't exactly clear it, just look at it, go all nostalgic, shuffle it about and put it back.
And so 'twas this afternoon - whilst trying to tidy up ready for Christmas, I came across Practical Householder January 1957, and a fascinating read it is too.
Ah, 1957, when men were men, and stood with a saw in their hand looking butch, and women wore frilly aprons and gazed at them adoringly. Well, that's what happens in this magazine. It's full of fascinating products - "A Simply Made Breakfast Tray" " A Domestic Boiler Guard" "A Simple and Inexpensive Clothes Horse" "A Simply Constructed Coal Bunker", or, for the more ambitious: "Making a Refectory Table".
To keep the whole place spotless, the husband could buy Frilly Apron all the latest gadgets and I particularly enjoyed the adverts for these.
Women give it no rest!
Day in and day out, it is hard at work.
You take its efficiency for granted - it is your vacuum cleaner.
Ask your wife about it - she uses it every day for cleaning carpets, furniture, stairs, curtains easily and without any fuss.
But are you sure your cleaner is safe and really efficient? Compare it with the latest Vactric. If you haven't bought a cleaner yet, see a Vactric first.
Fill in this coupon and we'll let you and your wife know all about the latest Vactric models which you can still buy on easy terms. Top-price allowed on your old cleaner.
(Note to wives: If he needs any extra persuasion, tell him about the optional spray-gun attachment!)
And there's a lot of this kind of thing:
When you discover how easy it is to cover up old-fashioned wooden surfaces with FORMICA laminated plastic, you'll get ambitious.
Yes, indeed, for that is what happened to my parents. Thrilled by the advent of Formica and its ilk, they took this Victorian house and ripped out all its period features, such as the fireplace and the carved wooden banisters and replaced them with late 1950s and early 1960s easy-to-clean fittings.
As a small child (a very, very, very small child, I hasten to add) I really regretted the loss of the fireplace and the banisters. But to the Communist, in particular, anything Victorian was old and dreary and he wanted to look to the future. Which, in some things, was good - but in others it wasn't.
I've always liked the feel of this house - friendly and comfortable and welcoming, I like to think - but visually it's a real clash of styles. And magazines such as Practical Householder were to blame. It was not one shilling and threepence well spent.
posted by Daphne at 3:32 pm
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