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Lilley Luggage, 1931 In a day when travel is quick and airlines discourage us from checking bags with us, it takes a real mental effort to consider travel preparation from long ago. When crossing the country or the ocean took days or weeks by train or by boat, you really had to take packing seriously … Continue reading Serious Luggage for Serious Travelers
Emerson Electric Fans, 1946 Summer’s around the corner, and in parts of the country temperature records are already being set. Of course, we can manage, thanks to thermostatically-controlled air conditioning in every building and car. But Air Conditioning, especially in homes, wasn’t a major product until well after World War II. For the first half … Continue reading One of their Greatest Fans
Once upon a time, and for a very long period of time, you could use the word “Kodak” as either a noun or a verb and folks knew exactly what you meant. That’s how ubiquitous the brand was in the days of analog, film-based photography… Continue reading When Camera Meant Kodak
It’s a total mystery why barrels suddenly became a decorating trend in the late 1960s and early 1970s. But JC Penney was on top of it when they pictured this room… Continue reading We’ll have a Barrel of Fun
We’re dipping once more into the 1968 JC Penney catalog, this time to see what the groovy kids were wearing in the late 1960s. Dennis the Menace here seems to be dressed in Lego colors… Continue reading Fisher-Price Females and Lego Lads
We’ve looked at ladies fashion from Penney’s in 1968 — Now here are the men. Can you say “Groovy, Baby”? Continue reading “The latest look in masculine elegance”
The 1960s certainly show their share of…”interesting” fashion statements, as designers tried toincorporate the decade’s informality and youth orientation into clothes and hair. Some things made the grade. Others, not so much… Continue reading Hat, wig, or go natural?
These house plans pictured scream postwar suburbia – late ’40s / early 1950s. “Suburban living will be at its finest” they promise – sprawling ranch homes. But look closely… Continue reading Middle age spreads with Ranch style dressings
By 2003, catalogs have been around long enough so that they now carry items inspired by catalogs from decades earlier. So here’s a 21st century catalog selling 20th century products. Continue reading Everything new is old again.
Today, the trend is to hide our complex media electronics away. Build the TV set into the wall. Hide the electronics in a closet. In 1937, though, people were proud of their investment in technology, and didn’t hide it…. Continue reading Furniture that Plays Music
