A video – Living Pages from around 1935 provides an interesting portrait of the readers of McCall's magazine (housewives) and their lives and desires.
In a way it can be regarded as sexist presentation (it’s an early Infomercial – 1930s style) but it does reflect the attitudes of the day. Here is a typical sentiment
" Housekeeping still remains the most important business in the world." "Each woman faces it singlehandedly." "She must know clothes, how to buy and how to make them." "She must face death to bring children into the world." Her relationship to her husband: "she must stir his ambition; pull him through failure; and keep success from hurting him."
Notwithstanding this attitude of the era, McCall's was notable as one the first places that American female artists and illustrators could find work. McMein and Rose O'Neil (creator of the Kewpie doll) both did a lot of work of the magazine in the 1920s and 1930s.
Neysa McMein is the film's most interesting character. McMein was a successful woman illustrator who was a member of the Algonquin Round table. She died in 1949, but her work wasn't honored by the Society of Illustrators until 1986. McMein and her model, financially independent women working outside of the home, present an image of women more compelling than the sentimentalized housewives concocted by McCall's. (From a comment on the film).
A very stylish cover complete with hat can be seen around minute number 4.
This is another video from the Prelinger Archives
View the video for free at
http://www.archive.org/details/LivingPa1935
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
Stumble It!
No comments:
Post a Comment