magazine gazing

We acquired a couple boxes of old magazines at a garage sale a few weeks ago, and have been slowly going through them since then... they are SO entertaining! I could spend hours flipping through each one... the photos and graphics are amazing.  The advertisements are ridiculous...  and all the stories inside are wondrous.  And also ridiculous. You'll find headlines like "Dan likes his vegetables dressed up", "how help-less are you?"and "Runaway Husbands".  Did I mention they're ridiculous? 

One of my favorite things is the INSANE eyes in half of the pictures.  What I'm gathering is that women in the late 40s were constantly terrified but forced to smile at all times.  Maybe that's why they were terrified?

"Is chastity outmoded?"

This might be my favorite image ever.  Way to stomp out the patriarchy, gurrrrrl!

I'd really love to own her tshirt, please.

Again, with the terrifying eyes... lady, seriously, you've been sniffing the washing soap for too long.

You'll never catch me reading a women's magazine nowadays, but if it's from 1947, I'm all in.

PS.  We'll have a whole boatload of these for sale at the shop in Westbrook if you're in the market for any...  

Carbro Photos

Lately, I've been really into bright colors.  Maybe it's a desire for spring to finally come around (it's getting closer...).  Whatever the reason, I've become really fascinated with vintage carbro processed photos...

The carbro process, which uses silver bromide paper and methods beyond my novice photographer comprehension, was started in the early 20th century, and became very popular starting in the '30s.  Magazines like McCalls were using full color photos, so they were in high demand. There was a growing concern about the longevity of prints that were made with previous photo processing methods, so people turned to carbro, both for the appeal of the vibrant colors and the long life of the prints. 

oh hey Norma Jean! That photo was taken by Richard C. Miller, a well known photographer 

who used the carbro method for most of his photos

doesn't she look just like a mermaid? It's so dreamy!

I'll take all of those shoes, please.

What do you think of these? Don't they make you long for bright colors and spring time? 

Seriously, it can't get warm soon enough!

Brightly yours,

Jess (and Caiti!)