Collier’s March 7, 1942

Such a pretty skier!  And how about those sunglasses?  I’m drawn to the glove, as it looks like there is a zipper at the wrist.  Next week I’ll be showing a pair of vintage ski gloves that has a zipper on the back of the hand.

I haven’t read the article by Quentin Reynolds.  I just don’t think I can relate.

Ad Campaign – Chesterfield, 1942

In wartime, more than ever, a satisfying smoke is a comfort and a pleasure.  It means a lot to men in the Service and to men and women everywhere.

Here’s a war time ad that has it all:   war bonds poster, attractive woman in a uniform, patriotic jargon and a reminder that the product is “On the Nation’s Front.”

In the US, cigarettes were not rationed, but they could be hard to come by because most of the production was going into soldiers’ ration kits.  My father entered the army in 1944 as a 17 year old.  Grandmother Lizzie agreed to let him go as long as he promised two things:  no tattoos and no smoking.  He resisted the tattoo, but the lure of free cigarettes was just too much.

Harper’s Bazaar, October 1942

This year marks the 145th anniversary of Harper’s Bazaar.  It was founded in 1867, and is the oldest existing American fashion magazine.  Today, I’m afraid that many consider Bazaar to be the also-ran fashion magazine, but it is hard to underestimate the influence the magazine has had on fashion history and culture.  In the 1920s  Erté was a frequent contributor, not only as an illustrator but also as a creator of original designs.  And in the 1930s, editor Carmel Snow brought in the creative forces of Diana Vreeland, Irving Penn, Louise Dahl-Wolfe and Alexey Brodovitch and then in the 1940s, Richard Avedon and Diane Arbus.

I’ve read many times that the 1957  movie Funny Face, starring Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire was based on Vogue magazine, but the editor character was based on Diana Vreeland, who was by then the fashion editor at Bazaar, and the photographer was based on Richard Avedon, chief photographer at Bazaar.

But both Vreeland and Avedon departed for Vogue in 1962, and under the editorship of Nancy White, Bazaar became to be regarded as the less modern of the two magazines.  Bazaar further lost focus in the early 1970s under the direction of James Brady.  Some readers were questioning whether it was actually still a fashion magazine.

Today Bazaar still trails Vogue in both readership and prestige, but pick up a copy from the 1920s through 1950s and you’ll see why for those years Bazaar was such an industry leader.

Photographer: Louise Dahl-Wolfe
Model:  Not credited
Copyright:  Hearst Corporation

Ad Campaign – Avon for the Red Cross, 1943

Click to enlarge

The year was 1943, and the need for nurses was great.  You’d not even know this was an ad for cosmetics if not for the little line of products across the top of the page and the big Avon logo and the foot of it.

I love looking at magazines from the WWII era, because so many of the ads and the editorial content is about the war effort.  Companies that were not able to continue full production of their product lines advertised anyway, with an emphasis on winning the war.

But what I love most of all is how it seems like there was just such a united front, that all Americans were working for the winning of the war.  Yes, I know there were political differences even during WWII, but how much pleasanter and how much more fulfilling it would be for all Americans to again work toward the common good.

Vogue, March 15, 1942

A vest, properly worn.  Too marvelous for words…

Harper’s Bazaar, August 1942

July, 1942

In honor of the Fourth of July, I’d like to take us all back to 1942.   World War II had just started for Americans, having been blind-sided by the Japanese  in December.  Red, White and Blue were the colors of the moment, as everyone was wrapping their minds around the fact that, yes, Americans were going to have to join this fight against Fascism.

This red, white and blue cover was probably already in the works even before the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Look in the lower right hand corner and you’ll see where the magazine was investing 50% of advertising revenue in Defense Bonds.  After December 7, 1941, the name of the bonds was changed to War Bonds.

By the time this Bazaar was published in March, the National Publishers Association (now the Magazine Publishers of America) were working on a plan to show their support for the war effort.  Paul MacNamara, a Hearst employee, came up with the idea for all US magazines to put an image of the American Flag on their July 1942 cover.  The covers were also to have the slogan, “United We Stand.”

In all, over 500 magazines participated.  The country’s newsstands must have been quite impressive!

Here’s a little taste of what was published that month.  These came from the Smithsonian website, where you can see more covers, and read more about this promotion.  There were prizes given for design, and two of the ones I’ve included won prizes, including the Grand Prize winner.  Can you guess which ones were picked?  (The answer is on the Smithsonian website, but make your guess before peeking!)

   

   

   

All July 1942 cover photos copyright Smithsonian Institution, the Katy and Peter Gwillim Kreitler Collection