I have a real soft spot for Marguerite Pattern. My first vintage cookbook was one of hers. Here’s a recipe I made from her “Everyday Cook Book” first published in 1968 (but this copy is an impression from 1980). As soon as I saw the photo I knew I wanted to make it. It’s […]
Month: February 2017
Magazine Adverts – Making Women Feel Insecure Since Forever

It is a human instinct to try to prevent bad things from happening. We can predict a potential unpleasant future and do something about it. It is not a new idea that adverts capitalize on this. I took a quick look at some adverts from three women’s magazines from my shop stock. One from 1939, […]
Based on TV

TV often gets its bright ideas from books, but there are many examples where it happens the other way round. Here’s a random selection of books from my shop and personal collection that emerged from television programmes. Columbo was first released in 1968 and like the TV programme, there were two different series of books. […]
A daily housework routine from 1976

Despite not being a lover of housework, I love housework books. The bossier they are, the better. Suggested budgets, methods of cleaning, and daily routines fascinate me. Recently I decided to step out of my normal work-from-home routine and test that of a vintage housewife. My choice was a daily routine from a book “Understanding […]
Why do we read?

Reading for me has been a life-long obsession. My very first memory is of crawling on newspaper and looking at the print that rubbed off onto my chubby hands. Obviously I couldn’t actually read then, but hey, words are still my first memory. Fast forward to 2017 and if I’m tired while watching TV I’ll […]