Etsy Tuesday: Life According to 1950s Illustrations

If you've ever flipped through a cookbook from the 1950s you'd see that illustrations fill the pages, unlike photographs which are so common in today's cookbooks. (In last week's Retro Kitchen post, I paged through some of my cookbooks for you, highlighting elements characteristic of 1950 cookbooks.) Do you ever wonder what the images say about life in the 1950s? Here's one comical take.

Men were most comfortable in the wild and did all their cooking outdoors. When the kitchen moved inside, the men ceded duties to the women.

The Finds: Big Boy Barbecue Book, 14th Printing, c.1967 (originally published 1956-1957), $11, The Savanteer; Your Admiral Electric Range Guide Book, c.1950s, $5, Archipelago Vintage.

Women were finally free to venture out from the kitchen! Their savior? No, not men, their new electric range.

The Finds: Big Boy Barbecue Book, c.1960 (originally published 1956-1957), $4.95, Texas Skye; Outdoor Cookery, Lily Haxworth Wallace, c.1952, $4, Backstash and Bygones.

Where women tended to cook alone, as men cooked so seldom, women and children sat enthralled or cheered wildly when men manned the grill.

The Finds: Sour Cream: The Gourmet Touch to Everyday Cooking, c.1950s, $6, Archipelago Vintage; Make it with Margarine for Good Cooking, c.1950, $8.50, The Cookbook Maven.

While Samantha wouldn't be on television for another decade, in the 1950s, witches abounded in the kitchen. With just a touch, everyday ingredients became enchanted and no more late or burnt dinners arrived at the family table.

The Finds: Elsie's Cook Book, Elsie the Cow with aid of Harry Botsford, c.1952, from $1.95, Amazon.

Women were their happiest when their men joined them in the kitchen. The reverse, though, could not be said for the men.

The Finds: Wolf in Chef's Clothing: The Picture Cook and Drink Book for Men, Robert H. Loeb, Jr., Illustrated by Jim Newhall, $15, Sage Goods.

In the unfortunate event that men were left to their own devices - without even the aid of a child - simple pictorial instructions with one to three words saved them from starving.

Bon Apetit!

Eden

 

Credits: All collages created by Eden Hensley Silverstein for Recipes for the Good Life. All product photos taken by Amazon or their respective Etsy sellers: Archipelago Vintage, Backstash and Bygones, Sage Goods, Texas Skye, The Cookbook Maven, The Savanteer.