Better Homes and Gardens Browsed in June 2021
/Internet Archive has quite a collection of Better Homes and Gardens magazines that I started browsing through in June…37 volumes in all during the month. It will take at least another month to finish the rest that the archive has available. I selected a sample image from each volume (links at the bottom of this post) and grouped them by decade. Click to see an enlarged version of any image below.
The 1940s were before I was born so purely historical from my perspective. Some of the pictures look almost modern – the child in the snow suit with the shovel, for example. Gardens can look the same from just about any time period, however the people in them don’t; I was surprised at how dressed up women are depicted sometimes even ‘working’ in the garden. The little girl helping with the dishes looks dressed up too. Technology often dates pictures although the camera shown on the August 1940 cover was about the size of a point and shoot today. The food almost always looks way more complex (more time consuming to prepare) that what we typically prepare today.
The 1950s were too early in my life to remember clearly. The flowers could be modern pictures. The eat-in kitchen is dated but functional (no dishwasher or microwave though); the green glasses look like the ruby red glasses I have today. A story about Cape Hatteras was in a 1957 issue.
I remember the 1960s since I started school in 1960. The flowers and gardens relatively timeless…and garden sheds were catching on. The office could function today….with the addition of a laptop; I liked the location of the window. Kitchens were changing and some designs did not ‘stick’ (like the kitchen in the round). Dishwashers were appearing. Double sinks with counters were becoming common in bathrooms…but ruffles over the mirror must have been a passing fad. Shag carpeting! Picnic baskets were more common than ice chests/coolers for meals away from home – very different than our picnics today.
In the 1970s I finished high school and college. The page describing salad greens from 1970 does not include kale, arugula, or cilantro! It was a decade of more house plants, cheesecake, vegetable gardening, and decorating with crafts as many people were challenged to live well with less spending power because of inflation.
Better Homes and Gardens - January-June 1940
Better Homes and Gardens - July-December 1940
Better Homes and Gardens - January-June 1941
Better Homes and Gardens - July-December 1941
Better Homes and Gardens - January-June 1942
Better Homes and Gardens - July-December 1942
Better Homes and Gardens - January-June 1943
Better Homes and Gardens - July-December 1943
Better Homes and Gardens - January-June 1949
Better Homes and Gardens - January-June 1950
Better Homes and Gardens - January-June 1951
Better Homes and Gardens - January-June 1957
Better Homes and Gardens - January-June 1958
Better Homes and Gardens - January-June 1959
Better Homes and Gardens - January-June 1960
Better Homes and Gardens - January-June 1961
Better Homes and Gardens - January-June 1962
Better Homes and Gardens - January-June 1963
Better Homes and Gardens - January-June 1964
Better Homes and Gardens - January-June 1965
Better Homes and Gardens - January-June 1966
Better Homes and Gardens - January-June 1967
Better Homes and Gardens - January-June 1968
Better Homes and Gardens - January-June 1969
Better Homes and Gardens - January-June 1970
Better Homes and Gardens - January-June 1971
Better Homes and Gardens - January-June 1973
Better Homes and Gardens - January-June 1974
Better Homes and Gardens - January-June 1975
Better Homes and Gardens - January-June 1976
Better Homes and Gardens - January-June 1977
Better Homes and Gardens - January-June 1978
Better Homes and Gardens - January-June 1979
Better Homes and Gardens - January-June 1980
Better Homes and Gardens - January-June 1981
Better Homes and Gardens - January-June 1982
Better Homes and Gardens - January-June 1983
I’m continuing to brown through more magazines in July…..so expect another post in a month or so to continue on from 1980.