Soup"s On!

Hi everyone! Still recovering from Christmas? Sorry I've been a little absent lately, I hope to rectify that soon after I return from a short stay in the country at my mom's house. We weren't able to see her for Christmas so we're headed up there for New Years! I hope you all had a fabulous holiday season this year!

Anyone who has even glanced at a vintage magazine couldn't miss the Campbell Soup ads. They were (and are) everywhere in almost any magazine there is, including the November 29, 1952 issue of The Saturday Evening Post.

**This is an ad from my personal collection, scanned in just for you! Feel free to snag this ad FOR YOUR PERSONAL USE ONLY! No big and bad terms of use and you don't have to link back to me just please do not sell this article as part of a clip art CD or anything like that. I will send the Campbell Soup kids after you....and it will hurt. :D Also, please make sure to save it to your own computer! Photobucket has started charging for bandwidth use overage-BOOOOO-urns. Thank you!**

Thank God for "old time farm cooking" because I cook so many things with Campbell's "cream of" soups! lol Talk about a kitchen cupboard staple! This company has been around since 1869 so it's no wonder you can find ads in most vintage magazines. (Plus, they also do those Pepperidge Farm cookies...HELLO! lol) And with it being quite chilly here, soup sounds delicious right about now!

What's your "go to" food for those warm winter days?

Have Yourself A Vintage Little Christmas!

Ho ho ho everyone!

I just wanted to stop in and wish you the merriest Christmas ever!



Anyone else glued to the TV to watch the White Christmas and A Christmas Story marathons with a healthy dose of The Year Without a Santa Claus and Jack Frost?! lol

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOURS!

Holiday Side Dishes of 1933

Hello everyone and happy 2 days till Christmas, wow! lol First I would like to say hello, welcome and THANK YOU to my new followers (read: Callers)! Thank you so much for your support! Don't be shy now, leave a comment and let me know you dropped by! :D

Looking for some last minute holiday menu ideas? Luckily the December 1933 issue of the Ladies' Home Journal is here to save Christmas! lol These recipes are all about side dishes to compliment your holiday protein of choice. They include: Oranged Sweet Potatoes, White Turnip Cups Filled With Diced Beets, Onions-French Style, Cranberry Sherbert (yum-o!), Steamed Fig Pudding Served With Vanilla Ice Cream and Fruit Cake.

From the article: "The principal thing is to make everything look and taste as Christmasy as you can. And most important of all, don't forget to be merry!"



(Click for full size)
**This is an article from my personal collection, scanned in just for you! Feel free to snag this ad FOR YOUR PERSONAL USE ONLY! No big and bad terms of use and you don't have to link back to me just please do not sell this article as part of a clip art CD or anything like that. I will send Santa Claus after you....and it will hurt. :D Also, please make sure to save it to your own computer! Photobucket has started charging for bandwidth use overage-BOOOOO-urns. Thank you!**

I'm going to try to get more articles from this fabulous issue up before Christmas so I'll see you soon! :D

I hope you find lots of merry making to be had this holiday season!

The Library That Hollywood Built

As fascinated and mesmerized as I am watching old movies, I am even more fascinated by the stars in them. There used to be an air of mystery about movie stars. They were posh, they were pretty, they were the pink of perfection. In short, they were stars in every sense of the word and that's what the Studios, the Press, audiences and fans wanted from them.

Courtesy of MagazineArt.org

These days we're not interested in the pretty, we want the ugly: the addictions, the violence, the scandals. We no longer look at them with stars in our eyes, we revel in their flawed humanity and laugh when they fall.



I know I'm talking extremes and there are exceptions to everything but I miss The Age of the Movie Star. Don't get me wrong, I am not one of those people that think there are no good movies anymore. I still cry during "Lord of the Rings" and laugh out loud during "Anchorman". It's the mystique of the actors and actresses I miss. We don't watch the red carpet to ooh and ahh over what they are wearing, we look to see who looks the worst. It's not that I think that Stars were above reproach during the "Golden Age of Hollywood", there was some messed up stuff going on behind the scenes but you have to admit there is an ever widening gap in the caliber of actor from then to now in this writer's humble opinion. There's no glitz, no luxury, no glamour...

It was this very air of mystery that prompted me to start my own Golden Era Library. There are so many amazing biographies and autobiographies out there and I wanted to know the truth. Where did the glamour end and the reality begin? What was hiding behind the Studio Suits in a time where the actor was an employee with no rights and no say so?

You may have noticed if you scroll down the left hand sidebar that I keep a list of every bio I have read and am currently reading. Having just finished Ava Gardner's autobiography, I thought I would give you all some quick interesting bits from the books in my Golden Era Library. If you're interested in discussing any of these books at length, feel free to comment here or e-mail me at katamommy at gmail dot com. Please note: All book titles are linked to their respective Amazon.com page. Also, a few of these are now out of print but I've been lucky enough to find them at various used bookstores and on PaperBackSwap.com which can be an excellent resource to hunt down books (for free!).

Books Completed As Of 12/19/2009

I Loved Lucy by Lee Tannen

This was a very bittersweet book for me but a must read for any fan of Lucille Ball. Lee Tannen was a close personal friend of Ms. Ball during the last decade of her life so this is his personal account of that relationship. I found a lot of it very sad as I'm not sure how happy Lucy was later in life.

Love, Lucy by Lucille Ball

Lucy's memoirs from birth through her final divorce from Desi Arnaz. You come away with the sense that she never stopped loving him even though she eventually remarried. It was so interesting to learn about her experiences in Hollywood before "I Love Lucy".

The Million Dollar Mermaid by Esther Williams

If you want to know just how much of a hold the Studios had on their stars, you need to read this book. Williams gives a lot of inside info including how their likeness was used in ads without their knowledge (or payment) and how Louis B. Mayer would kick and scream on the floor like a baby when he didn't get his way. She gives accounts of personal run-ins with Lucille Ball, Joan Crawford and Fernando Lamas asking her to give up her acting career to focus solely on him (which she did). You also find out that a lot of the Press were in the pockets of the Studios: they would call them before printing anything in most cases.

Jimmy Stewart: A Biography by Marc Eliot

This is a well written bio although it's almost as vanilla as you would assume Jimmy Stewart's life would be...almost. He was great friends with Henry Fonda despite their polar opposite political views and lost his virginity to Ginger Rogers.

Life Is A Banquet by Rosalind Russell

This is my favorite one so far. I felt an instant kinship with Russell while reading her book. To borrow from The Simpsons, "She writes the way people talk!" lol She also gives good account of the studio wheelings and dealings including how stars could not keep their costumes, however they could buy them from the studio at a discount. Luckily her husband added a forward after her death from cancer and points out that she always put a positive spin on everything and rarely discussed the massive amounts of physical pain she endured. Had he not added that to her book, you would never know how much she physically suffered at times. That being said, her story is a fun one (normal childhood and one marriage that lasted until the day she died) and I laughed out loud during parts.

Vivien: The Life of Vivien Leigh
by Alexander Walker

Coming off of Rosalind Russell's delightful book filled with her plain speech and quick wit, this biography of Vivien Leigh was a struggle to read from the get go although it is definitely worth reading. Written by someone who obviously loved Leigh very much, the language was very flowery and quite frankly, the whole thing was just sad. I've always adored Vivien Leigh and her struggle with manic depression was simply frightening. It made you wish you could just give her a big hug and make it all go away. Her love of Scarlett O'Hara began as soon as she read the book, "Gone With the Wind" and the instant the film was announced, she declared that she would play the role but she always preferred the stage to the screen.

So that's about halfway through my completed list, right? I think I'll break this up into two posts. LOL

What are your thoughts on the current state of Hollywood: Is there a relationship between a star's image and the quality of their work? Do you want to know when Spears is going commando or do you prefer the "ignorance is bliss" philosophy?

A Betty Crocker Christmas

My fabulously talented and very thoughtful blogging buddy Julie from Life With The Tucker and Wolek Clan surprised me with *gasp* my very own 1950s Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book. Wowowowowowowowow thanks Julie!!!


I thought I would share of couple of Christmas cookie recipes from this fabulous book! You know, I also have a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook from the 60s that I inherited from my Grandmother and I think my favorite part of these old cookbooks are the entertaining and every day meal planning tips. (And there's an entire section in this book from Julie that's just about Frostings and Fillings! Score! lol)

Here's a picture of some finished Christmas cookies in the book. (I can never decide if food pictures in vintage ads and cook books look crazy good or a little nauseating although the cookies in this picture look good to me! What do you think?)

Here are just a couple of recipes from the book, sure to be a delicious addition to your Christmas baking list this year! (Please click for a larger picture.) Let me know if you make some, I'll send you my address. ;) lol





Do you like to bake during the holidays? What's your favorite thing to make?

I Wanna Be A Timeless Vixen!

A lot of times when you're into vintage (or anything really) you have what is called a "Grail". That thing on your mental "Vintage Must Have" list that you can't afford and may never get but it's #1 on your list anyway because it's just that awesome.

Currently, the #1 thing on my must have list is a dress from Timeless Vixen's etsy shop. I have never seen such a collection of beautiful looking frocks in all my life. Their prices are much higher (for good reason) than anything I could afford but hey, that's why it's called a Grail, right? lol

I picked a very small sample to show you here, make sure to visit their shop for some amazing things! (all pictures from Timeless Vixen)





What is your Vintage Grail?

No More Unmanageable Hair...EVERRRRRR!

Anyone that has ever flipped through a vintage magazine has surely seen a Lustre Creme ad. Everyone from Sandra Dee to Marilyn Monroe endorsed this shampoo that was "blessed with lanolin", including the fabulous Joan Crawford in this ad from the July 1955 issue of the Ladies' Home Journal:

Click for larger

First of all, can I just point out her necklace and earrings? *drool* lol Interestingly enough, Esther Williams in her autobiography "The Million Dollar Mermaid" points out that at a time when the Studios told you when to get up and when to sit down, ads like this were created and printed without the star ever knowing, typically when they had a movie coming out that the Studio wanted to advertise. I'm not sure if that is the case with this ad but what an interesting life it must have been to be a celebrity in a time before million dollar product endorsements, royalties and syndication rights.

**This is an ad from my personal collection, scanned in just for you! Feel free to snag this ad FOR YOUR PERSONAL USE ONLY! No big and bad terms of use and you don't have to link back to me just please do not sell this ad as part of a clip art CD or anything like that. I will send Joan Crawford after you....and it will hurt. :D

Would this lovely ad have had you running to the store for Lustre Creme?

My Own Little Beauty Parlor

**First a big HELLO and THANK YOU to my new followers and brave leavers of comments! lol Welcome to Circle 7-2099, so glad to have you here and I hope everyone is having the best weekend!**
There's a little vintage shop right up the street from my house where I've been lucky enough to get to know the owner a little and boy, do I wish you could come see her shop. It is (quite literally) FLOOR to CEILING everything! lol Antique, vintage, current, she really has a little bit of it all. The last time I was there, I loaded up on vintage magazines and a little piece of perfection: a black 50s dress covered in embroidered cherries. Yesterday I decided to stop in (I had been staying away due to WAY too much temptation, lol) just to say hello and I even made sure Toot was with me so my arms would be too occupied holding her to really look through everything. Fat lot of good that did! LOL

But I'm not going to complain, I found two great pieces that were definitely calling my name! :D The first is a compact from Charles of the Ritz:



Here is the inside, unfortunately the mirror is cracked. Whoever was the bearer of the 7 years bad luck should have made it through by now hopefully. lol I was surprised to find quite a bit of powder still left in it. It looks barely used.



Here is the back with the "Charles of the Ritz" engraving. I've done a little bit of research on this compact and I'm stumped. I found a lot of the black and gold Charles of the Ritz compacts but not much of anything on this particular design so I'm not sure when to date it. Anyone have some info on this one by chance?



Next up was this little box of mystery. (Am I the only one that just HAS to open boxes and cases when shopping vintage??? You have the chance to find the most intriguing things that way! lol )



Fortunately for me, I was richly rewarded for my nosiness...*gasp* Could it be?!?!?! IT IS!



We plugged it in and glorious hot drying air was our delight! You better believe I snapped this baby up! Again, just a bit of research but I found two similar dryers on eBay and Etsy going for about twice what I paid for this one. I'm also not sure about the date for this one. I'm going to say 60s-70s with a chance of 50s? Yes? Thoughts my friends?



So far I've attempted pin curls twice. The first attempt looked great (after about day three, lol) and the second try was an epic fail as I didn't have time to let it dry long enough and the curls went pfffftttttttt all over my head. HOWEVER now that I have this little beauty by my side, that will hopefully be a thing of the past (no pun intended, lol)! Yippee! Now that I think about it, there is actually a total old school "beauty parlor" near my house as well. I wonder if there are some gals in there that can still set a fab 50s bob? Hmmmm, I may have to investigate...

Have you made any heart stopping discoveries lately?

"Are You A Good Witch or A Bad Witch?"

First, I just want to say thanks for the warm welcome you all gave Circle 7-2099! You have no idea how excited I am about this new blog and I SO appreciate each and every one of your comments. Thank you also for following the blog, you are awesome!

Ready for my first ad scan??? Okay, here we go!

During the 1930s, Pond's added a couple of new products to their line, one of which was Angel Face make-up. This ad is from the July 1955 issue of Ladies' Home Journal and in studying it I've come to two conclusions:

1. I must glamorize my tan

and

2. I must find out what vaporized beauty oils are ASAP.

This ad is zeroing in on two particular shades: one for the "Golden Angel" (i.e. - blondes) and one for the "Bronze Angel" (i.e. - brunettes). I can only hope that those fabulous souls blessed with pale pale pale skin (i.e. - ME) has a third shade option. But these two beauties seem happy with their choice of Angel Face and I can only sit in silent envy of those fabulous compacts. (Notice the price: $1 *gulp*) Not to mention Blondie's sunglasses! *drool*

**This is an ad from my personal collection, scanned in just for you! Feel free to snag this ad FOR YOUR PERSONAL USE ONLY! No big and bad terms of use and you don't have to link back to me just please do not sell this ad as part of a clip art CD or anything like that. I will send the Angels after you....and it will hurt. :D

For those that love wearing a vintage look, what foundation do you use?

All About Eve...Uh, I Mean Me!

Hello and welcome to my vintage blog, Circle 7-2099!

You may know me from my personal/crafty blog, Just Add Glitter and Stir. Never fear, I will still be posting pictures of Toot and my crafty ventures there but I thought that splitting off my vintage entries into its own blog was a "post in the right direction". lol

I chose the name Circle 7-2099, which was one of the phone numbers used in "I Love Lucy" (the NY phone company would give them new numbers to use), most notably "The Million Dollar Idea" episode where Lucy and Ethel attempt to sell salad dressing. (Speaking of which, ever wonder why they just didn't raise the price? lol)


Ethel selling Aunt Martha's Old Fashion Salad Dressing

I have had a love for vintage for as long as I can remember, thanks to my mom who is very much into vintage and antiques. (Typically "antique" is applied to anything pre-1920s while anything from the 1920s thru the 1980s is considered "vintage" and I like to throw in the 1990s for good luck, lol).  I will say that although my favorite things are from the 1950s, I spent the better part of my late high school career and early 20s dressing late 60s-early 70s (I was a big follower of the Grunge Movement, kinda like hippies but less love and more emo, lol).  So I am definitely not decade specific: if I see something that appeals to me I could care less what era it is from and you will see a wide range of styles and time periods on this blog.

The Wonder Woman version of me circa 1979. Ka-pow!

So exactly what can you expect from Circle 7-2099?

-From my grand library of vintage magazines I will be sharing some scans for your personal use. :D

-Some pictures from my so far small but hopefully growing closet of vintage clothes (especially hats, I L-I-V-E for vintage hats!!!)

-My favorite online vintage goodness (I'm a certified Etsy and Artfire Stalker! lol) and some amazing finds from my favorite brick and mortar haunts.

-Although I'm keeping my crafts on my personal blog, if inspiration hits and I create something particularly "vintage" I'll be sure to share it here!

-Personal family pictures that date as far back as the 1900s.

-I'm a huge collector of biographies/autobiographies of celebrities from the "Golden Age of Hollywood" (you can find my library list of completed reads in the left hand sidebar) and hope to share my thoughts on them with you.

-I love music, musicals, TV shows and movies from all eras, hello! lol So we'll gab about those too.

In conclusion, a little bit of everything! LOL I'm excited to be creating a new home for something that I am so passionate about! I do so hope that you'll join me here and spend some time sharing everything vintage! Feel free to follow me here, on Twitter and grab my button for your blog.

Thank you for taking the time to visit and leave your delightful comments!  See you soon!  :D