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Showing posts with label 1940s. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1940s. Show all posts
Monday, 23 February 2015
Shanghai Lil & The Scarlet Fez's Newsletter
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Wednesday, 31 December 2014
A night out on the town in the 1940s and 1950s.
Bars, nightclubs, restaurants and cafes.
Getting a bit tired of the rustic wood and exposed light-bulbs in bars around your town? Not that there's anything wrong with that, but just have a look at this small selection of nightspots from the 1940s and 1950s. Sure, half of them wouldn't have let the likes of me through their doors but I'm sure anyone going to one of these places was up for a good time!
Happy New Year to all!
Getting a bit tired of the rustic wood and exposed light-bulbs in bars around your town? Not that there's anything wrong with that, but just have a look at this small selection of nightspots from the 1940s and 1950s. Sure, half of them wouldn't have let the likes of me through their doors but I'm sure anyone going to one of these places was up for a good time!
Happy New Year to all!
The Blue Room at the Chi Chi, Palm Springs, 1950s. From Palm Springs Holiday, Peter Moruzzi.
Coconut Grove at The Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles, 1950s. From Impact of Design, Clive Carney.
Les Ambassadeurs at The Diplomat Hotel, Hollywood, Florida, 1950s. From Designing a Good Life, Norman M. Giller and Sarah Giller Nelson.
The TV Room at Driftwood Motel, Sunny Isles, Florida, 1950s. As above.
Riviera Resort Hotel, Palm Springs, 1950s. From Palm Springs Holiday, Peter Moruzzi.
Del Tahquitz Hotel, Palm Springs, 1940s. As above.
Ocotillo Lodge, Palm Springs, 1950s. From The Alexanders, a Desert Legacy, James R. Harlan.
The Latin Quarter, Sydney, 1950s. From Impact of Design, Clive Carney.
Richlor's, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, 1940s. From The Leisure Architecture of Wayne McAllister, Chris Nichols.
Tropicana Night Club, Havana, Cuba, 1950s. From Havana Before Castro, Peter Moruzzi.
Sunday, 7 September 2014
Royal Adelaide Show
Another extravaganza!
Part of our spring ritual is to visit the Royal Adelaide Show. When we went yesterday, it was a beautiful clear day, very crowded and full of things to see.
We always visit the floral displays, the crafts, the baking, the birds and the Grand Parade. We always buy a freshly squeezed orange juice, buy daffodils from Hancock's and have tea at the CWA cafe. I look forward to these simple pleasures every year.
This year, it was the 175th anniversary of the Royal Adelaide Show, something I had to think twice about - 175 years?!
The bonus this year was a stage show put on in the Goyder Pavilion. "175 Years of Fashion" promised to be an interesting display of costumes from those years, a fashion parade, or so we thought. It proved to be a dazzlingly camp dance extravaganza of dubious historical accuracy. The routines, gymnastics and glitter more than made up for the lapses in detail and the show was well received by the audience of city and country folk who crowded around the stage.
I highly recommend a visit. The show has a rare connection with the past and is a wonderful opportunity to indulge in nostalgia and to eat lots of sugary food. I even love the promotional campaign for the show this year. It has collage, old photographs and flowers - of course I love it! Here it is;
Part of our spring ritual is to visit the Royal Adelaide Show. When we went yesterday, it was a beautiful clear day, very crowded and full of things to see.
We always visit the floral displays, the crafts, the baking, the birds and the Grand Parade. We always buy a freshly squeezed orange juice, buy daffodils from Hancock's and have tea at the CWA cafe. I look forward to these simple pleasures every year.
This year, it was the 175th anniversary of the Royal Adelaide Show, something I had to think twice about - 175 years?!
The bonus this year was a stage show put on in the Goyder Pavilion. "175 Years of Fashion" promised to be an interesting display of costumes from those years, a fashion parade, or so we thought. It proved to be a dazzlingly camp dance extravaganza of dubious historical accuracy. The routines, gymnastics and glitter more than made up for the lapses in detail and the show was well received by the audience of city and country folk who crowded around the stage.
I highly recommend a visit. The show has a rare connection with the past and is a wonderful opportunity to indulge in nostalgia and to eat lots of sugary food. I even love the promotional campaign for the show this year. It has collage, old photographs and flowers - of course I love it! Here it is;
Monday, 27 January 2014
1940s Interiors
A photo survey
There are so many wonderful image collections out there, on flickr, pintrest and the like, but it is surprisingly difficult to come across images of interiors from the 1940s.
My interest in 1940s interiors is a personal one, that is, I'm looking for inspiration for our home, so I have put together a short(ish) collection of scanned images from some of our books and magazines, which I think is worth sharing here. This selection follows on from an earlier post on 1940s fabrics.
The images are mostly of fairly modest homes, a reasonable starting point since we're not likely to be in a position to furnish our home with Andre Arbus anytime soon (which reminds me, I need to speak to those lotto people about this on-going issue...) and I have selected them because each one has a particular feature or finish that interests me.
And why the 1940s? Well, it's hard to pinpoint, but I'm very fond of art deco, streamline moderne and post-war modernism and the 1940s is the in-between point of these styles. It's a place where there is a way to blend the otherwise very distinctive and opposing styles spanning either side of the second world war, and that's great for me and my partner and our eclectic tastes. So, here we are:
1. Textiles: Stroheim & Romann. Ceramics: Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Co. Ltd. From 'Furnishing the Small Home' - Margaret Merivale (1945).
2. Fireplace treatment. Designer: W. Curtis Green R.A. ibid
3. Room detail. Joseph Aronson. ibid.
4. Studio room by Helen Park. ibid.
5. Room detail. Oliver Hill. ibid.
6. Dining room, Bowman's Ltd, London. From 'Design in Every Day Things' - Australian Broadcasting Commission (1941).
7. Hand woven woollen materials by Catherine Hardess of Melbourne. ibid.
8. Living room of Miss Patricia Detring, Bel Air. Designer: Paul T. Frankl Associates. From 'The Studio Year Book. Decorative Art 1943-1948' - ed. Rathbone Holme & Kathleen M. Frost.
9. Scale model of living room. Designer: Edward D. Stone. ibid.
10. Japanese pavilion, World's Fair, Paris 1937. Designer: Junzo Sakakura. From 'Furniture & Interiors of the 1940s' - Anne Bony (2002).
11. Shangri-La Hotel 1939-1940. Photographer: Julius Schulman. ibid.
There are so many wonderful image collections out there, on flickr, pintrest and the like, but it is surprisingly difficult to come across images of interiors from the 1940s.
My interest in 1940s interiors is a personal one, that is, I'm looking for inspiration for our home, so I have put together a short(ish) collection of scanned images from some of our books and magazines, which I think is worth sharing here. This selection follows on from an earlier post on 1940s fabrics.
The images are mostly of fairly modest homes, a reasonable starting point since we're not likely to be in a position to furnish our home with Andre Arbus anytime soon (which reminds me, I need to speak to those lotto people about this on-going issue...) and I have selected them because each one has a particular feature or finish that interests me.
And why the 1940s? Well, it's hard to pinpoint, but I'm very fond of art deco, streamline moderne and post-war modernism and the 1940s is the in-between point of these styles. It's a place where there is a way to blend the otherwise very distinctive and opposing styles spanning either side of the second world war, and that's great for me and my partner and our eclectic tastes. So, here we are:
1. Textiles: Stroheim & Romann. Ceramics: Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Co. Ltd. From 'Furnishing the Small Home' - Margaret Merivale (1945).
2. Fireplace treatment. Designer: W. Curtis Green R.A. ibid
3. Room detail. Joseph Aronson. ibid.
4. Studio room by Helen Park. ibid.
5. Room detail. Oliver Hill. ibid.
6. Dining room, Bowman's Ltd, London. From 'Design in Every Day Things' - Australian Broadcasting Commission (1941).
7. Hand woven woollen materials by Catherine Hardess of Melbourne. ibid.
8. Living room of Miss Patricia Detring, Bel Air. Designer: Paul T. Frankl Associates. From 'The Studio Year Book. Decorative Art 1943-1948' - ed. Rathbone Holme & Kathleen M. Frost.
9. Scale model of living room. Designer: Edward D. Stone. ibid.
10. Japanese pavilion, World's Fair, Paris 1937. Designer: Junzo Sakakura. From 'Furniture & Interiors of the 1940s' - Anne Bony (2002).
11. Shangri-La Hotel 1939-1940. Photographer: Julius Schulman. ibid.
Monday, 23 September 2013
1940s European Glamour
Vintage photo
A glamorous young woman with an elaborate hair style, circa 1940. It has written on the back "Souvenir de Bruxelles".
From the collection of Shanghai Lil and The Scarlet Fez.
A glamorous young woman with an elaborate hair style, circa 1940. It has written on the back "Souvenir de Bruxelles".
Wednesday, 29 May 2013
Jolly Hockeysticks
Some time ago, I was fortunate enough to come across a bunch of autograph books at a local market.
The books date from between 1935 and 1941 and document a series of interstate trips taken by schoolgirls and their teachers. I gather they were travelling to compete in sporting events. Here, one girl has collected a photographic memento of her trip, collecting the photographs of her pals and escorts and filling the books with signatures, addresses and cute little notes. It really is a lovely collection, you can sense the girls' excitement and this is sometimes displayed in the way they sit for their photographs.
I have my favourites, including one girl by the name of Elvey, who seems quite mischievous. You can see her pulling a face in the montage below. She is in most of the books and you get to see her grow. By the later books, she is one of the 'trainers', proudly displaying her carefully curled hair.
Some time ago, I was fortunate enough to come across a bunch of autograph books at a local market.
The books date from between 1935 and 1941 and document a series of interstate trips taken by schoolgirls and their teachers. I gather they were travelling to compete in sporting events. Here, one girl has collected a photographic memento of her trip, collecting the photographs of her pals and escorts and filling the books with signatures, addresses and cute little notes. It really is a lovely collection, you can sense the girls' excitement and this is sometimes displayed in the way they sit for their photographs.
I have my favourites, including one girl by the name of Elvey, who seems quite mischievous. You can see her pulling a face in the montage below. She is in most of the books and you get to see her grow. By the later books, she is one of the 'trainers', proudly displaying her carefully curled hair.
Tuesday, 12 March 2013
Sunday, 3 March 2013
Fabric design from the 1940s - in colour!
These distinctly sophisticated and playful designs are a treat to see in full colour.
A "Top left, Celanese satin, screen printed in a design by Margaret Moore. Top right, 'Shiraz' - a cotton and rayon fadeless tapestry designed by John Tandy. Bottom, 'Bird' design by E. Winning Reed on an art silk and cotton material" from "30s 40s Decorative Art" - a source book edited by Charlotte & Peter Fiell, (Tashchen).
B "Furnishing fabrics designed by Jacqueline Groag, M.S.I.A., the top two for Hill Brown Ltd and the lower for F.W.Grafton & Co. Ltd." ibid.
C "Bonbonniere of faience, designed by Stig Lindberg and made by Gustavsberg's Studio, on a background of hand-printed glass-cloth named 'Maytime' by the same artist, printed by Textil Kammaren, Nordiska Kompaniet, Stokholm." ibid.
D "Textiles designed by Margaret Simeon. Left: Screen-printed linen and Right: Screen-printed furnishing satin, both produced by John Lewis & Co Ltd. Centre: Block-printed muslin printed by the designer. Vase designed by Nils Thorsson with 'Clair de Lune' glaze created by the late H. Madslund for The Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Co. Ltd." ibid.
E "Top and centre: 'Burntwood/Moorfield' rayon designed by Jane Edgar and 'Hurstwood/Alvis' cotton fabric designed by D.M. Batty, both made by Helios Ltd. Lower: Cotton damask by Old Bleach Linen Co. Ltd." ibid.
F "Corner of a lounge in a London flat by Ian Henderson. The fire-surround is in Australian walnut, the opening itself being framed in Japanese chestnut. Curtains printed in two shades of red with a line of [black] on a cream ground, and upholstery in a rough textured weave. Occasional table in Australian walnut with a cane shelf which doubles its utility without adding to its weight." from Decorative Art 1943-48 The Studio Year Book. (The Studio Year Books were the source for the illustrations in the Tashchen publication referred to above.)
G "Two curtain fabrics designed by Margaret Simeon; the floral pattern is a cotton textile with block-printed motif, made for John Lewis & Co Ltd. The pink and white design is a screen-printed linen, made by Allan Walton Textiles Ltd." ibid.
H An extract from an advertisement for the 'Old Glamis' range of fabrics by Donald Bros Ltd. The fabric design is named "Goodwood" and is a 50 inch screen-printed linen in 5 colours. ibid.
Further resources:
"Furniture & Interiors of the 1940s" - Anne Bony (Flammarion)
"Ponti" - Graziella Roccella (Taschen)
These distinctly sophisticated and playful designs are a treat to see in full colour.
B "Furnishing fabrics designed by Jacqueline Groag, M.S.I.A., the top two for Hill Brown Ltd and the lower for F.W.Grafton & Co. Ltd." ibid.
C "Bonbonniere of faience, designed by Stig Lindberg and made by Gustavsberg's Studio, on a background of hand-printed glass-cloth named 'Maytime' by the same artist, printed by Textil Kammaren, Nordiska Kompaniet, Stokholm." ibid.
D "Textiles designed by Margaret Simeon. Left: Screen-printed linen and Right: Screen-printed furnishing satin, both produced by John Lewis & Co Ltd. Centre: Block-printed muslin printed by the designer. Vase designed by Nils Thorsson with 'Clair de Lune' glaze created by the late H. Madslund for The Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Co. Ltd." ibid.
E "Top and centre: 'Burntwood/Moorfield' rayon designed by Jane Edgar and 'Hurstwood/Alvis' cotton fabric designed by D.M. Batty, both made by Helios Ltd. Lower: Cotton damask by Old Bleach Linen Co. Ltd." ibid.
F "Corner of a lounge in a London flat by Ian Henderson. The fire-surround is in Australian walnut, the opening itself being framed in Japanese chestnut. Curtains printed in two shades of red with a line of [black] on a cream ground, and upholstery in a rough textured weave. Occasional table in Australian walnut with a cane shelf which doubles its utility without adding to its weight." from Decorative Art 1943-48 The Studio Year Book. (The Studio Year Books were the source for the illustrations in the Tashchen publication referred to above.)
G "Two curtain fabrics designed by Margaret Simeon; the floral pattern is a cotton textile with block-printed motif, made for John Lewis & Co Ltd. The pink and white design is a screen-printed linen, made by Allan Walton Textiles Ltd." ibid.
H An extract from an advertisement for the 'Old Glamis' range of fabrics by Donald Bros Ltd. The fabric design is named "Goodwood" and is a 50 inch screen-printed linen in 5 colours. ibid.
Further resources:
"Furniture & Interiors of the 1940s" - Anne Bony (Flammarion)
"Ponti" - Graziella Roccella (Taschen)
Saturday, 23 February 2013
Bookshop find
During a recent holiday up north, we visited a wonderful bookshop in Kingscliff. It was old school so far as bookshops go, so there was much to find there. I came away with a couple of design books from the 1940s including this modest little number "Design in Everyday Things", published by the Australian Broadcasting Commission in 1941.
The book was an accompaniment to a series of educational lectures broadcasted on the ABC radio. It has a number of thought-provoking essays on design, but it is the illustrations, advertisements and photographs which interested me.
Being a big fan of moderne, streamline, art deco architecture, I zeroed in on these images in particular.
The first is an illustration in an advertisement for International Correspondence Schools (Australasia) Pty Ltd. The photo is unidentified and uncredited.
The second breaks my heart. It is identified as Wyldefel Gardens, a block of flats in Potts Point, Sydney. In 1941, they were being demolished to make way for a new Naval Dock. Imagine the views!
During a recent holiday up north, we visited a wonderful bookshop in Kingscliff. It was old school so far as bookshops go, so there was much to find there. I came away with a couple of design books from the 1940s including this modest little number "Design in Everyday Things", published by the Australian Broadcasting Commission in 1941.
The book was an accompaniment to a series of educational lectures broadcasted on the ABC radio. It has a number of thought-provoking essays on design, but it is the illustrations, advertisements and photographs which interested me.
Being a big fan of moderne, streamline, art deco architecture, I zeroed in on these images in particular.
The first is an illustration in an advertisement for International Correspondence Schools (Australasia) Pty Ltd. The photo is unidentified and uncredited.
The second breaks my heart. It is identified as Wyldefel Gardens, a block of flats in Potts Point, Sydney. In 1941, they were being demolished to make way for a new Naval Dock. Imagine the views!
Monday, 18 February 2013
Friday, 15 February 2013
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