Vintage People
Hey hey! It's time for some Vintage People!
Here's a group of six li'l squirts sitting around a birthday cake (there's five candles burning, but who is the birthday boy or girl?), waiting for their slice of deliciousness. Everyone has a plastic tumbler, presumably full of whole milk (none of that 2% swill!) for strong teeth and bones. The kitchen colors are interesting - yellow ochre and gray-green. Sort of pleasant in a "hard-boiled egg" sort of way.
Is that a sprouting potato in the jar on the windowsill?
Next, from 1956, in Somewheresville U.S.A. is this cute brother and sister. Perhaps this was a portrait intended for grandma and grandpa. Big sis likes her brother, even though he can be a real baby sometimes. Apparently he is just back from a few months at sea. Sis's dolly has a mane of glorious, lifelike curls. Not molded plastic like some lesser dolls.
I sure love this one, from January, 1972. That young lady is about as groovy as possible. Her afro is perfect, and what is there to say about that fringe on her outfit, other than that it is magnificent? It's sort of half disco, half country. "Don't you have anything with longer fringe?", she asked at the store. "No, I'm sorry ma'am, it's 1972 and there is a worldwide fringe crisis". She was disappointed, but understood.
I hope you have enjoyed today's Vintage People.
19 comments:
Major-
You think the kids are drinking 'whole milk'-? Some birthday party that would've been. Since it looks as though the kids are having a grand time, I'm betting those plastic tumblers are filled with White Russians-! (That'll be a party the kids will never forget-!) And on the window sill I spy one of those original "Drinking Birds" - a quasi 'perpetual motion' gadget.
Brother and sister - how cute. Little Johnny appears to be wearing his shore leave outfit. Although the brown shoes are a definite fashion faux pas-!
What can I say... that Sister is definitely stylin'-! The '1972 fringe crisis' was almost as debilitating as the Gas Crisis.
Thanks, Major.
In the first pic, the coffee pot and the toaster (with a cover over it) are both plugged in. Aren't you supposed to unplug small appliances, when they are not in use?
That woman in the last photo really is too groovy for words. Is that a bee that has landed on her shirt, just below the v-neck?
- Tokyo Maniacal!
1) I don't think that's a potato plant, Major. The leaves don't look right.
Hey look! (Nanook beat me to it) They have one of those bobbing birds on the window sill. It's tangled up in that plant and there's no dish of water for it to drink, so it won't be bobbing. Also, it looks like its beak might be missing. Poor bird.
The cake is obviously home made (the best kind!); no fancy bakery-bought cake here, no siree.
Those gray-green cupboards do indeed evoke the color of an egg yolk that has been boiled to death.
2) What could that white thing be on the edge of the lawn on the left? It looks like it might be just a rock, painted white, with perhaps the house number on it. Though that seems like an unusual place to display the house number.
3) Her shoes look very stylish! I wonder what the sparklies are in her hair?
Thanks for the vintage goodness, Major.
- Jowly Banshees (they're the worst kind!)
@ TM!-
Let's not 'slight' those covers. Any good housewife knows those covers are actually referred to as cozies-!! (Or, at least the housewives I knew).
That fringed shirt is glorious, along with the three-strap white shoes.
Since the cake has pink decoration, I feel comfortable assuming that one of the girls is the birthday kid.
The last image is a model shot for book cover art for the 1972 re-issue of Nancy Drew stories : This cover is for story #12 FOXY DREW AND THE FUNKY WAGON WHEEL MYSTERY .
Again, issue 12.
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10.......11..12!
!!12!!
( ala The Electric Company )
My money's on the littlest girl, it looks like 5 candles on the cake and that looks to be about her age. Whadda ya want a bet there's a hide a key under that rock. We have had some serious 70s fashion train wrecks here at GDB, but that fringe has to be the winner this year. It's like, you want to look away, but you just can't. Thanks Major.
The 1972 Fringe Crisis, along with the Jan 1973 implementation of the Designated Hitter Rule in Major League Baseball and the 1 Oct 1973 release of the Chris Knight & Maureen McCormick duet album, set the stage for the October 1973 Yom Kippur War, which, as we all know led to the 1973 Oil Crisis and the devastating loss of the Western River Expedition, a catastrophe of Biblical proportions from which the Free World has even yet not fully recovered.
Thanks for the ear worm, Mike. You’ve never really heard that song until you’ve heard it sung a capella out of the blue by a US Navy commander in a quiet nuclear command and control center. The event was as random as it sounds.
I should have read the comments before I came up with mine, because all of my good ones were taken! Wahhhhh! (Subtle reference to ILL, although I share Major's views on that "TV Classic.")
Still, here are a couple more...
#1- If you look at the shadow of the plant on the far right, you can see it's actually Audrey II. After the unfortunate incident when it attacked Mr. Drinking Bird (and ate his beak) it was placed as out of the way as possible. Dad wanted to get rid of it, but Mom thought it went well with the paint scheme. Four months later it ate Billy. No one cared much. Billy was a jerk.
#2 If those kids kept those metal porch chairs, they can use them again, since they're "In" now. They'll probably need a new spray of Krylon, though.
#3 I have a mic wind guard that was obviously modeled on her hair. I guess I need to deck the mic out in fringe to complete the look. Good thing we now produce most of our fringe locally!
Dis-STU-rbingly Awkward Scary Name #29573
I really really really hope for Ms. Fringe's sake that the photo was taken BEFORE Labor Day...or that would be very very very bad indeed. There are many of Audrey 2's in that first photo. Obviously, this was the "Family Muschnik". I too had a Toaster Cozy, a Cusinart Cozy, and a Toaster Cozy. All is glorious yellow quilting. Toaster Cozy got too Cozy and unfortunately melted. The smell was a mix of toaster crumbs and burning plastic. All the cozies were retired after that point. Instead of looking Cozy tidy they looked more messy that the appliances themselves. Were they supposed to keep things dust free? or tidy? Only Bed Bath and Beyond knows for sure. That sister with doll clearly has been coached to "be nice to your brother and put your arm around him." I can feel the resentment in her eyes. Poor dolly was put down in lieu of "look happy for G-ma".
Vintage People are more fun than Village People, IMHO. But the young lady in photo 3 is making a run at it.
I’m fascinated by the decorations in photo 1. Many familiar things here. Lots of plant cuttings in odd shaped vases, Danish salt and pepper set, painted metal tray collection, Drinking Bird (now on the wagon), and the piece of resistance is the chromium cake cover. Ours just like it is on top of the hutch as I am writing this.
On the wall is a little framed picture, silhouette of a family saying grace before their meal, the chrome percolator like Mom had, cabinet pulls, hinges, and general design like Moms old kitchen.
Photo 2 is just cute, she has to pose with little brother, but the doll has to come too. We had chairs like those, also decked out in Krylon, under the big tree in the yard that served as our air conditioning.
And photo 3, my goodness. The 70’s have a lot to answer for. Fortunately she would be eye-catching in styles from any decade.
Thanks Major, hoping to enjoy a rainy day today while studying these pics.
JG
Two more thoughts on the first picture - are they gonna eat their cake with spoons?
And check out the snazzy ring on the boy in the solid color polo. I wonder if it's a TV/radio promotional item, like some of the fancy jewelry from the Major's box? Or maybe he's a cardinal after school and on weekends. That's why he's got wine in his plastic tumbler instead of Vitamin D milk.
Nanook, I guess mothers did things differently back then, serving kids White Russians. Or Moscow Mules? Maybe these are Russians in the photo! And that drinking bird is a listening device placed there by the CIA. Brown shoes… those kids are Russians too! It’s a dead giveaway. Remember when we all waited in long lines to buy fringe?
TokyoMagic!, I think in 1959 people were not so concerned about toasters and coffee pots sucking up a little extra electricity. I hope that’s not a bee on Groovy Girl!
JB, I sure don’t know what potato leaves look like, but that jar next to the boy’s head looks like it has something potato-ish in the jar of water. Plus, you know how much Russians like potatoes. Maybe the drinking bird had a bill the same color as his head? It’s hard to tell. I guess that rock could have the home address on it; they live at “000”! I just assumed that the “sparkles” in the afro were because of the sunlight, did (or do) women put sparkly stuff in their afros?
Nanook, it’s nice to know that those appliances would not get cold at night, there’s nothing more sad than a cold toaster.
Melissa, I suppose the pink frosting is a pretty good indicator of whether it was for a boy or a girl. It’s just the way things are.
Mike Cozart, just because you can count to 12 is no reason to show off. I hope to be able to do that soon, and then… well, just you wait.
Jonathan, five years old is one of the best ages for a birthday party (though my seventh birthday was pretty epic. Metallica performed live!). I’ve wondered about that photo of Groovy Girl, it’s like a fashion shoot - maybe by a photography student?
Chuck, it’s amazing how something like the Fringe Crisis could have a butterfly effect and be the cause of all of those other world events. We all thought that there would be an endless supply of fringe! And I can’t help imagining how great the Western River Expedition would have been, especially with everything covered in… well, you know. A US Navy Commander sang the theme song to “The Electric Company”??
Stu29573, I guess that’s what you get for getting up at the late hour of 6:40. Set your alarm next time! I would buy an Audrey II if I could, and I’d put it in an old coffee can just like in the movie. Not sure who… er, I mean, WHAT I would feed it. Impossible burgers? Billy deserved to be eaten, and let’s face it, nobody will miss his whining anyway. Metal porch chairs? Don’t you know that plastic is the way to go? Durable, and classy as heck.
Bu, the photo was from January, so it’s safe to say that it was before Labor Day. You must have been like me and spent lots of your free time at “Cozy World”, where you could buy a cozy for almost anything. It’s amazing how much money one can spend on those. If your cozy melted, you must upgrade to cashmere cozies. Sure they cost more, but they’re worth it. There were a few other photos of that brother and sister, it seems like she was a genuinely nice big sis, but of course we can never be sure.
JG, I wonder how many of the windowsill plants were leftover school projects. I still think that one looks like a potato, though I can’t see the telltale toothpicks that would support it in the jar of water. I do love seeing the way those old kitchens were decorated, it takes me back. My grandma would never have metal chairs, she thought that metal was cold and ugly. It was wood, and only wood for her. I think Groovy Girl looks pretty awesome!
Melissa, you need spoons if you’re going to add a scoop of vanilla ice cream to the cake. Kids can’t handle forks, they lack the finesse. Good eye on that ring, I wonder what it was? There were so many toy rings, I can’t even hazard a guess, but I wish we could see it more clearly.
If it's January...NO white shoes or slacks after Labor Day...Serial Mom would be mad...it didn't bode well for Patty Hearst.
Yep, Bu, that’s the unspoken rule in my area...white shoes and pants only between Memorial Day and Labor Day. I don’t have any white shoes, and I currently can’t fit into my white jeans, so it isn’t a problem for me.
I see Tupperware!
Fun pictures and comments - thanks Major and all!
Bu, since I dress like Colonel Sanders most of the time, I am guilty of breaking the "no white slacks" rule frequently.
Lou and Sue, I have never owned white jeans! Ever since I saw a kid wear them, and a passing dog peed on the kid's leg, I've had a phobia!
The old fashion rule of no whites after Labor Day went out the food almost two decades also as Winter and Fall whites became very popular. Even Joan Rivers declared this prior to her death..
Nanook, I thought only "tea" could be cozy. ;-)
Major, I didn't realize the "unplug small appliances when not in use" thing was for conserving energy. I always thought it was because they could be a fire hazard....especially with a "cozy" over them. But I did know that anything plugged in pulls some energy, even when turned off.
Bu, are those.....PUSSY WILLOWS???
Mike Cozart, Joan Rivers was wise.
TokyoMagic!, maybe I am wrong about the conserving energy thing. Think of the millions upon millions of appliances that were always plugged in, I'm sure there was some small chance of a fire, but it was REALLY small!
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