<!--quoteo(post=81270:date=Jun 17 2006, 04&#58;06 AM:name=MissKittyPhoenix)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MissKittyPhoenix &#064; Jun 17 2006, 04&#58;06 AM) [snapback]81270[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
Just wondering. I would love to have a book ((or two)) from the 1950s with helpful guides to cooking perfect dinners, getting stains out etc.

Anything 50s and non-fiction really [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]

Anyone have any titles I could look for? I&#39;ve tried Amazon and that&#39;s about as useful as a hole in a sock ((apart from the hole you put you&#39;re foot in...))

Hiya MissKP,

Just type that in the search box on ebay.  Basically you&#39;re telling the system to look for a lot (set of magazines) with dates from 1950-1959. 

You can also type 194* to get stuff from the forties.


Have fun&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;

Try looking for Good Housekeeping. My old flatmate had a great Good Housekeeping book on Entertaining from the 50s. It had articles on how to throw the perfect party, whether is be in a one room bedsit or a large party of family and friends. It had menu suggestions and party games as well. Good Housekeeping did many books on this subject so keep an eye out for them.

Also many women&#39;s magazines would do annuals or books. I have a &#39;Woman&#39; year book which has stories, advice tips, recipies and all sorts. What about looking for Australian Women&#39;s Weekly or 1950s equivilant?

I collect these things, so here are a couple of my favorites.  Epr is right to look for pamphlet-type guides at used book sales- those are some of the best (I believe Lawry&#39;s published them yearly- they often have a calendar printed in the last page).  But here are some in book form:

Heloise&#39;s Kitchen Hints- Her column still appears in many newspapers, so I would assume that there are newer versions of this book, but I have a 1963 edition.

Peg Bracken&#39;s The &#39;I Hate to Cook Book&#39; Obviously more of a cookbook, but it has simple recipes and a sense of humor (1960)

The Modern Family Cookbook by Meta Given- Again, another cookbook, but it has meal-planning and nutrition guides (at least as they were thought to be nutritious in 1942  [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/dry.gif[/img]  )

Shortcuts to Home Making- a compilation of hints that appeared in "American Family" Magazine, 1952.  This is probably closest to what you are looking for: pages of one- or two-line household hints. Here are some examples: "Caps of nail polish bottles won&#39;t stick if the screw threads are greased with cold cream before the bottle is used." 

"To use short-stemmed flowers in a tall vase, merely slip the stems of the flowers into paper straws and adjust to desired lengths." 

"To assure a fluffy chenille bedspread after washing, hang it wrong side out and pin the top and bottom to the line. Rubbing against each other as the spread is being blown dry causes the tufts to become fluffy."

I am not a stay at home housewife, but am hoping to be by the end of this year!  I have been picking up vintage books in preparation:

I have The Housewife's Handbook from 1953, published by Wm. H. Wise.  I also have America's Housekeeping Bookbut it's from 1945, but still very valuable in so many tips (even plumbing and fix-its for the wife).  A really fun and great cookbook is The American Woman's Cookbookby Ruth Berolzheimer, mine is from 1947 but I know there are editions from the 50s.  I was lucky and found all of these books either on Amazon or eBay for between $5-$12.

Good Luck!

That is one of my favorite blogs.

There is also one called Destination 1940s and she posts from the guides and takes on new chores and tasks each week from the guides.  I know it's 40s but some of the guides are very similar I have found.