Tuesday, June 21, 2011

the AUSTRALIAN WOMEN'S Complete HOUSEHOLD Guide ..Illustrated

just look at the cute illustrations on the dustjacket. The same design in pink, grey and yellow forms the endpapers too.
272 big pages, 36 pages of Glowing Colour, more than 100,000 words, 150 photographs, drawings and diagrams.

What more could the 1950s Aussie Housewife need?


The hand drawn/coloured illustrations are terrific. Home plans, repairs, how your garden could look..so much to aspire to.
Chapters on When you Build
Home Repairs
The Garden
Childcare
Careers for the Adolescent
Cookery
Home Entertainment ... and they mean organisation and etiquette, who to invite, what to serve   ... not which DVD to hire!!!
The Art of Letter Writing
Dressmaking
Handcrafts and Hobbies
Pets
 interesting left handed sewing machine !!!!
the artist was probably a man !
Culture.. how to broaden your intellectual interests
Health
Legal



So there you have it. Dates from 1953.
This was indeed a lucky find for me at an Op shop recently, I've read it and I am happy to report I've been doing everything right!!

6 comments:

  1. Great find indeed ;-) We have these i have a few from the 50's and 60's they used to be delivered by the local milkman ;-) Full of great useful information for any new house wife. enjoy yours, dee x

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  2. Wow - this is another impressive find Lyndel.
    I wish that I'd had a left handed sewing machine, maybe I'd be able to actually sew something.

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  3. Oh my!! I would LOVE to see this! I have a similar thing: Newnes' Home Management. But it's a more serious British, post-war rebuilding type thing. Hardly any colour plates. Or kittens. Perhaps that sewing machine illustration was reversed during the printing process? I'm clicking on all of these images to enlarge!

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  4. Hey Lyndel....!

    I hope this note finds you well Lovey....!

    How DIVINE are these books....PERFECT reference material for anyone interested in mid century living & design....!!

    You know where I am if you 'tire' of them....hahahahaha....!!

    I WONDER how many people think of me when they see HR on the side of the road....**wink**....!!

    I hope you're having a SENSATIONAL week my Friend....!!

    Cheers for now,
    Tamarah :o)

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  5. i've died and gone to heaven. the view is riveting and reverbarating (if that were possible). i can't believe that book!
    ha. i know now. i won't recover. help!

    brussels in 1974? wopla! i pass mannekin from time to time. and with it all the tourists... ha ha ha...
    Xnadine♥
    (i don't have your e-mail adress?)

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  6. Oh that does bring back memories! I had a book like that when I got married for the first time in 1971. It was a bit more modern than yours, but it was my 'bible' for the first few years, as I muddled my way through housework and cooking, while working full time. I did learn a few useful things from it at the time!

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