amylsacks' photos

The illustration is discreetly cropped so you can't see the layer of booze and smokes filling the lower half of the cart. From the April 1st issue of Time magazine.

And think of what all those hours of quadruple sifting will do for your upper body strength, Ladies!

"Swans Down Cake Flour will not only help you to achieve perfection in cake making, but it will make all your fine baking better than it could ever be, if you used ordinary flour. Swans Down will give extra crispness to your cookies-- extra lightness and tenderness to your biscuits, muffins, shortcakes, griddle cakes, and waffles-- wonderful lightness and flaky tenderness to your pastries! Follow these recipes and prove it!..."

"Frosting Frills For Special Occasion Cakes: ...The pastry bag may be made of a three-cornered piece of heavy paper folded into cornucopia shape and pinned in place, or, better still, of a piece of heavy muslin or light-weight canvas stitched in the desired shape. This can be washed after using and so kept clean..."

In the lower left hand corner of the "Caramel Layer Cake," you can just make out the illustrator's name: "Giro." I don't know anything about them. But these really are terrific pictures.

Some clippings from inside the booklet, slightly enlarged. I'm not sure what the "lightning" in "Lightning Layer Cake" was in reference to, since all of these cakes seem like pretty drawn-out productions. Usually the devoted cook sifted the flour 3-4 times, and presumably didn't own an electric mixer.

Inside front cover and first page from the booklet. Considering that the Depression was in full swing, this is a pretty lavish production. The cover is heavy cardstock and the papers inside are thick. Nice Art Deco stylings on the typeface and pictures, too.

Front and back cover of a 50-page promotional booklet published by Igleheart Brothers, Inc. ("Established 1856") of Evansville, Indiana, and General Foods Corporation. I don't know what the punched hole was for. A string holding an extra coupon or a small trinket went there, maybe.

I love the surrealism of the "mini-pineapple" painstakingly crafted out of a raspberry and what looks like slivered almonds. From the March issue of American Home magazine.

"To Wake Up A Memory!" Sounds like a suspense film in the spirit of Laura or Out of the Past. Our married, small-town hero takes a bite of pudding and suddenly remembers his secret life in the Big City-- He has another wife and family, and a career as a magician who can grant sentience to boxes of mix! From the March issue of American Home magazine.

Yeah, this sandwich gets 'em plenty confused. Are they supposed to eat it, or wear it pinned to a shoulder like military insignia? From the March issue of American Home magazine.

My Photoshop skills are pretty limited, but I went ahead and ran these bigger than they were in the booklet. Just because I love 'em so much. (Clicking on the image itself and then the largest "View All Sizes" option will give you a little more detail.)

"...pearl onions, olive oil, vinegar, dill pickles, sweet pickles, pimentoes, relish, mushrooms, shrimps, tuna fish, capers, marmalade, guava jelly, salted almonds, cheese sticks, potato chips, variety of crackers, cream cheese, Roquefort paste, salad dressing, mayonnaise, mustard, A1 Sauce." The writers were nothing if not modest about their own humble condiment. Which is weird given that it could have gone right up front alphabetically.

"With the following articles in the pantry, the hostess will be able to prepare a most appetizing and attractive assortment of canapes for the impromptu occasion. "Anchovies, anchovy paste, antipasto in glass or tin, caviar red or black, chicken in glass or tin, crab meat, lobster meat, devilled tongue, devilled ham, frankfurters, small sausages, Pate de Foie Gras, sardines, salmon, smoked salmon, stuffed olives, ripe olives, olives stuffed with anchovies..."

"The experienced host or hostess keeps the pantry well stocked with a variety of tinned and glassed foods which, at a moment's notice, may be fashioned into simple, yet delicious, appetizers for the cocktail hour... Rare and more costly products of foreign countries may be purchased and added to your larder for use when a special occasion justifies a more elaborate and unusual diversity..." I have a nagging suspicion that nearly everyone during this time was dreaming about caviar and Pate' de Foie Gras rather than serving it.

"Believing that the host and hostess will discover a real need for appetizer recipes we present this little booklet with the hope that it will prove of genuine assistance in the entertainment of your guests-- and at the same time bring to your attention two of America's finest products--" GIN! And gin with some other stuff mixed into the bottle with it!

"That delightful custom of serving appetizers with the cocktail-- canapes of spicy allurement and hors d'oeuvres in tempting ensembles of the world's finest delicacies-- will add piquancy to the pre-dinner cocktail and a delicious attribute to the buffet supper..." The toast-your-own-canapes-at-the-table arrangement is adorable.

"...in the form of inspiring cocktails, refreshing highballs and the varied drinks that aid so materially in the enjoyment of any occasion... I had no idea before picking up this booklet that so many different kinds of cocktail shaker existed in the world. It's kind of inspiring.