amylsacks' photos

Here's the inside front cover. Aside from these lavish all-American meal displays, there's not much happening in the 36 or 44 pages (depending on which year's volume you're perusing). At one point a Coldspot penguin gives various food prep instructions, and a demure blonde hausfrau looks likes she's asking one of the freezer models out onto an off-site dance floor. But they lacked the weirdly-hued bravado of these photos.

The saga of Coldspot Freezers and Sears, Roebuck and Co. is a complicated one. Two volumes, one from 1958 and the other from 1959. They are more or less identical. I felt real pain about choosing which front cover to post. This one had the better title text, but the other had the better logo: it was kind of Art Deco crown-ish. But there you go. Life is all about choices.

I'm not sure what publication is to blame for this. However, I definitely have a good prospect for this year's Halloween mask.

Five minutes later, Kay pulls her new white angora sweater on over her head and learns to never again apply lipstick until after she's fully dressed. From the September issue of House Beautiful magazine.

A delicately penciled two-part dismissal of General Mills and its trained Silkies as our sugary epic draws to a close.

I don't mean to be picky, but "complete in itself" shouldn't require so much elaborate costuming.

"The Other Bride," seen a few pages earlier, wasn't the only one asleep at the switch. Look how the Christmas tree image is helpfully flanking the "Cake for Summer Parties."

"Mary" or "Marv Maust"? Regardless, I salute you.

The painter of cake signed their work. That's unusual. I'm sorry that I can't actually read the name, because these little paintings are just great.

I fiddled with the type a bit. It's on the cramped side, but nobody cares because they're dazzled by the picture, right?

An hour later, "Little Bride" is fast asleep on the couch, worn out by her heroic kitchen toil. Her bored husband has another slice or two of that marvelous cake and reads the paper. Meanwhile, "Other Bride" is well-rested, so she and her Harvey Korman-esque birthday boy mend fences. They hit all the night spots and party 'til sunup.

I admit that I doctored this to look like a double-page spread. It's just cooler that way. Also, there should've been a banner below the whole thing saying, "ONE YEAR LATER..." but much like "Other Bride" I found myself pressed for time. [shrug]

"The Queen of Hearts Cake... A lovely high, fine white Pound Cake, decorated for valentine parties, showers for brides, etc..." It's the Softasilk Cake Flour Show! Starring Lady Gaga as Marie Antoinette! (Or maybe vice versa...) Front cover of a 24-page promotional published by General Mills, Minneapolis, MN. (All these pages were originally posted to flickr on February 11th, 2011.)

Image enlarged to show detail. Notes from a May 2nd, 1989 Sotheby's catalog: "Painted wood construction overall: 87 by 47 1/2 by 9 in. 221 by 120.5 by 23 cm. "Executed in 1978 "Provenance: Pace Gallery, New York "Exhibited: New York, Wildenstein Gallery, Nevelson: Wood Sculputres and Collages, 1980, illustrated "$150,000 - 200,000"

Image enlarged to show detail. Notes from a May 2nd, 1989 Sotheby's catalog: "Painted wood construction 90 by 51 by 6 in. 129.5 by 15.2 by 228.5 cm "Executed in 1959. Dawn's Wedding Chapel II (115 7/8 by 83 1/2 by 10 1/2 in., 1959) is in the collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art. "Provenance: Martha Jackson Gallery, New York "Exhibited: New York, Museum of Modern Art, Sixteen Americans, 1959... (exhibited as par of the artist's first white environment, Dawn's Wedding Feast... "$150,000 - 200,000"

Long sleeves and knee socks on a bike ride? Great. Maybe later on I can go swimming in gauntlets and sweatpants, too. From the May issue of Sports Illustrated .

"The secret ingredient that adds that flavor gallop..." [sigh] Or we could just order pizza after you take that doll's crinoline off your head, Janey. From the May issue of Everywoman's Family Circle .

All the best breakfasts are posted at 4 PM. :D From the August issue of Family Circle .