Blast from the Past

The Book Garden is this sketchy little used book store/florist on the edge of town, and for the longest time I thought it was a porn shop. On Tuesday Courtney drove over from Philly to make a donation there and meet me for lunch at the Bamboo House. On a whim I decided to do a little digging in the back, and what I came up with was a gold mine of really old Nat Geo, Life and travel magazines. They had stuff going all the way back to the 1920's for super cheap. I was tempted by a lot of things, but I ended up settling on this Holiday magazine from November 1956, because it was an entire issue on South America. My favorite article in the magazine, "Party of One," actually has nothing to do with travel at all. It is an editorial piece about eccentricity, and if it didn't span 6 pages I would copy the entire thing for you to read...instead I'll settle for an insanely long quote:
"One might begin by arguing that it is the eccentric who is the truly normal man. That is, he dares to be himself, which is what Henry Jones would like to be, only the neighbors would talk. In a sense the eccentric is our surrogate, our vicar. He takes upon him the cross of whim which the rest of us shrewdly suppress. He is humanity's Punch or Jack-in-the-box, a type and a toy for which we feel a kind of derisive affection. In one of his manifestations, the eccentric is merely a man with an excess of good sense. Failing to use the checkrein of common irrationality, he permits reasonableness to get out of hand. Visit the anatomical Museum of University College in London and you will come upon a cabinet containing the neatly wired skeleton of the philosopher Jeremy Bentham, dressed in the clothes he was wearing at his death in 1832. His will provided for this permanent window display. It also provided that his body be dissected....As a partial consequence of Bentham's will, the Anatomy Act was passed, removing legal barriers to dissection. Now-was Jeremy an eccentric? Or was he merely carrying out-to the final extremity- his idea of the greatest good for the greatest number? I say he was so sane that he seems queer, whereas the rest of us, who look forward to encumbering with our remains a vast area of valuable real estate, are meerly queer in such large numbers that we seem sane."

The article goes on to describe all of the different types of eccentrics....eccentricity as an exuberance of imagination, the eccentric man who lives in part in the future, the full-flower eccentric, the perfect eccentric.... Lets just say it makes me feel a lot better about being "that weird outdoorsy girl" at work. I'd be happy to type up the whole article and send it to anyone who wants it...I think its totally worth it.

Possibly better than the articles in this magazine are the advertisements. Funny to see stuff like "Atlantic crossed for first time by telephone cables!" and "Be the first to cook with microwaves!" in big bold letters. Here are a few of my other favorites...



"Translate your figure into fashion success with modern line by Formfit. For Gaytime you'll love Life Girdle No. 1590. Starts high on the midriff...trims and slims with Nylon taffeta and light elastic. White or Pink. 15 or 16 inches long. $16.50"









"Buy only the Haf-A-Jama you sleep in. Famous Pajama Separates in fine Sanforized cotton breadcloth."

"Uppa-Jama extra long jacket, no southern exposure!"

"Lowa-Jama boxer waistband- gripper snaps, large pocket."

"Why pay for a whole pair when you wear only half? Haf-A-Jama is the answer!"


"Take a Pack"

"Tobacco is a dirty weed; I like it. is the start of the delightful verse on this antiqued pine Cigarette Dispenser. Fill it at the top and remove a pack at a time from the bottom. It is 12" high, hangs on the wall; one size holds a full carton of regular or king-sized cigarettes. For your kitchen, hall playroom or den"


Seriously... PLAYROOM?