A couple of years or so ago I received a huge collection of magazines that ranged in date from 1914 to the mid-60s. Part of the massive Garner Archives, these are mostly woman's magazines, Ladies' Home Journal, McCall's, Vogue, Charm, Glamour plus a large collection of House Beautiful, The American Home, House and Garden as well as several issues of Turkey World. I have mercifully spared the viewers most of the latter. The balance of the collection has proved to be a window into many different pasts. Yes, there's plenty of camp and kitsch that I don't mind exploiting for laughs but there's also: 1) A history of advertising and thus a history of capitalism, 2) a history of graphic design and the slow capitulation of illustration to photography, 3) a history of feminine beauty and its continuing evolution, 4) a history of women before, during and after they entered the workforce, 5) a history of corporate malfeasance (from asbestos to cigarettes to lead paint etc) and 6) and it must be said, by omission, a history of exclusion, (there are almost no people of color in this collection).
There are countless histories beyond those listed, of course, but these have been of most interest to me and the ones I try to highlight in my commentaries and asides.
I started this flickr page, in part, as payback for all the images I've snagged from the internet. To that end, I try to make the images the way I would like them, large enough to use and cleaned up enough so that some of their original spark flies off the page.
A very large thank you to the Garner Archives Foundation for this gift which has consumed me in a way I'd never imagined.
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YES … THIS GUY IS SO SMART … What is his day employment ??? I …are... a writer and TV-Movie producer / computer nerd graphic designer. Have HOT properties .. need YOU AS MY agent to sell them. HELP !!! MAGA COMMISSIONS. FARGO 2 more true murder Duluth mansion. STEALING HOME … AL FRANKEN .. Where is he ??? OLD LOG THEA… Read more
YES … THIS GUY IS SO SMART … What is his day employment ??? I …are... a writer and TV-Movie producer / computer nerd graphic designer. Have HOT properties .. need YOU AS MY agent to sell them. HELP !!! MAGA COMMISSIONS. FARGO 2 more true murder Duluth mansion. STEALING HOME … AL FRANKEN .. Where is he ??? OLD LOG THEATER / HISTORY OF STARS. 2 hour film.
Read lessDave you have so many consistently funny and successful collages and takes on advertising and politics, that I just had to leave a testimonial. I can't comment on every image. You worked has evolved and just gets better. Proceed. You are a well-realized talent with a unique vision. You political commentary deserves a w… Read more
Dave you have so many consistently funny and successful collages and takes on advertising and politics, that I just had to leave a testimonial. I can't comment on every image. You worked has evolved and just gets better. Proceed. You are a well-realized talent with a unique vision. You political commentary deserves a wider audience.
Read lessDave posts the most amazing insight to American society from old magazine advertising. Sometimes shocking, sometimes funny, always interesting. Playing these old images with new dialogue is pretty hilarious. We can see how advertising played such a role in shaping American trends and how visualization evolved with t… Read more
Dave posts the most amazing insight to American society from old magazine advertising. Sometimes shocking, sometimes funny, always interesting. Playing these old images with new dialogue is pretty hilarious. We can see how advertising played such a role in shaping American trends and how visualization evolved with time. Can also see businesses that created and exploited insecurities. We saw glimpses of this history in Mad Men but this is richer. I look for these images immediately in the feed.
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