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Midcentury Christmas: Holiday Fads, Fancies, and Fun from 1945 to 1970 (Hardcover)

Midcentury Christmas: Holiday Fads, Fancies, and Fun from 1945 to 1970 Cover Image
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Description


A celebration of Christmas in the 1950s and '60s


Midcentury America was a wonderland of department stores, suburban cul-de-sacs, and Tupperware parties. Every kid on the block had to have the latest cool toy, be it an Easy Bake Oven for pretend baking, a rocket ship for pretend space travel, or a Slinky, just because. At Christmastime, postwar America's dreams and desires were on full display, from shopping mall Santas to shiny aluminum Christmas trees, from the Grinch to Charlie Brown's beloved spindly Christmas tree. Now design maven Sarah Archer tells the story of how Christmastime in America rocketed from the Victorian period into Space Age, thanks to the new technologies and unprecedented prosperity that shaped the era. The book will feature iconic favorites of that time, including:


• A visual feast of Christmastime eats and recipes, from magazines and food and appliance makers

• Christmas cards from artists and designers of the era, featuring Henry Dreyfuss, Charles & Ray Eames, and Alexander Girard

• Vintage how-to templates and instructions for holiday decor from Good Housekeeping and the 1960's craft craze

• Advice from Popular Mechanics on how to glamorize your holiday dining table

• Decorating advice for your new Aluminum Christmas Tree from ALCOA (the Aluminum Company of America)

• The first American-made glass ornaments from Corning Glassworks


 Midcentury Christmas is sure to be on everyone’s most-wanted lists.



About the Author


Sarah Archer is a writer and curator who specializes in design and material culture. The author of Midcentury Christmas and The Midcentury Kitchen, she contributes to Slate, The Atlantic, Architectural Digest, and newyorker.com. She lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Product Details
ISBN: 9781581574029
ISBN-10: 1581574029
Publisher: Countryman Press
Publication Date: October 18th, 2016
Pages: 240
Language: English