Book Thing...yet again

My dear neighbour is probably not going to get her MBA because I introduced her to the Book Thing this weekend. Of course, I also showed her where the great Italian grocery store is, with their extensive selection of cheap wine. Clearly, she's headed down a slippery slope of books and booze... lucky gal.

As usual, I headed right to the Decorating section where I found a series of five books called The Homemaker's Encyclopedia, published in the early 1950's.

I am pretty sure that their publication date gives you a good idea of what kind of books these are. I got the following titles:

• Needlecraft for the Home
• Food-Buying and Meal-Planning
• Indoor and Outdoor Gardening
• Personal Beauty and Charm
• Decorating Handbook

I have to admit that I love old decorating books nearly as much as the current titles. As much as fashions and trends change, they also stay the same, as evidenced by my Carleton Varney series of posts. These books were edited by Miriam Reichl, who is the mother of Gourmet Magazine editor, Ruth Reichl. The photos in these books are hilarious and so is the commentary. The beauty and charm book offers sections such as "suggestions for bathing", "this is the way to clean your teeth" and "how to care for your furs". The decorating book talks about "do men need closets", "living with old pieces of furniture in a modern home" and "accessories, pictures and mirrors". The book appears to have been underwritten by the linoleum industry, since they advocate putting lino everywhere, including the bedrooms.

I haven't started on the needlecraft, gardening or cooking books yet, but I am assuming they will be equally entertaining.