Cosmopolitan Magazine May 1926

I love old magazines and pick them up at antique shops and yard sales when I can find them. I especially love the ones prior to 1940. I was thumbing through this May 1926 issue of Cosmopolitan recently and thought I'd share some of the photos.

 I love those finger wave curls and the demure expression of the cover girl.

Front Cover - 35 cents

Back Cover - Moms are still staging photo shoots. This one is adorable.

 Diamonds: A girl's best friend?

1 ct diamond $145. I'll take one.

The teacher in this next ad would get in trouble today. She's blaming the mom for her son not being included in the games on the playground. He doesn't have the energy to play because she doesn't give him Wheatena for breakfast.

No Wheatena, no friends

 
This picture is amazing. This girl could step right out of the magazine and no one would blink an eye in today's world. Especially her hairstyle.

Apparently, Sterno and Gillette went in together to make this an interesting shaving experience. This was in the days before hot water instantly spewed forth from your faucets. A novel idea! I wonder how many sold.

I love the Lanvin ad below. The bride gets a silver server when she buys a wedding gown.

The next few pictures are solutions for this and that:

Blu-Jay Plaster for keeping your feet free from corns.

Okay! I want Dr. Folts Soap to slenderize my figure to ideal proportions. If it had worked, Dr. Folts would have made millions. I've never heard of him, have you?

So-o - Mange medicine for women? 

Girdles - always trying to hold that tummy in.

The age-old battle of trying to keep your teeth white

Don't let that gray show for heaven's sake!

Mum Deodorant for fresh smelling underarms - but if you want to get rid of the hair, use Evans Depilatory Cream

 Perfumes:

 Beauty Secrets:

Ponds Cold Cream - It's been around a long, long time.

Women must have started aging a lot sooner back then.

So it was a woman's duty to keep fresh the beauty of girlhood. 

Golden Glint Shampoo - I love the graphics of this ad

And YARDLEY'S Old English Lavender Soap. They still make this!

Car Advertisements

I'll take a new Ford for $520!

Ford is still with us today; Paige is not. Maybe they priced themselves out of business.

Electricity - A novelty in rural areas back then. This ad is interesting. Electricity is touted as the Great Emancipator for women. From the wording in the ad, it sounds like the Great Job Eliminator for women.

Deceptive advertising - From first glance, it looks like the typewriter costs $2 but the small print says you get a free trial for $2. I wonder what the cost of the typewriter really is? But look at the ad right beside it. All those envelopes and paper for $1 shipped! Plus your name and address is printed free. Or is there some fine print there too?

Learn to Fly. No thank you. The plane looks a little rickety to me.

Necessities: Toilet tissue and laundry soap.

Scot Tissue

I still love using Fels soap as a stain remover for my laundry

Kellogg's PEP cereal - love the color ad

Furniture: Bathroom and Living room

Where is the toilet?

This furniture is from the same era as when our house was built. They probably had something similar.

Stories: This magazine was filled with short stories and beautiful graphics.

The Haughty Miss Pink

I hope you enjoyed the world of 1926 through the pages of my magazine. This was before the Great Depression and WWII.  They didn't know the unpleasant surprises that lay waiting ahead. Life was good.