holidays Archives - The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

Dec22017 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Get Toasty With These Wisconsin Electric Power Company Christmas Cooky Books

Ephemera

Here are some wonderful artifacts from the days when public utility companies at least tried to pretend like they cared about their customers or wanted some sort of connection with their communities. This gallery features covers from a series of Christmas "Cooky Books" produced by the Wisconsin Electric Power Company in the 1950s, '60s, and '70s. The designs run from homey but bland to festive to delightfully cheerful and mid-century. One note: In fairness, the current version of this company, We Energies, still produces this book. Good on them. Most scans courtesy eBay. Click on any image for the full-size version.

Oct52017 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Another Gallery of Vintage Halloween Costume Slides

Photography

These days preserving memories of Halloween parties and trick or treating is as simple as clicking an icon on your phone. Back in the day it not only meant fumbling with a camera and film, but also finding a way to preserve all those spooky and cute memories. To remind us all of simpler Halloween times, here is a brand new gallery of 13 vintage slides (some Kodachrome) depicting kids (and kids at heart) getting into the Halloween spirit with costumes, jack-o-lanterns, parades, parties, and of course trick or treating for candy! Many of the classics are here, like cats, princesses, clowns, skeletons, football players, pumpkins, robots, and ethnic costumes of varying degrees of PC-ness. There are also some truly inventive, homemade costumes as well. Almost all of these were taken in the 1...

Oct12017 by Chris Holmes1 Comment

The Countdown to Halloween 2017 Has Begun!

Blogstuff

Once again your humble curator has signed on to be an official Halloween Cryptkeeper! As always, this means throughout the month of October you’ll see all sorts of fun, spooky posts with a Halloween theme, along with the usual, non-scary tomfoolery of course. I’ll also be posting some scary stuff on my Tumblr and Facebook pages, so check them out too! To join in the fun and see other blogs participating in the countdown, just click the Beistle skull icon in the upper right. And of course you can view all of my previous Halloween content by clicking here or by checking out the fun Halloween stuff I have on Tumblr. Boo!

Dec162016 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

The 12 Vintage Pinups of Christmas Part 2

Photography

Everyone loves a good sequel, and I can think of nothing more worthy of a second entry than a gallery of vintage Christmas pinups. In case you missed the first edition, check it out before proceeding. Be of good cheer!

Oct242016 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Happy Birthday to It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

Advertising

One of the greatest television specials of all time, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, is celebrating its 50th birthday this year! Let's take a moment to recognize this essential piece of our childhoods and to pay homage to the man behind it all, Charles M. Schulz. The now-yearly tradition began on October 27, 1966, when CBS debuted the half-hour animated special -- the third such Peanuts show -- as part of its Thursday evening lineup. Here are a few newspaper ads from that day. Now as far as I can tell, the first reference to the Great Pumpkin appeared in the Peanuts comic strip almost exactly 7 years before the show, in October 1959. Here is that strip:

Oct72016 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

A Gallery of Vintage Halloween Costume Slides

Photography

These days preserving memories of Halloween parties and trick or treating is as simple as clicking an icon on your phone. Back in the day it not only meant fumbling with a camera and film, but also finding a way to preserve all those spooky and cute memories. To remind us all of simpler Halloween times, here is a gallery of 13 vintage slides (some Kodachrome) depicting kids (and kids at heart) getting into the Halloween spirit with costumes, jack-o-lanterns, parades, and of course trick or treating for candy!

Oct22016 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Hollywood Beauty #6: Paulette Goddard at Halloween

Movies, People

If there's one thing I love even more than Halloween, it's a Halloween pinup. This 1940s Paulette Goddard photo is rather tame by my usual standards but it's a beauty just the same.

Sep32016 by Chris Holmes1 Comment

For Labor Day, Enjoy Some Canned Hamburger!

Retrotisements

I don't know about you, but there comes a point when convenience goes too far, and things just get weird. Case in point: This 1950 advertisement for Swift's Premium Canned Hamburgers, which purports to "take the labor out of the Labor Day Week End." But hey, as gross as the prospect of eating preformed meat out of a can may be, at least you can send in that coupon and get a sweet sandwich toaster for just 50 cents!

Jun182016 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

For Father’s Day, Edgeworth Pipe Tobacco (1947)

Retrotisements

Happy Father's Day from The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit and from the fine people who bring you Edgeworth Pipe Tobacco! It's Dad who tends the furnace, it's Dad who mows the law, And it's Dad who pushes off to work before the crack o' dawn... It's Dad who carries bundles. And it's Dad who has to pay, Let's give Dad the FINEST! for his pipe on FATHER'S DAY!