Vintage Knitting pattern booklets – The 50′s (part 1)

Quite a while ago, my Mom received several knitting pattern booklets from the 50′s – 80′s .  She asked if I’d like them, and of course I said yes.  So they got stuffed into a package with the largest t-shirt I’ve ever seen and some teensy DPNs and shipped across the Atlantic to me.

Erm… before going across the Atlantic though, they got shipped to some departure point in the US and then had to wait there for a while since Iceland decided to have itself a volcano eruption.  When the effluvium cleared, my package made its merry way across the sea..

Where the Parcelforce delivery guy made one half-hearted attempt at delivery before turning it over to our local Post Office.  Where it was able to soak up the atmosphere of an English market town post office for about a week before I was able to walk there on a Saturday and pick it up.

There were several patterns in each of the booklets which struck me as surprisingly modern-looking, but I think the best part of them is the photography and stylings.  Especially the booklets from the 50′s.

I’m going to post some of the pictures (not the patterns – those are probably still under copyright).  The majority of them are screaming to be captioned.  There are also far too many to post all at once.  I’ll post one today, and another tomorrow.

The first up, and this one was one of my favorites.  It’s Columbia-Minerva’s Fashion for Men and Boys.  I’ve often bemoaned the lack of innovative or sometimes even fashionable knitting designs for men.  Well, they had them in the 50′s.  And they were posed in a mad variety of situations and scenarios, too.

Aside from the erm… lovely mustardiness of the sweater on the right, it reminds me of Mr Roger’s sweater.  You know the one I’m talking about:  the one he swapped his suit coat for when he came in the door singing about being neighbors. The one that he’d zip up all the way and then back down again in time with the song.  I also can’t help thinking that the guy in the black and red might see the readings on the light meter a bit better if he put on those glasses he’s holding:

"I say old chap: oughtn't you to use a larger aperture" ... "Quite..."

There seem to be a few themes in this booklet: photography, winter sports, and just hanging out with dad in the library.  I sometimes wish current pattern photos would try to tell a story with cheesy smiles and “acting”, the way they did so readily in these.

This guy looks way too pleased with the filmstrip he’s holding.  And once again, maybe he’ll be able to get a better look if he used the other guy’s magnifying glass:

I haven't ever seen someone stare so lovingly at a piece of film in my life.

Continuing on with the film/photography theme.  Look at how excited these two men are to be watching a set of slides.  I’m old enough to have actually watched slides before and by my memory, they were never this exciting.  Ever.  By their reaction though, you’d think this set of slides was the half-century equivalent to YouTube:

"And this slide is one we took right after we pantsed that guy on the bus! Hee! Hee!"

More photography-based photos here.  Do you think maybe the guy behind the camera was trying to glamorize his job just a little?

"Work it, give me 'fierce'!"

Ok, one more from the photography/film theme.  I’m really not sure what’s going on in this one, but I know it’d be darn hard for me to concentrate on my script if I had two guy leaning on my shoulders.

"I don't care what the script says; I'm not saying 'Broxton's Hemorrhoid cream makes me a Happy Chap!'!"

Tomorrow, I’ll upload the photos from the Winter Sports/ leisure activities theme. 

Oh, and if anyone has a funnier caption for any of these photos, I’ll give a free skein of handpainted yarn to the  person who brings me the closest to peeing my pants while laughing. Put your entry into the comments.