Category Archives: 1930s

Color Coding, 1930s

Posted on August 8, 2021 by Lynn

These snapshots from the 1930s show a common color pattern for the period: older women in dark-colored dresses, with younger women in lighter ones.  In photos from the era, the women’s clothes are often color coded in this way. You … Continue reading →

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Learning from the Facebook Group “Mid Century in Color”

Posted on May 3, 2021 by Lynn

Sometimes I wonder just who Facebook thinks I am, sending me links to sites about farms and baby animals.  But recently the mysterious algorithm provided something I treasure—a link to the wonderful resource Mid Century in Color: Amateur Photographic Slides … Continue reading →

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Unruly Seamstresses in the 1930s

Posted on April 22, 2021 by Lynn

The Works Project Administration (or WPA) is best known for funding murals and highways in the Great Depression. However, it also started programs aimed specifically at women. One was the WPA sewing project, which employed thousands women creating garments for … Continue reading →

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Portrait of a Woman with Butterfly

Posted on February 2, 2021 by Lynn

In honor of Black History Month, I’ve been searching for collections of photographs of African Americans that might include older women.  One rich source I discovered is the private collection of Mike Cochran, given to the Portal of Texas History.  … Continue reading →

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Sewing for the Works Progress Administration, 1936

Posted on September 30, 2020 by Lynn

In the US, most of us have probably come across a bridge or a trail that was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the Depression Era government sponsored employment agency.  Not only did the program build bridges and sponsor … Continue reading →

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Sewing Baseballs, 1938

Posted on September 14, 2020 by Lynn

Of course I know that baseball covers have stitches, but until I saw this photo I didn’t realize that the covers were stitched together by hand.  Even today most covers are hand stitched, although the process is done in a … Continue reading →

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The Fourth of July in South Carolina, 1939

Posted on July 4, 2020 by Lynn

The Library of Congress has a series of photographs of an African American Fourth of July celebration on St. Helena Island off of South Carolina in 1939.  They were taken by Marian Post Wolcott, a photographer working for the Farm … Continue reading →

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Cat Lady with Sandals, 1930s

Posted on May 31, 2020 by Lynn

These days, wearing socks and sandals is often considered a fashion faux pas for women, but this wasn’t always the case.  The older woman above is happily wearing the combination while playing with (or torturing?) her cat.  Using the wisdom … Continue reading →

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On the Go, 1938

Posted on May 14, 2020 by Lynn

What trips have you given up this summer?  I had two planned, one to see my daughter in the Boston area and another to visit an old friend in England.  As a financially stable woman nearing 70, I am in … Continue reading →

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Cassie and Jennie, 1932

Posted on April 12, 2020 by Lynn

A handwritten message on the back of this photo gives me names and dates, and I know that it comes from my stepfather’s family.  Unfortunately, there is no one left to tell me who Cassie and Jennie were. I do … Continue reading →

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