Homes and Gardens 1940—all 12 issues January to December
Architecture, decor, clothing and fashion, food, air raid defence...
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Printing Details
First edition. 12 issues bound, with colour covers, in plain green binder's cloth, with simple titling in gilt to the spine. 29.5 × 22.5cm, approximately 350pp+.
A rare collection of the whole year (twelve issues) of Homes and Gardens magazine for 1940, providing a fascinating glimpse into Britain at the start of the Second World War. Each issue is profusely illustrated, and consist of articles on home decoration, architecture, restoration, history, collectibles, as well as fashion hints, knitting and sewing patterns, cookery and household maintenance, book reviews, and the arts.
Interestingly, the war doesn't have much of an impact on these issues, with little mention of it in the early months (during the 'Phoney War') but after August when the Luftwaffe starting bombing Britain and the privations began to be felt, it starts to have more of an impact but is nevertheless still quite muted. There are tips on how to share your house with evacuees, knitted suits for children spending nights in bomb shelters, winter comfort in your air raid shelter, what to do if your house has bomb damage, war-time cookery, and recipes with "no coupons required".
The magazines are filled with adverts, mostly for architectural and furnishing items, but later on in the year, a little more geared towards air raid defences and ATS girls happy that they're ending their shift and going back to a reliable cooker... though the front cover of the January and February are advertising "All-clear Triple X Safety Glass".
Condition
This copy is in very decent condition for age. There is some wear to the inner binding but no pages are loose. The contents are complete and in strong readable condition. The green cloth binding is functional and has been well done. Scarce to find in its entirety for the war years.
A heavy item at nearly 4kg, more photographs available on request.
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