Whipping Whimseys

New Notions!

Have you ever?...

Made earrings and lapel pins from feathery fishing lures?

Considered keeping Cleo (your goldfish) in a hanging fishbowl over your bed?

Adorned your wedge heels with colorful tacks?

Why not?...

The results will wow you speechless!

[Drawings by Jay Warmuth for Woman's Home Companion, May 1947]


Do you ever...?

Let your woo-woo gams run your life? If so, let this 3 cent pamphlet advise you how to reassert your independence!

...I'm not even sure what the last pamphlet is about! It's either golf or something that can only be hinted at...

[Offer from Woman's Home Companion, June 1947]

You'll never get away with it, Lady!

No matter that his Ken doll hair looks like a can of cake icing! X, her man with X-ray Eyes, is clearly nauseated by a smattering of microbes that can't be seen by a normal human's naked eye in this detail from a Listerine advertisement from October 1947 (seen in the newstand favorite Woman's Home Companion). My theory is that his eye balls bulge not at the sight of the creepy crawlies on his lovely partner's shoulder but because of the constriction with which his bowtie has affixed his head to his shoulders. His girlfriend doesn't need Listerine; she needs a new dancing partner!

This would have made a great premise for a film noir: Gloria Grahame is the mysterious and be-cootied Lady With The White Gardenia and William Bendix is her crazy-eyed lover who is driven to murder by his jealousy and overwhelming hypochondria. [Also posted at Flickr with alternate commentary]

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner

With Pat Hingle as Matt Drayton, a fish as John Prentice, and a saggy-eyed dog.




Tips for Teens: Mark your territory and tell him he's yours forever with a stylish bow tie. Because once you start dressing alike, that's a bond that can never be broken!

[First llustration by Lowell Hess, second illustration by Lorraine Fox. Articles Fish Comes To Dinner and Teen Feature: Beau Ties from May 1948 issue of Woman's Home Companion]

Mrs. Moore Is A Gift To Shut-Ins

What did the world do before Amy Sedaris taught the depressed, sickly, and downtrodden the gentle art of crafting? They turned to Mrs. Alice Moore who made it her living to visit shut-ins to teach them crafts that would hasten them along the rocky road to recovery. Mrs. Moore's expertise included simple basketry, cloth weaving, bookbinding, wood carving, linoleum cutting, jewelry making, and woolly toy animals. Mrs. Moore can be sent to ailing friends in lieu of flowers or other gifts. 'When this is done she walks into the sickroom with her cheery smile, and, for fun, an attractive gift card of her own design dangling from her lapel.' Mrs. Moore is a fun gift not just for the female shut-in, but 'recuperating youngsters and menfolk' also benefit from her services because both are known for becoming difficult when they're nearly well.

[Article from Woman's Home Companion (March 1948) - Article by Sarah Lindsay and illustration by James Valenti - Click image for enlarged scan!]

William Bendix for Tums

William Bendix, radio and screen star, says there's nothing funny about acid indigestion. When it rears its ugly head, he reaches for a roll of Tums for ultimate relief.

He's also warning you to 'turn down that monkey music!' And when he gets that crazed look in his eye, I think he means it!

(Incidentally, I just ate some greasy stir fry for dinner. Apparently, I should have heeded the advice of William Bendix and used his promoted product!)

[Advertisement from the February 1948 issue of Woman's Home Companion magazine -- Click image for full advertisement! -- Also, I couldn't help posting this same picture to my Flickr account.]