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The Glory of Woman: Prescriptive Literature, 1950 - 1959
- Crocker, Betty. Betty Crocker’s Dinner for Two Cookbook. New York: Golden Press, 1958.
“Dinner-in-a-Hurry can be sparkling, varied, as delicious as if you had spent all afternoon in the kitchen.” Crocker suggests using “the frozen, refrigerated, and canned foods, the Brown n’ Serve Rolls [and] the packaged mixes” to save time when preparing meals.
- Dache, Lilly. Glamour Book. Philadelphia: Lippincott, [1956].
Dache explains the “secret of personal expression in your makeup, your clothes, your home and manners – to make you stand out from the crowd.”
- Davis, Maxine. Woman’s Medical Problems. New York: Pocket Books, 1953.
This book “removes the fog of nameless terror which has surrounded ‘female troubles’ for so long,” with chapters on menstruation, pregnancy, infertility, contraception, hysterectomy, menopause, and occupational health.
- Food for Families with School Children. Washington, D.C.: The Service, 1955.
"To have attractive, wholesome meals on the money Mother Moore has to spend for food is not easy. But, by planning carefully and watching the pennies, she manages to keep her family well-fed and happy." This booklet explains menu planning, buying and storing food, and nutrition for children.
- Halle, Blanche. The Art of Entertaining. Scranton: Laurel Publishers, 1952.
"The secret of successful entertaining lies in providing your guests not only with good food and attractive surroundings, but also with an atmosphere of warmth and charm."
- Heywood, Anne. There Is a Right Job for Every Woman. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1951.
A book of advice on choosing the right career, preparing resumes, and working with a female boss: “…women have been so strongly conditioned socially to compete with each other for men that they tend to carry this pattern of competition over into the professional world.”
- Negro Achievements: a magazine for everybody [serial]. Fort Worth, Tex.: Negro Achievements Pub. Co., 1951.
A magazine featuring true stories of individuals overcoming poverty, gambling, and disease, as well as columns on politics, religion, marriage, beauty, and cooking.
- Powers, John Robert and Mary Sue Miller. Secrets of Charm. Philadelphia: Winston, [1954].
“More than ever before, today’s woman should make the most of her age-old duty to be attractive, interesting and of value to others.” This book provides advice on diet, exercise, dress, cosmetics, and conduct at home and on the job.
- Today’s Woman [serial]. Greenwich, Conn.: Fawcett Publications, Inc., 1951.
This issue of “the magazine young wives live by” features an article on women’s earning potential: “If you’re willing to try your hand at door-to-door selling, you can turn this into a steady profit.”
- Vetter, Marjorie Meyn and Laura Vitray. The Questions Girls Ask. New York: Dutton, 1959.
An advice book for teenage girls, covering beauty, parents, school, friends, boys, jobs, and planning for the future: “…romance is fine, and getting married is wonderful – but motherhood is a job. It is too soon to marry unless you are prepared for it.”
- Wells, Helen. Cherry Ames’ Book of First Aid and Home Nursing. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, [1959].
A basic first aid book for teenage girls, with an emphasis on service to others: “…you are always needed to play an important part in the care of others. You will use your feminine skills not only to nurse the sick, but to also meet everyday needs and emergencies…You will discover that you are important and needed.”
- Your Daughter’s “First Times”. Milltown, N.J.: Personal Products Corporation, 1951.
“The impressions received during [your daughter’s] first periods may influence her whole later attitude toward menstruation, and toward growing up in general. Naturally, you want to guard [her] peace of mind at this time.”
