Fashion and Beauty
Yale College, Junior Examination Scheme, December, 1879. New Haven, CT: Brooks & Co., 1879.
This promotional volvelle giveaway informs the Yale College junior when his first semester final exams will be given by four professors. Brooks & Co. was a retailer of men’s haberdashery and accessories located on campus. A short-lived but helpful hand-out for the busy, stressed college student. Hopefully they were grateful and frequented the store.
Conféctions pour hommes jnes [sic] gens et enfants [Clothing for men, young people and children]. Paris, France: À Voltaire, [ca. 1880].
Mix and match the triptych with three-way split flaps to see men’s fashions with animal heads and feet. This shop produced made-to-measure hats and clothes for the whole family. It is significant that “Prix Fixe” is printed on it since retail prices were always negotiable until set prices were instituted by Aristede Boucicaut of Au Bon Marché in 1852.
Buy Mundell’s Solar Tip Shoes for Children. Philadelphia, PA: John Mundell & Co., [ca. 1888].
Behind the proscenium, turn this giveaway volvelle of a Harlequin play to see the different acts, some surprisingly violent with a gun and a hanging. The imagery reflects a different sensibility of the times when it comes to what’s deemed appropriate for children.
La Chemiserie Française [The French Shirt]. France, [ca. 1900].
Despite the card having Lingerie for Women, none are shown. Still this card compactly shows the store’s inventory of men’s clothing, including accessories. The card was probably given in the store since no name or address is printed on it.
Fourmi le matin, Papillon le soir [Ant in the morning, Butterfly in the evening]. Paris: Manufactures de modes, [ca. 1900].
Lift the flap on this metamorphic trade card for a French design firm and the woman changes from wearing daytime attire to one dressed in a flowing evening gown. A metamorphic like this proves the point: A picture is worth a thousand words. Novelty and clever graphic design succinctly make the point.
Always Look for the Red “B.V.D.” Label: “Next to myself I like ‘B.V.D.’ Best.” 1926.
When you put a man’s measurements into the die-cut hole—an illustration shows one how to measure—the card’s reverse determines what size union suit to buy. The Union Suit is a one-piece undergarment that originally featured a drop seat. The B.V.D. Company, whose letters stand for the three original owners, Bradley, Voorhees, and Day, started by making women’s bustles in 1876.
Las flores y las media son el verdadero, adorno para la mujer. [Flowers and stockings are the true ornament for women]. Spain: D. H. Medias [stocking] Company, [ca. 1920s].
This is a four-page string-bound note booklet that unfolds layers of color illustrated flowers to show the seven hosiery colors available. Illustrator Carlos Vives (1900–1974), the illustrator and paper engineer, is considered by some to be the first great graphic packager designer of the 20th century.
La Plus Grande Maison de Vêtements du Monde [The largest clothing store in the world]. Paris: Les Magasins de la Belle Jardinière, [ca. 1920s].
Cut out the color illustrated characters and place them in the designated slits in the background to create a diorama of the Parisian department store, Belle Jardinière, selling ready and tailor-made clothes. This DIY trade card compels the card holder to interact and surely remember the store.
Good Bye! Paris: The Sport, [ca. 1920s].
When you open this trade card, the gentleman tips his Wallis hat, “the lightest in the world” (“Le Chapeau Wallis est toujours le plus léger du monde.”) The image on the front has him saying, “Good Bye!” Perhaps with a company name like The Sport, it is operated by an Englishman. In French, with the curious English greeting.
Two Horse brand overalls are made for men of every trade. San Francisco, CA: Levi Strauss Jeans, [ca. 1930].
Since Levi Strauss patented the riveted blue jean in 1873, the denim pants have remained an American icon. This folded ad looks like a pair of blue jeans, but when you see this advertisement opened, showing their many products, you know why it takes an origami artist to re-fold. Shown with an opened facsimile.
Fashion and Figures. New Haven, CT: Spencer, Inc., 1947.
This book with linen-covered boards in a plastic comb binding promotes the wearing of girdles and bras for better posture and appearance. Contents include a page with a jointed female figure and a die-cut slot so that moving a grommeted disc changes the joints of her body, shoulder, waist, hip, knee, and ankle, altering her posture. The type of resulting posture, lordotic, erect, or fatigued, is listed in the slot. An interactive advertisement that demonstrates the need for the product. Samples of the fabrics are included.
Famous Hats from the Disney Hat Box. NY: Disney Hats, [ca. 1940s].
In vintage baseball game footage, especially from the 1930s and ’40s, every man can be seen wearing a hat. A well-dressed man wouldn’t leave home without one. This over-sized hat box-shaped catalog has four pop-up hats “styled and tailored by Disney” on each page. Disney Hats was founded in 1885 but after several acquisitions, the Disney Hat brand was lastly acquired by the John B. Stetson Co. in 1960.
Sears ‘Back-to-School’ Adding Machine. Chicago, IL: Sears, Roebuck and Co., [ca. 1940s].
Use the double-wheel volvelles as an adding machine to total up the savings by shopping at Sears. “It’s an old American Custom, first to Sears then to school.” While my family never shopped at Sears, I do remember the excitement of getting a new outfit for the first day of school and buying school supplies.
Carol Lane’s Vacation Dress-O-Graph: how to plan your travel wardrobe. NY: Shell Oil Co., 1953.
Turn the split pages to mix and match a women’s travel wardrobe according to Carol Lane, the women’s travel director of Shell Oil Co. This booklet provides guidance how not to overpack for a two-week vacation and how to create different blouses by making and folding a stretch of triangular fabric. The unsaid message is how to make road trips easy and use more Shell Oil.
Potégez votre vue avec les lunettes anti-réverbération "Polox" [Protect your eyesight with the "Polox" anti-glare glasses]. Prague, Czechoslovakia: Polox Glasses, [ca. 1960s].
Czech paper engineer, graphic designer, and illustrator Vojtěch Kubašta created many consumer product advertisements using pop-ups and movables. Although manufactured in a Communist Czechoslovakia, exporting consumer goods was a priority for its economy. All the advantages of Polox glasses are described on the reverse.
The Secret of Richard Grand 100% Cashmere. Paris: Richard Grand, 2002.
Richard Grand contacted The Popuplady looking for assistance in locating pop-up book assembly plants in North America. In gratitude, Grand sent me his promotional catalog of the cashmere sweaters he manufactures in Asia. Each pop-up model is wearing one of those sweaters. The catalog also tells the story of a prince who wins the princess by giving her a cashmere sweater. Published in English, German, and French, and printed in Slovakia.