07 December 2009

dreaming of a House and Garden Christmas

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Every December I return to the House and Garden Holiday Issues-there is always something to become reacquainted with.



I'm dreaming of an HG Christmas
just like the ones I used to know
Where the Roehm Tree glistens
and Carolyne listens to hear Westies in the Snow
Oh-
I'm dreaming of an HG Christmas
with every Christmas Cover I sight
May your days be stylish and bright,
and may all your Christmases be white


I'm dreaming of an HG Christmas,
just like the ones I used to know
May your days be stylish and bright,
and may all your Christmases be white
and may all your Christmases be white
-apologies to Irving Berlin

So much for nostalgia- Since HG is gone with the slush and salt. Here's what some of the House and Gardens of OLDE had to say about the holiday:



from 1927 "We know, as surely as we know anything, that happiness which comes without effort, without sacrifice, without bother, without disturbing the even tenor of work and living, is rarely worth either the giving or the receiving. The Christmas that hasn't caused bills to mount up isn't worth celebrating. If it doesn't leave one tired out, it isn't worth remembering."
What? Obviously the date tells us it was written before the crash of 1929.



from 1936 HG puts "on its Christmas thinking cap and shows five ways of decorating your house without using conventional mistletoe or holly." Sadly in 1936 HG likely did not imagine the advent of silk wreaths, mistletoe and holly Ah! Those were the days. Get something LIVE for the house. Other ideas from making a new look in your Christmas decorations-Set up a creche in the fireplace(don't use the fireplace-Just a suggestion), tack up blue cellophane with silver stars in a window (Child's play) & finally hang a swag of pineapples and leaves over a mantel. That sounds lovely, like a load of work, possible runny sticky pineapple juice about the mantel-but if the colonials of Williamsburg could endure- It might be worth a try. Interestingly- Colonial Williamsburg as a preserved area had only begun in 1926 with Reverend Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin, rector of Bruton Parish Church &philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr., being the city's historic building restoration patron saint.



from 1941 "Use a light touch with the holiday greens."
try "An UPSIDE down tree to save space in a small apartment."-Edward Steichen. The man lived to be 94 years old, he was 62 when he came up with this one- It may have been one of the firsts in this not attractive-idea.



from 1987- One of my favourite covers- a cat tea party by Setsuko, wife of Balthus. This December issue features Chalet Balthus in the Vaudois region of Switzerland & NOT ONE Christmas decorating idea. These were the loftier House and Garden days when editor in chief Louis Oliver Gropp was still producing serious(ly) beautiful stories, perhaps- upon reflection- in the vein of  World of Interiors.




 a beautiful Holiday edition-December 2007- House and Garden's last and many blogs are revisiting this season.


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17 comments:

  1. Oh I do miss this magazine. I have saved all my Christmas issues through the years. Remember that cat cover well!

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  2. Damn you. I still regret and remember pitching years' worth of Esquire, GQ, and HG in 1994 when we moved to Seattle from KC. I can't think of one good reason to have kept them but you suggest I should have kept them arranged seasonally instead of chronologically...
    Man, I used to be such a magazine freak---way back before the internet and the web I used to think about how ephemeral mags are. It seems a shame and there's got to be a way to archive all that 'stuff.' Some (much) of it is either historical or timeless.

    I really should go through all the mags I have here, interiors, fashion, cooking, etc and sort them by season. Thanks for making me realize this.

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  3. As usual, I got stuck on the clothing: Aerin's dress is gorge, huh?

    Anywho. Pineapples dangling from mantles? If they are faux or decorative? Cats at tables? I don't know, sometimes it seems a mag stretches in funny ways :)

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  4. What a clever twist on dreaming of a White with Carolyne and Westies, indeed her dog of choice.What a stylemaker she is. Your collection of December issues is admirable and as commented on it is hard to keep them years and years. I remember that issue with the Trumps at Mar Lago. Those were heady days for the couple and all vanities. The Power of Red, there is a topic to explore again and again.N

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  5. I seriously think your house's R-factor (insulation) must be quadrupled by your mag collection! Wow. Being a Libra I go up and down about saving (I once had all Bon Appetites from 1976). But after a flooded basement, I gave up. I am still a newby to blogs. I thnk they are a wonderful way to communicate. But today is snowy and cold and a fresh new mag and a cup of tea by the fire is what my heart years for. Thanks for the memories.

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  6. This is so fascinating...lifestyle and decor through the years! Adore the red cover and the cats as well...can't imagine pineapples but adore the idea of live boughs. It may be time to go get some!

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  7. G -
    Funny .. . . to see so many of us lamenting the loss of those stacks of old magazines .
    I suppose it's a reminder not to take anything for granted.
    Glad you held on to these beauties!

    Jjjj

    p.s. I've planned an upcoming series on 20's & 30's covers , which I think you'll enjoy .

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  8. An Interesting Idea-
    How I wanted to look inside each one-! Especially remember the ones from the 80's &90's - Just loved that magazine-! I actually looked forward to reading the Editorial Pages By Dominick Browning -!
    So Glad I saved most of mine too-!
    Mary

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  9. My husband keeps threatening to throw out my VAST magazine collection , I think I will show him these comments! It is so sad the passing of this and so many other great Magazines, I know that there are many fabulous Blogs and sites but will there be a post on a blog (or equivalent) in 70 yrs time about Christmas 2009 on a site or blog, our archives are being lost and that makes me a little sad. Our futures are loosing their past. LOVE Aerin Lauder cover, That Wreath !!!! I love the idea of such an oversize statement, wonder if it would work on my little cottage stable door?

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  10. I didn't know Setsuko painted in that style. Oddly beautiful stuff. It has a very nineteenth century look.

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  11. I never saw the cat tea party by Setsuko, wife of Balthus, before your post! It's brilliant with the cat Balthus hanging on the wall behind them. What a find.

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  12. It would be great to save every magazine- I can't. I dumped believe me- many in a move 2005- I went through then and started eliminating. Every HG I trashed I regret-otherwise -happy with the decision. I've arranged some things topically- Christmas/Holiday. Designer/ Topics, especially favourite places,people. I have lots of Elle Decor images- but with the publication of the Elle book I think it would be worthwhile to go through and toss actual mags with stories that are in the book. G.

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  13. Yes the old HG's are wonderful- I saved all those from anna Wintour's brief tenure there (1988) because she really changed the face of the magazine. Aren't you glad you have to them to go through year after year! Robin

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  14. You know I love this! I, too, am dreaming of a HG Christmas. Ahh, if only. What an inspiring magazine.

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  15. I would love to see a contemporary magazine dare to print a cover as totally insane as that HG cat one.

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