Fish Corks

As March drips down in to April, Shelf Appeal looks for pictures of lambs frolicking. Of course.

Woman’s Magazine, April 1949 gave good lambs (and a kitten) with this cover, from a painting by Sheila Dunn – artist, cartoonist at Punch and commercial illustrator at Vogue and on products by Quality Street, Cadbury’s and Morley Stockings.

This small magazine is new to me. It is a similar size to contemporary magazines like Lilliput and London Opinion. Similar too in it’s illustrated covers. However there are no sneaky pornographic (or ethnographic, or health and efficiency) pictures in this magazine, unlike those others. Woman’s Magazine had a decidedly nice and advisorial tone.

WikiP tells me the story. The Girl’s Own Paper started in 1880, in 1929 the title became Girl’s Own Paper and Woman’s Magazine but in 1930 the Woman’s Magazine became a separate publication. This magazine was published by Lutterworth Periodicals Ltd. who also published Boys Own Paper, Heiress, Girl’s Own Paper and The Child’s Companion. There is a Lutterworth Press still going in Cambridge, presumably the same company, I am not sure. Their output looks mainly religious in theme – if not tract in nature – so that fits this.

There is a devotional feature in this April issue called ‘Avoiding the Worm’s Eye View’ but the rest is the usual feminine interest copy on parentcraft, beauty, fashion and cooking – in the form of a recipe for, erm, Fish Corks.