First edition of this mid-century book of hand-sewing how-tos, targeted at young girls.
Very good plus in very good dust jacket.
Price: $100.00
"How to thread a needle, / How to mend a sock, / To make a belt from colored felt, / Or make your doll a frock."
Though the title does not mention the intended audience for LET'S LEARN TO SEW, the text makes it obvious through pronoun usage and illustrations that this book was meant for girls. In the years following World War II, the idea of a nuclear family anchored by a stay-at-home mom deeply took root, as reflected in the children's literature of the time. Many of the crafts are very blatantly gendered: as a gift to "the man of the house," it is suggested that the beginning sewer make an embroidered magazine cover, while the author reflects that he thinks "your mother would appreciate a strong cover for the cookery book she uses most often." A fascinating reflection of mid-century gender roles.
London: The Bodley Head, (1953). 8'' x 5.25''. Original yellow cloth binding with red spine lettering. Original price-clipped red and yellow pictorial dust jacket. Illustrated in red and black. 64 pages. Bookseller's label to front flyleaf, "F. W. Cheshire, Melbourne." Jacket with light edgewear, three small closed tears; a touch of sunning to spine. Binding with a bit of toning to upper edge, leaves with occasional foxing to margins. Clean and tight.
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