ALT-2 Great Gifts for People with an Interest in the 1930s
The Jazz Age, The Great Depression and Art Deco, the nineteen thirties were certainly a strange mixture. Designers came to the fore in fashion, ceramics and decorative homewares. Bright colours and geometric shapes cut through Edwardian splendour and Victorian fussiness. Women drove cars and worked in offices, in Britain, women got the vote in 1928, and they were beginning to march the long road to equality and fitting themselves for the important roles they would play in World War 2. The upper classes were partying and enjoying ‘The Jazz Age’ and Hollywood glamour filled the cinemas, but many other people were intent on just getting enough to eat, or finding a job, as economic Depression hit countries all around the world. It was a decade of extremes and contrasts, but some people have childhood memories of the time, others are interested from a design or historical perspective.
What gift to buy for someone interested in the thirties, will depend on the nature of that interest. Those who enjoy history or those with childhood memories of the thirties may enjoy a factual book or memoir about the time. There are many factual books about the thirties in all countries. It may be that you choose a historical event and find books about that event. You could choose a book about Nineteen thirties transport,The Home in the 1930’s, orRecipes and stories from the Great Depression, or the memoirs of avetor other occupation to provide a lens through which to look at the period.
Memoirs of famous people abound and you can easily choose one by picking a famous person and choosing their memoir or autobiography. However, those with childhood memories of the nineteen thirties and those, who enjoy reading and history, might prefer to read memoirs by ordinary people and there are many. Some notable ones are ‘One From The Least Disappearing Generation - A Memoir of a Depression Era Kid’, ‘Bethnal Green Memoir – Recollections 1930s - 1950s’andCoal dust to Stardust – The Memoirs of a real Billy Elliott. Ordinary people’s memoirs provide an intimate and very real way into any period. Any good bookseller will help you with a suitable memoir, or an internet search on the words ‘buy a thirties childhood’ brings up memoirs from all over the world.
Fiction can also give one a unique flavour of another time. Many people enjoy crime fiction and modern crime writers acknowledge Agatha Christie as the originator of the modern crime novel. Hernineteen thirties omnibusmight prove a welcome gift for someone interested in the nineteen thirties and crime. A good book seller or internet search will tell you about other books set in the nineteen thirties.
Films can also provide a path back through time and whether you choose “All Quiet on the Western Front”,thirties cartoons, a glamorous Hollywood film or musical or a documentary depends on the intended recipient of your gift and their interests. You candownload filmsandbuy DVDs on the internet, or buy films from your local DVD supplier.
Music gives an evocative flavour of a time.Easy listening, Big Band ordancemusic could remind your intended recipient of the tunes that mother used to hum round the house, when he or she was a child. A musician might appreciatesheet musiccontainingsongsfrom the nineteen thirties.
Art Deco is synonymous with the nineteen thirties, bright colours and geometric shapes shook up the stuffy Edwardians. Iconic names, such as Clarice Cliff, Suzy Cooper, Lalique, Charlotte Rhead, and Shelley typify the thirties. Someone interested in the nineteen thirties because of this explosion in design may appreciatecollectablesfrom the time. Abook about Clarice Cliff, or a fellow designer, may also suit the artistic person.
You may prefer to buy a new item or want a more inexpensive gift, many companies make very good reproductions of nineteen thirties objects.Reputable Suzy Cooper reproductionsare available, and you can find reproduction Clarice Cliff but the unwary should takeadvicebefore buying. You could buy otherArt Deco items, such as furniture glass or otheritems.You can buy original thirties objects or reproduction articles are also available.
Posters,household items,jigsaw puzzles, thirties board games, or tickets for a play set in the nineteen thirties are more ideas for someone interested in the nineteen thirties. The thirties was a time for experimenting with new ideas, shapes and colours, a time that laid the foundation stones for contemporary modern design, which is why so many people are interested in the nineteen thirties. Buying a gift for someone interested in the nineteen thirties has never been easier.
