Browse Exhibits (2 total)
Images of the Housewife & Family
Culinary pamphlets provide a unique perspective into American social and cultural history during the time of their creation, particularly in the portrayal of the idealized, middle-class housewife. These pamphlets depict the many roles of the housewife. As a wife and mother, homemaker, cook, and hostess, women prepare healthy, delicious meals for the family, teach their daughters how to cook and bake, delight at parties, and impress their husbands’ bosses with the lightness of their cakes, all while looking flawless, with curled hair, and the ever-present apron.
In Vintage Cookbooks and Advertising Leaflets, Norman and Andes write: “[W]hen Pillsbury distributed its beautifully illustrated recipe pamphlets, it was selling more than just flour. The company was selling a lifestyle. And when, in 1921, General Mills introduced a fictional woman named Betty Crocker, the company was hoping to invent along with her an icon to which American housewives could aspire.”
Spry Comics
Betty Crocker, Aunt Jemima, Aunt Jenny—female characters have long been used in food company advertising. Aunt Jenny was a character created in 1936 by Lever Brothers company to promote Spry vegetable shortening, a new product to compete with Crisco. Aunt Jenny was portrayed as a plump, matronly figure with white hair, glasses, and an apron. She appeared in cookbooks and advertisements, and was the host of a radio show, Aunt Jenny's Real Life Stories, from 1937-1956.
In the following comics, which appeared in Spry promotional recipe pamphlets, Aunt Jenny kindly and enthusiastically teaches young housewives the joy of easy cooking and baking with Spry.