Leighann Foster: The American Weekly

The American Weekly

The American Weekly

I posted this painting before and recently reworked the pink fabric and ribbon.
Below is an explanation of the work.

My interest in this painting started with a mail order dress pattern I found in an Antique shop, which was originally bought through American Weekly Magazine. The American Weekly was a Sunday newspaper supplement published by the Hearst Corporation from November 1, 1896, until 1966. During the 1890s, publications were inserted into Joseph Pulitzer's New York World and William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal. Hearst had the eight-page Women's Home Journal and the 16-page Sunday American Magazine, which later became The American Weekly.

This pattern came from the pattern department of The American Weekly and was bought by a Mrs. Lester who lived in Devine Texas. The pattern was for a little girl named Carolyn, size 4. Mrs. Lester wrote the girls name on the pattern envelope. The pattern pieces are unprinted and it came with sewing instructions.

I tried to date the pattern but there isn’t postage. Apparently undated meters date mail order patterns. This one falls between 1930 and 1950 and costs about one to one and a half cents. It also has a serial number that narrows the date down from1933 to 1940.I bought this mail order pattern in an antique shop in Castroville, Texas. I was able to date the pattern because there was an address and postmark on the envelop and a little girl's name someone had written in in pencil.I picked a fabric design from that time period and composed a composition that tells a story about a woman who bought a pattern from a magazine to make a little girl's dress.

Vintage Mail Order Patterns

Patterns were undated
The only way to date these patterns is by the fashion or the postmark on the envelope
Available in magazines, newspapers, etc. from 1930's - 1980's
Popular brands are Marian Martin, Anne Adams & Laura Wheeler