Design by Night

Getting my mail I had a pleasant surprise yesterday. In the past I had ordered a bi-annual magazine called Green Craft, well I didn't order the latest copy but lo and behold I open my mail box yesterday and there was. In the words of Bob Ross, I believed a "happy accident" had occurred and somehow I got a free copy of the magazine. So I took off my shoes, put the dogs outside and sat down for a few minutes of unwinding from my day with the magazine. Almost at the end, I finally realized why I was sent this free copy...one of my crafts was featured!!! A tutorial that I sent to the magazine over a year ago and that I featured on my blog in November 2009 was on page 131!

I love old cookbooks. I often find myself picking them up at yard sales and thrift shops even though I own dozens. Do I love cooking? Not really, what I really like are the old photos and kitschy illustrations that often appear in vintage cookbooks. So you can imagine my pleasure upon finding the Cutco Meat and Poultry Cookbook. It was published in 1956 by the Wear-Ever Aluminum, Inc. company and was probably a freebie given out to Cutco cutlery customers. A few illustrations were just too good to keep to myself so I decided to share them with you (all 20 of ya)! In today's world where most smoking is band from public places, it is hard to imagine a smoking pig appearing in a cookbook. I supposed smoking livestock was a bit more accepted in the 1950's (unless he was a communist I suppose). As a graphic designer I often cringe when clients want a literal interpretation but I have to admit that the illustrator to this horseradish sauce is a genius in my book .