Men's Sweaters, A 1947 Guidebook

"Cover Boy"--Note the pipe.

Over the past few years I have begun the process of downsizing. That is, I'm striving to throw things, burn things, recycle things, so that when my time comes there won't be a whole lotta junk for others to deal with. It's strange how we spend a lifetime accumulating things to fill nearly every available space that we have at our disposal. Sometimes we even rent extra space rather than discard all this "stuff" we've gathered.

So, while sifting through magazines in my garage I came across this somewhat unusual magazine of sorts called Men's Sweaters. At first I thought it was a catalogue, but as I examined it I realized it was a booklet of patterns for people who knit. a novel preoccupation that is not dead yet. In fact,  based on the quantity of women I saw at Yarn Harbor a couple months back, this knitting avocation appears to be thriving.

"Stag at Ease"

The publication--Book No. 240--is a production of Chadwick's Red Heart Wools. It's aim is to provide sweater ideas for knitters, with instructions for gauge, blocking measurements, and all facets of the sweater itself including sleeves, back, armholes, shoulders and front.

When I was growing up my grandmother was a dedicated knitter. She knit winter hats, scarves and mittens as Christmas presents for all her grandchildren. When I went to college at Ohio University she knit me a green and white sweater, my school colors, which on one level was hideously uncool but also very warm.

This booklet from Chadwicks has sweater designs for "Men of Success" of every taste and temperament, for indoors and out, conservative or adventurous. This being 1947 I'll let you decide what "adventurous" means.

Here are some additional styles you might like...

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"Good Mixer" -- Note the cigarette.

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"Executive Material"-- Love the way his teeth clench that pipe.

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"Rugged Individualist" -- He's a pipe man, too.

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"Viking" -- Hide your women. 

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"Request Number" -- Pretty suave.

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What do you think? My first thought, on reading through this, was how "white bread" the booklet was. There is no way a 2019 booklet like this would exist without other races pictured, is there. Which leads me to the next question. Were only white women knitting in 1947?

As I noted above, my grandmother would knit. She began knitting Christmas presents a week after Christmas, almost as soon as the tree was put away. (She also knit afghans, of which I still have one that I use to this day.)

How do the guys modeling these sweaters compare to contemporary models for sweaters? Here's a page you can check out.  They''re a little more diverse, though not a lot. And I don't see anyone smoking a cigarette or a pipe.

Oh, and if interested, I'd be happy to sell this catalog. PayPal would be best. Someday it may be considered "a relic of ancient times" and I'm just aiming to recycle it.

Meantime, life goes on. And fortunately, we didn't need our sweaters out this weekend, even in Duluth.