Valentine’s Day is around the corner and for those who celebrate (not me, I’m married ha!), it’s a day filled with chocolates, romance and roses.

Vintage Pinup Valentines Day Photo from the 1940s

Here on the Vintage Inn blog, it’s a post that is going to be filled with vintage magazine covers from the 1920s-1950s showcasing that it’s the month for lovers on the cover (ha that ryhmed!).

Let’s begin!

Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from Etsy are Affiliate Links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Vintage Valentines Day Magazine Covers

1920s-1950s

“My Funny Valentine, you are my favorite work of art”. Theatre Magazine February 1924.

Source: Pinterest

1925 February – Inspiration Magazine featuring a pretty girl in vintage dress (for an article called “Little Frocks in Little Time (garments for children)”) in front of a heart.

This magazine was produced by the Woman’s Institute of Scranton, Pennsylvania and served as a newsletter for the students of the sewing, millinery and cooking correspondence courses they offered (avail HERE).

Source: Etsy

February 1933 Pictorial Review Magazine Cover features a woman in a pretty green dress holding her Valentines Day card.

Source: Worthpoint

This copy of Children’s Play Mate Magazine was published in February 1945 (avail HERE). The inside features valentines day games for kids, paper dolls and more.

Source: Etsy

Ladies Home Journal February 1940, featuring a mother and daughter crafting Valentines Day hearts together. I love the matching 1940s hairstyles on these two. So cute!

Ladies Home Journal February 1940s vintage magazine cover featuring a mother and daughter crafting Valentines Day hearts together.

Source: Pinterest

“Valentine’s Day at Sea,” Saturday Evening Post Cover, February 13, 1943.

Source: Art.com

February 12th, 1940 Life Magazine cover showcasing the prettiest Orchid Valentine Hat. What a way to celebrate the day!

1940s Vintage Valentines day Life Magazine vintage cover from February 12th, 1940 featuring a woman wearing a heart hat with an orchid on it.

Ladies’ Home Journal Magazine, February 1958.

Now let’s talk about these Valentines Day cover topics….“We went to Carol’s apartment” He Admitted – Can this marriage be saved? Wow romantic ha ha! And my personal favourite, ‘How can mothers of small children keep from being driven crazy’? HA!

Source: Pinterest

The Magazine Antiques February 1951. This 80-page issue includes articles on antique playing cards, Bermuda cedar furniture, the home of Charles Henry Fallass in Cross River, New York, American glassware and pottery, antiques of childhood, continental table pewter, as well as vintage advertising, and much, much more (avail HERE).

Source: Etsy

Quick Magazine from February 13th, 1950. Has Elizabeth Taylor on the cover surrounded by a Valentines Day heart (avail HERE).

1950s vintage Valentines Day magazine cover - Quick Magazine from February 13th, 1950. Has Elizabeth Taylor on the cover surrounded by a valentines day heart

Source: Etsy

Coronet magazine illustrated by Bob Hilbert February 1957. How cute is this little boy trying to spell ‘Valentine’? Ahhhh!

Source: Pinterest

One more Valentines Day cover from Quick Magazine featuring Ann Blyth holding a box of valentines day chocolates, February 16th, 1953. The magazine is filled with news, anecdotes, pictures, and fashions of the day (avail HERE).

1950s vintage magazine cover for Valentines Day: Quick Magazine from February 16th, 1953. Has Ann Blyth on the cover and is filled with news, anecdotes, pictures, and fashion of the day.

Source: Etsy

Question Time! Share your favourite cover in the comments section below.

Thanks for stopping by and stay safe!

FURTHER READING:

Vintage Valentine’s Day posts (archived posts I have done on the holiday & on love)
Vintage Magazines & Catalogs (archived posts)

Liz

First up..Happy New Year friends! We made it to 2021! I hope you had a nice and safe new years (mine was a quiet night in with the hubby and zoom).

To kick of 2021 I wanted to share some of my favorite vintage magazine covers from ‘The Australian Women’s Weekly‘ which is a series of magazines I have been enjoying online (for FREE..HERE) during Toronto’s on and off lockdowns (which I am going back into come Thursday).

1940s Vintage Magazine Cover: The Australian Women's Weekly 16-03-1940. 1940s Vintage Magazine cover featuring 1940s fashions from NYC.

Source for ALL the covers in this post: Archive.org

If you have never heard of this magazine or seen the content inside, you MUST take some time to check it out. They are filled with loads of juicy vintage content that would make any lover of times gone by, head spin! Fashions, stories, news, advertising and so much more! The fashions are what truly caught my eye but it was everything else that held my attention.

So for today’s post I want to share some of my favorite covers from the 1940s and due to the shear number (hello..weekly magazine!), I will make this into a series focusing on different time’s and months. But for today I want to just showcase some of my favorite covers from various dates in the 1940s.

Let’s begin!

The 1940s Vintage Magazine Covers of ‘The Australian Women’s Weekly’

Brief History of ‘The Weekly’:

The magazine was started in 1933 by Frank Packer as a weekly publication.
It was to have two distinctive features: firstly it would be a newspaper with an element of topicality in all its features. Secondly it would be an attempt to appeal to all Australian women, regardless of class, and have a national focus. Wanting it to appeal to a mass audience.
The overall popularity of the magazine between the 1930s-1980s meant that articles and advertisements published in it were widely read across Australia not only by women, but men as well.
The magazines power to influence and shape culture across the nation intersected with the rise of various women’s and parenting issues.
As of February 2019, The Weekly has overtaken Better Homes and Gardens, coming out on top as Australia’s most read magazine (Source).

The Vintage Magazine Covers:

The Australian Women’s Weekly 06-07-1940. So many things I love about this cover illustration. First up, the adorable what looks like a Scottie dog that our fashionable woman is playing with. Secondly the cute 1940s victory rolls hairstyle she is sporting with a snood. So 1940s!

1940s Australian Women's weekly magazine cover featuring a woman playing with her scotty dog in 1940s fashions and 1940s hairstyle

The Australian Women’s Weekly 13-07-1940 featuring the Winter Cookery Book. How cute is our 1940s housewife with her curls and red and white polka dot bow that matches her dress?

If you click HERE you can see what those vintage recipes were.

The Australian Women’s Weekly 15-02-1941. Summer is here! Why not be the most stylish on the block? (what dreamy 1940s women’s fashion on display).

The Australian Women’s Weekly 22-11-1941. “Till we meet again”.

The Australian Women’s Weekly 28-02-1942. Victory Gardens help you do your part!

I love to garden and this woman in her 1940s pants and blouse with straw hat, is making me want to replicate this look for my next digging in the dirt adventures.

The Australian Women's Weekly 28-02-1942 featuring a pretty 1940s woman in 1940s fashions in a field.

The Australian Women’s Weekly 12-12-1942. Even in times of war one must ensure that your hair and makeup was on point! It was your duty for any women during WW2. Gosh what amazing vintage hairstyle goals!

The Australian Women's Weekly 12-12-1942. Cover depicts two service women during WW2 doing their hair.

The Australian Women’s Weekly 09-10-1943. Women all over the world were stepping up to help on the homefront, working in factories, making victory gardens and more.

Australian Women's Weekly 09-10-1943. The cover features a woman in overalls working in factory during WW2 Australia

The Australian Women’s Weekly 23-01-1943. On this cover we have an angry woman folding up her precious nylon stockings (which were rationed all over during WW2), to be given away (I’m assuming). Inside of the magazine, there is an article entitled “Can you bear to go without stockings?” which seems to reflect our cover.

Side note…I LOVE our cover model’s brightly coloured pattern, puffed sleeved 40s dress with matching bracelets (maybe bakelite if this was a real image).

The Australian Women's Weekly 23-01-1943. Cover illustration features a woman being upset to give up her stockings for the war during WW2

The Australian Women’s Weekly 18-03-1944. Buy those victory loans and keep helping the cause. This cute image features a pretty woman tipping her husbands pants upside down to find extra money to buy those victory loans.

The Australian Women's Weekly 18-03-1944. Buy those victory loans! Keep helping the cause. The images features a pretty woman tipping her husbands pants upside down to find extra money.

The Australian Women’s Weekly 13-01-1945. The cover features the women of Australia who entered the service to help the cause.

The Australian Women's Weekly 13-01-1945. Cover features women during WW2 in different service uniforms.

The Australian Women’s Weekly 05-01-1946. What is your summer style? Is it anything like our young woman on the cover in her cute 2 piece 1940s swimsuit and sandal wedges?

The Australian Women’s Weekly 23-02-1946. Time to wash your hair! What a pretty floral bowl we have in this photo.

he Australian Women's Weekly 23-02-1946. Image on the cover features a woman washing her hair in a floral bowl wearing a flower housedress or robe.

The Australian Women’s Weekly 23-03-1946 was a special knitting issue! Gosh I wish I could knit! I would make that blanket and that sweater. All so fantastic!

The Australian Women's Weekly 23-03-1946 was a special knitting issue. Featuring a woman a 1940s knitted sweater and skirt laying out a knitted blanket.

The Australian Women’s Weekly 07-06-1947. June is for weddings! What a stunner of a wedding dress and our bridesmaid featured is not looking so bad either (love the yellow).