Everything Old is New Again

Recently Gourmet Magazine's website - Gourmet.com - underwent an overhaul. And, to me, the best part is the fact that they have begun to digitize archived copies of very old articles.

Here is a sample list of amazing snippets of tasty treats and Americana now available online - for free.

Now, I enjoy paging through old magazines.
Admiring ads, reading recipes, and checking out the advice columns.
Heck, I just purchased a September 1929 Ladies Home Journal off E-bay.

(I thought it would be interesting to hear what the magazine was touting - only one month before the Great Depression hit. And, lifestyles would come to a screeching halt.)

Yet, even though there is no tactile pleasure...
I enjoy Gourmet's archive.

It's not musty.
You don't have to store it.

And, you can search for key words.
Sometimes technology rocks.

Diving into the new online archives, I stopped to read a February 1950 article by James Beard entitled Spécialiés de la Maison - which discusses New York Chophouses.

Chophouses from the 50's.
*Grin*

What struck me most, ironically, was not his his opinion on mutton chops.
But, rather his verdict on decor.

...the glories of well-cooked, well, aged meal in a pleasantly clubby atmosphere, is all but gone. Nowadays, in this chromium-and-plastic age, the comfort, able, massive atmosphere of wood and leather and mellowness seems to have vanished.

"In this chromium-and-plastic age."
Ha!

There he was in the "atomic age" - one of the periods I admire for its modern looks and sleek style - and James was longing for wood and leather.

He missed the mellowness.

Seems each generation longs for days gone by.
And, I fall right in line.

Thank you to Gourmet Magazine
For letting our "fingers to the walking..."
Through pages of the past.