Vintage Good Housekeeping Covers 1920s

My speciality in the antiques industry is ephemera which includes old magazines and the vintage covers that adorned these old magazines. I am a huge fan of the old Good Housekeeping covers especially the covers from the 1920s decade.

Many of the covers from these early magazines were illustrated by the artist Jessie Wilcox Smith who is admired and collected by many lovers of vintage art.

The image to the right is an example of the cover designed for Good Housekeeping for the March 1920 issue by Jessie Wilcox Smith. I love the subject matter with a child and her kitten!

Most of the art that Smith did had children and their activities as the subject of her paintings.

I think that one of the reasons people collect the Jessie Wilcox Smith covers from the old Good Housekeeping magazines is her attention to detail and the child themes that she created.

The image at the right shows the August 1924 cover where Smith shows two children playing in the August sun, they appear to be having a tea party with childrens dishes on a blanket in the grass. The older child serving up some delectible treat to the younger child. Perhaps it is a picnic and not a tea party. Whatever her intent, we can delight in the playtime of two young children on a summer day back in 1924. You can almost feel the innocence, can't you?

If finding an original cover is alluding you, there is always the option of purchasing a reprint in a variety of sizes to fit your wall space.

Wouldn't this be adorable in a little girl's room?

Some of the Good Housekeeping covers from the 1920s are what is called a cross-over collectible. Obviously collectors of magazine covers love them and collectors of Jessie Wilcox Smith art love them. In the case of the cover that graced the March 1926 issue of Good Housekeeping seamstresses love it too. How perfect this print of a young girl sewing would be in a sewing room or with a collection of sewing memorabilia and antiques.

That is what I mean by a cross-over collectible. The appeal of the piece crosses over into other areas of collecting.

Don't you just love this vintage cover from Good Housekeeping published for the March 1927 issue? Another cover illustrated by Jessie Wilcox Smith that is a favorite by many collectors.

The adorable little boy talking on the telephone is loved by both Mothers of boys and by collectors of telephones. Smith illustrated what is known as a "candlestick" phone which was rather a new concept at the time she did her artwork. Previous to that most telephones where in an oak box that mounted on the wall.

Another one of my favorite vintage Good Housekeeping covers from the 1920s decade is the one done for the May 1927 issue by Jessie Wilcox Smith.

I love the Mother and child working together with gardening work! Growing indoor and outdoor plants is another passion of mine so you can see why this cover appeals to me and many other gardening enthusiasts.

I have this cover hanging in my Sun Room where many of my houseplants help to decorate the room. It just seemed to fit both my room and my love of plants.

The magazine cover for the Good Housekeeping issue for September 1927 just brings a smile to my face and a warmth in my heart.

Jessie Wilcox Smith illustrated this cover, too. It brings back fond memories of my Grandfather who used to celebrate summer every year by bringing home a watermelon for all of us to enjoy. Oh the memories of watching him slice the melon and then sitting on the front porch together enjoying the sweetness of the fruit. It was also a time for bonding with him. He would tell the most outrageous stories while we sat there together.