Title: National Geographic Magazine, March 1949
Source: Goodwill, Alameda, Baltimore
Publisher: National Geographic
There's so much greatness here--completely outside the editorial, BTW--that it'll take a couple of posts to get through all of it.
Speaking of editorial, the main story in this issue is called "Dixie Spins The Wheel of Industry". It's a complete KKK Chamber Of Commerce propaganda piece.
Natty Geo's been criticized by smarter people than me so I won't belabor the point that their colonialist origins completely support their 1949 "whitewashing" of the Jim Crow south and their current media-friendly premium cable faux-educational programming.
STILL--you cannot fault the ad agencies of 1949 for inspiring dreams amongst armchair travelers, the great rising vaguely educated middle class. For instance, this is totes how I feel at the beginning of a trip on my own. SO SMART in my shoes and my travel satchel with my traveler's checks. Evidently Amex came later. Not that the Kids Today would even know what a traveler's check was, how American Express just said "jet set" and "expense account," or why you'd feel "smart" in your travel boots with your little satchel. Whatever happened to NCB anyways?
There's so much greatness here--completely outside the editorial, BTW--that it'll take a couple of posts to get through all of it.
Speaking of editorial, the main story in this issue is called "Dixie Spins The Wheel of Industry". It's a complete KKK Chamber Of Commerce propaganda piece.
Natty Geo's been criticized by smarter people than me so I won't belabor the point that their colonialist origins completely support their 1949 "whitewashing" of the Jim Crow south and their current media-friendly premium cable faux-educational programming.
STILL--you cannot fault the ad agencies of 1949 for inspiring dreams amongst armchair travelers, the great rising vaguely educated middle class. For instance, this is totes how I feel at the beginning of a trip on my own. SO SMART in my shoes and my travel satchel with my traveler's checks. Evidently Amex came later. Not that the Kids Today would even know what a traveler's check was, how American Express just said "jet set" and "expense account," or why you'd feel "smart" in your travel boots with your little satchel. Whatever happened to NCB anyways?
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Be cool, man.