Christmas, 1933
Featuring Rose-Colored Glasses for Those Select Few
Our common trait is to look at the past through rose-colored glasses. History is filled with nostalgia, no matter how much effort some of us make to think otherwise. The most simple reminisces are usually thinly coated with echoes of gentle laughter and some sense of warmth. We seemingly have an inherent hope for Christmas magic regardless of whether we admit it.
The memorable scents of oranges, cloves, and cinnamon conjure up the ghosts from Christmas past. We acquiesce to the comforts of century-old traditions as we laugh away fruit cake jokes and surround ourselves with the coziness of hot chocolate and gingerbread.
At the end of each Holiday Season, it is typical to denounce the previous year as one that deserves to be filed away and forgotten. Last year is always wearisome at some level. Whereas, the New Year will hopefully be better as we all say. Yes, Happy New Year!
Historically, the year 1933 was mostly summed up as a tough one. Within the United States, the commercial banking system collapsed that year in February, and unemployment skyrocketed to 24.9% (in comparison to 3.7% today). Wages for those who had jobs took a hard cut, falling by 42.5%, making 1933 historically categorized as the worst year of the Great Depression.
Elsewhere that year, Hitler and the Nazi Party rose to power in Germany, and the first concentration camps were recorded in 1933. This laid the groundwork for the future as it neared, as we now so well know.
Ninety years ago, other significant events affected most Americans, but perhaps the most popular was when Prohibition ended on December 5, 1933. In response, magazines and newspapers were poised to advertise liquor sales along with all those glamorous mixology accouterments. Grab the rose-colored glasses, everyone; it’s time to party!
Christmas Decorations During the Great Depression
The December 1933 magazine issue of House and Garden was filled with a regal level of optimistic Christmas spirit but with only a few words dedicated in acknowledgment of the financial and political hardships that were at hand for the general population. The magazine, still the same familiar publication in print today, was designed to sell to the wealthiest readers and also to those with aspirations for a lifestyle that at least appeared moneyed.
One featured article from the December 1933 issue was written by Jo Mielziner, known for decades as the leading set designer and Tony Award winner for many of New York City’s most beloved Broadway productions. The article gave specific ideas for developing imaginative, if not outrageous, household Christmas decorations and primarily addressed the unique decorating needs of those living in elegant but small city apartments or for extra-roomy country homes.
When decorating a large country home for the Christmas dinner presentation, Mielziner began with the table as centerpiece, surrounded by an enclosure of a dozen towering Christmas trees. The linen-covered dining table was ornate with fine china settings and flaming candelabras. His intention was to create a somber yet sensational ambiance with the flickering shadows cast across an otherwise fully darkened room. Somehow, as you can see in Mielziner’s illustration, the head waiter and staff were required to navigate through the darkness during the multi-course service.
For the fashionable home with less roomy dining space, Mielziner made another version of this design with a semi-circular grouping of live trees in smaller sizes that filled one end of the dining room. With the large table and chairs positioned in the middle, this lavish woodland backdrop enveloped dinner guests. The trees, he said, should be heavily powdered with imitation snow and veiled with silver tinsel.
In another example, Meilziner transformed an otherwise unassuming, small city apartment into the theatrical illusion of an elegant country home setting. He termed this a “simple” display that was arranged against one wall of the dining room. It was based on an elaborate construction cut from a large sheet of wallboard and mounted into a wooden frame; all painted to match the wall. This large panel slid up against the apartment windows and was positioned behind the draperies that were, of course, already in place.
The wallboard design included two rounded windows cut out to mimic those typically used in fine country houses. A wreath was affixed to each window, and more imitation snow was piled high on what appeared to be the outdoor window sills. Once all this was in place, candles as well as ambient lighting was added, shining up from the floor behind the backdrop, suggesting moonlight floating across vast expanses of snow-covered rural land. Finally, the draperies were brought around the front of the framed faux wall and carefully positioned into place. With that, the spectacle of dining in a fine country home (for those who, sadly, might not have one) was nearly complete.
The finishing touch to Mielziner’s country estate set was an exceedingly large, live Christmas tree with all the sparkling trimmings and baubles. Mielziner directed that the tree be placed in front of the wall backdrop, directly between the faux windows. A luxurious tree skirt was draped around the base and then covered with beautifully wrapped gifts for friends and family, stacked high.
This award-winning set designer relied heavily on lighting techniques. So, for a most unusual and chic Christmas tree design, Mielziner skipped the traditional ornaments and trimmed a sturdy tree with dozens of tiny gifts, each dramatically lit from behind with those bright, hot, electric bulbs.
He explained that the only way to achieve the desired effect was by selecting objects with exciting silhouettes such as perfume bottles, pens, pipes, jewelry boxes, or decorative figurines. Each gift would be placed into a clear cellophane bag tied with silk and strategically hung from the tree. The trick was to intentionally position each little parcel in front of an electric light bulb so that it was boldly backlit. Then, a frosted paper cone was placed over the top of the cellophane bag so that the gifts inside appeared in silhouette when lit.
Last of all, Mielziner wrote that to create a beautiful display in an apartment that was not large enough for a full-size Christmas tree, one should drape a colossal triangular frame with glistening fabric and nestle candle sockets at various balanced intervals into the tree-shaped form. Also trimmed with golden baubles, this opulent and artsy tree display was designed to hang above the fireplace mantle.
Today, we may never know if Jo Mielziner’s extraordinary Christmas decorations for affluent homes ever somehow came to fruition. We may never know if any determined readers even attempted such complicated and bewildering designs. And, for those who might have tried, we will never know whether the trees fell over, caught fire, or if the waitpersons stumbled in the dark and dropped the flaming plum pudding.
Costly Gifts and Christmas Dinner, 1933
As for Christmas 1933 gifting, the editorial in House and Garden encouraged extravagance beyond all realistic expectations while offering only a few brief words in recognition of the financial woes that millions of Americans were enduring.
“In the dim light of economic distress, many of these gifts may appear luxurious and extravagant. There are always on hand those crepe-drapers who insist that Christmas giving should be sensible, but the gifts should come as luxuries to those who receive them.”
The American culture of lavish gift-giving began in earnest that year, during a time most often considered the worst year of the Great Depression. The editorial ended with this statement:
“It may sound fantastic and out of all reason to say so, but the ideal condition after Christmas shopping is to have a full heart — and an empty purse.”
In 1933, the children’s toys featured in House & Garden were quite a step above those offered in the Sears Christmas Wish Book catalogue first published that same year. Father Christmas brought intricately carved wooden airplanes, boats, cars, trucks, and miniature musical instruments for the privileged children. Finely dressed dolls with ornate prams, teddy bears, and artfully designed stuffed animals were for most affluent families.
“A woman should learn to be a good housekeeper when she’s about six years old and still think it’s fun.”
Wealthy young daughters received miniature wooden kitchens complete with a refrigerator, baking boards, and utensils. There were even exact replicas of the family washing machines and tools from the laundry room. Many of the appliances had working parts that were electrified; these were available for purchase from Saks Fifth Avenue or Bloomingdale’s.
Renowned toy store FAO Schwarz offered other exquisite gifts from their New York Fifth Avenue store, including beautifully designed art supply sets for budding painters and illustrators, in addition to easels and drafting tables. For boys, traditional gifts included bows and arrows in leather quivers, microscopes, and electric construction sets.
Fine jewelry and other fashion-related gifts were heavily advertised in Home and Garden, along with pages upon pages of fancy pure-bred puppies that ranked high on family Christmas lists. Tickets for first-class travel to warm post-holiday destinations aboard luxury cruise ships were a Christmastime priority.
And, of course, sterling silver and crystal cocktail sets were listed for sale seemingly everywhere, especially since Prohibition was officially lifted for most states only a few weeks before Christmas Day.
Christmas Dinner, 1933
June Platt was an illustrator and food writer who contributed to numerous high-class magazines, including House and Garden, over several decades. She also wrote a stack of cookbooks and received praise from James Beard for her work in the culinary arts.
Platt’s holiday article in House and Garden that year was simple. It was published as a jotted “diary” that detailed the requirements for a well-to-do Christmas dinner.
She wrote:
“We are having ten guests for dinner tomorrow. Mailed reminder cards yesterday.”
“The extra man to do the floors and silver comes in the morning, and I did check with special cook Anna, who says William is free to come help Mary serve, so that’s all set. They have aprons and collars to match.”
“Must bring in more logs and kindling and order another bucket of chopped ice. Are there enough candles, I hope?”
“Ordered for the house: heaps of pink roses and lilies, laurel, rose geranium, one red Carnation, and Calax leaves.”
“For cocktails, we have everything except olives. Have Melissa make the potato chips and salted nuts, so much the better. Try to persuade the grocer to send half a dozen honeydew melons but make him promise to take back any we don’t use; it’s hard to know how many until they’re opened, and then it’s too late to get any more.”
“We need cream cheese, chives, and cauliflower. Peas, onions, cream, and a loaf of white bread, parsley, potatoes and oh dear, for that fish in aspic. Mary will have to make the meat stock today. I wish I’d never heard of that; it’s so complicated but so good. I hope it makes a big impression. Thank goodness I have those two handsome fish molds.”
“Lobster, crab meat, shrimps, watercress.”
“For the Poulet Patron, I need three chickens, truffles, mushrooms, onions, fresh tarragon, cream, eggs, and butter. Then, just plain green beans, cut very thin. Escarole, chicory, romaine, endive for the salad. Still have plenty of red wine vinegar, but I think we need olive oil.”
“Now, for dessert: praline custard with sauce. I need burnt almonds and two dozen eggs in case the first lot falls, with three quarts milk.”
“There will also be tiny little squares of white cake iced with pale pink twice-cooked frosting and decorated with tiny silver balls; it will make life more complicated in the kitchen, but the party will be just that much more pretty.”
“Yes, I must please all my guests.”
Christmas Day Menu, 1933:
Martini Cocktails and Canapés
Honeydew Melon à la Venice
Pea Soup with Whipped Cream and Croutons
Fish in Aspic with Watercress Sauce
White Wine
Poulet Patron
String Beans
Red Wine
Mixed Salad with French Dressing
Praline Custard with Sauce
Pale Pink Frosted Cake Squares
Strawberries in Little Baskets
Sanka, Coffee, and Peppermints
Toasting in the New Year, 1933
The first advertisement for Hennessy’s Brandy revealed general sentiment in the House and Garden Christmas edition following the end of Prohibition that month and year. With a sigh of relief, as the advertising proposed, there was no need ever again to serve a Holiday cocktail mixed with illegal rotgut gin.
“So we can be ourselves once more! No need ever again to hide fiery bitterness with queer concoctions . . . to apologize while filling a glass . . . to force undesired draughts upon unhappy guests.”
Advertisement for Hennessy Brandy,
House and Garden Magazine, December 1933
And so that year, with sanguine expressions beneath rose-colored glasses, upper-crust American society raised their glasses to Christmas and the times ahead. They toasted to a future that would prove, soon enough, to be filled with challenges far beyond their imaginations. As they did then, we do exactly the same ourselves each year, offering words of eternal hope that next year will, yes, hopefully…somehow next year will be better than ever.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to us all, 2023!
What a delightful storybook description of ppl 0end-of-year festivities for the few, remote from the hardships and privation of the many, during this dark period of the Great Depression.