Monica Knits

The first thing that struck me about this magazine was the 1 cent stamp and the 15 cent price. A year's subscription was bundled together and sitting on the cookbook shelf at my in-law's home. Each monthly cover has a photograph of a crochet or knitted project, whose instructions are contained in the magazine, along with more projects within the magazine, including sewing and tatting projects. There were some interesting parallels with more recent women's magazines. Read more...

The magazine has ads for earning money from working at home, tips for pickles, jams and preserves, recipes for deserts and family meals, as well as garden question and answers. The magazines actually have more needlework content than cooking and gardening content, and have been interesting to read. Mrs. Bessie Burt was the sister of my husband's grandmother--needlecraft talent ran in the family.

The Workbasket, Home and Needlecraft for Pleasure and Profit
Published by Modern Handcraft, Inc. 2401, Burlington, Kansas City, Missouri

Original posted: 2010-08-11 .
Today it costs $0.75 to mail a first class letter from the USA to Canada. In 1953, it cost $0.01. That is 7.8% inflation per year! (1.078 ** 57 = 75).