Eight Hour Day

Illustrated with advertising and period design images—with references and vintage sources—this book is both an historic and nostalgic compendium of a transformative era in the American home. Post-war America experienced unprecedented prosperity with a subsequent population boom and a demand for new, affordable housing for a growing middle class. With the latest gadgetry and state-of-the-art appliances, the typical 1950s kitchen was efficient and well appointed—a frequently colorful and decorative workspace for the (mostly) servant-less housewife.

With war rationing over, access to a newfangled and burgeoning variety of prepared foods at the supermarket was readily available and canning a thing of the past for most households—while milk was still delivered to the kitchen door. Meanwhile, the now iconic 1950s housewife dominated advertising with her apron-clad kitchen presence and household know-how—even Betty Crocker® got an updated makeover. "Baby Boomers" born between 1946 and 1963, and many others, likely remember a 1950s kitchen from their childhood.