Country Life 1959 Ads

When ever I find them, I love to buy old issues of Country Life (Annual) Magazine (U.K) . I first came across this magazine in the 1970′s as a teenager and have been hooked on them ever since…partly to dream of living in one of the 15th Century Manor Houses or Cotswold cottages that appear  in the expansive real estate section, and partly because they have such fascinating and authoritative articles on a variety of subjects from Art and Antiques, to Gardening and Politics.

For those who may never heard of the magazine  Country Life Magazine (U.K.) is one of those British Institutions that just keep on going, founded in 1897 and still going strong. My favourite era of the magazine is the early 1900′s as you can see the Art Deco influence in everything from Typography to Illustration to Layout.

I found 6 issues of Country Life Annual from the 1950′s and 1960′s this weekend.  It’s always fascinating to see advertisements from so long ago – partly because they were hand drawn and hand painted- and partly just because of the stylistic components of the designs, typography, layout etc.

Not many colour Ads appeared until more recent times, and of course full colour Ads in particular from this era - are aimed, like the magazine - toward the luxury end of the market, often with a focus on automobiles, Women’s Clothing, alcohol and cigarettes……  I love the saturation of blue which is often used in colour ads in 1950′s magazines.