The Book Lover's Calendar
The Book Lover’s Calendar is a segment of “the Golden Book Magazine” which was published monthly from 1925-1935 when it was absorbed into the Fiction Parade. This was a magazine that featured “fiction and true stories that will live.” They focused on short stories and in the issue of December 1925 (Volume II, No. 12), they featured authors including Balzac, Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, and many more. This spread details important things from each day of December through history. Including things like Jane Austen’s birth, Nostradamus’ birth, and even the traditions of different cultures. There is an illustrative frame around the text that incorporates themes of the holidays. There's a roasted turkey feast at the bottom of the page along with candles through the illustration. At the top of the page, the illustration shows two people about to kiss in a frame made of cornucopias. They are surrounded by laurels of holly, wrapped presents and
This was printed by the Charles Schweinler Press Corporation which has an infamous past. In 1914, they were caught up in a lawsuit about nightwork for women. People v. Schweinler declared that women would work no more than 60 hours a week between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 10 p.m. The people won the case and were granted more workplace rights (at least in the work hours area).
The credited illustrator is Stephen Haweis. He was born in England and studied his art practice in Paris. He mostly stuck to watercolor paintings and photography. He used an Art Deco style with geometric lines and ornamental touches. This illustration adds a very festive feeling to the spread to hammer in the fact that it is the December issue of the publication. This magazine is a slice of history that centers around stories and what people of the time were reading. During this time many issues were being discussed including prohibition, racism, and the League of Nations and America's involvement. It was a battle between progression and traditionalism which you can see demonstrated in the advertisements in this volume.
Sources
CHB. "WATERCOLORS BY STEPHEN HAWEIS." Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts of the City of Detroit 2, no. 1 (1920): 4-6.
Mott, Frank Luther. A History of American Magazines, Volume V: 1905-1930. Vol. 5. Harvard University Press, 1958.
Frankfurter, Felix. “Hours of Labor and Realism in Constitutional Law.” Harvard Law Review 29, no. 4 (1916): 353–73. https://doi.org/10.2307/1326686.
