A while ago my Mum dropped into conversation that she had a copy of the first Country Living Magazine . This surprised me somewhat as she has moved house twice since it was first published.
A few weeks later she brought the Magazine for me to look at..........
It's not clear on this picture but the date is summer 1985. It must have been a quarterly publication at first .
Want to see inside ? Please excuse the quality of these pics . My little camera does not like photographing print.
This is a nice article about a period home ...look at all those dried flowers !........
Other rooms are lovely and look timeless........
I'm loving that patchwork quilt
The fashion is "interesting".I don't remember wearing anything like this...thankfully :0).........
Some adverts still look OK.....
Others, not so OK.......
It says "When your dinner party can cost as much as your cooker ,then your cooker had better be AEG"....yikes , such Eighties excess .
You could join the National trust ...a family membership was £25 ( just checked today's price is £ 63 ...seems like it's cheaper now to me )...........
And there was an article about the joys of shopping by post........
Well this was pre internet . As you can see, there's not a www. in sight :0)......
All in all it was interesting to see this first edition but it was dissapointing compared with the 2011 version.Todays CL is so much more colourful and interesting.
Here are a few of the lovely images from Julys edition........
CL has certainly come along way since the first edition , June and July's Magazines have been particularly gorgeous. Let's hope it continues to go from strength to strength :0)
Jacquie x
Wowza! That takes me back. Life pre Internet who would have ever thought it would be like it is today. So much to look at. I imagine it would be quite refreshing in a lot of ways. I do like the look of the new ed though. X
ReplyDeleteHi Jacquie,
ReplyDeleteLove those reds in the july 2011 magazine. That was neat to be able to see the first issue.
I just wanted to tell you that I tried making some shirt yarn to make a rag rug. I've been wanting to do that for a while, but when I saw your rug and the tutorial I just had to try it out!! I posted pictures on my mom and I blog. Also posted some other things I am working on. Have so much I want to post, but when to find the time!!!
I really enjoy your blog, your patterns, I also am going to join the picture scavenger hunt, need to get a few more pictures for this month, I'd better get busy!!
René
A fascinating post, Jacquie. Blimey, those fashions are quite hideous!
ReplyDeleteHey Jacquie, I see that you too have received the "Boycott American women" comment, someone's got a bee in their bonnet............
ReplyDeleteCountry Living I just luuuurve that magazine........armchair travelling at it's best. My collection dates back to 1996 and the changes from back then are interesting too. I think I may have a couple of copies from the 80's that I picked up at a garage sale and it was a bit of a giggle comparing articles.
I wish I could just step through the pages and be in the UK, some of them are just sooo beautifu.l
I do wish they would have more crafty features............as in things for readers to make, probably the only thing I would change about it and the fact that we can't get it till a month after the new issue comes out.
Claire :]
So sweet! Oh, the 80's was horrible, for fashion, decor, just about everything. I just started buying the Country Living and actually shouldn't do so every month, the price we pay in SA is, uhm. too high, but then the cover always looks so inviting!
ReplyDeleteGoing to try out the bunting that was featured in June (just got that issue here).
How lovely to see and compare them both. I have to say i love the look of today's best even for a vintage loving lady like me. Love the bathroom in the new one and all those gorgeous bright colours. Have a lovely day, dee x
ReplyDeleteIts interesting to see how much even things like magazine production has changed in 25 years! All the stuff we take for granted like the quality of colour etc pre digital/computerised was so much more difficult to achieve. And you have the feeling that the modern eds have more people with an 'eye' for the arty side of things rather than just reporting... Thanks for sharing x
ReplyDeleteI LOVE CL and have enjoyed your tour through the first one! Do prefer this month's though! As you said, much more colourful!! Cx
ReplyDeleteOld magazine ads are the best...they show how times have changed :) thanks for your comment on 'dolly' I had a peep at foxes lane...wow, I wish my little blankets were going on an adventure like that :) x x x x x x x x x x
ReplyDeleteAahhh I have such an obsession with that magazine! I live in New Zealand and like previous commenters have said, it costs a bomb and you can't get it for at least a month after it comes out in the UK. Luckily my local library has a subscription, so I often get the issue that corresponds with the season we are in, as opposed to the month. (It's a bit odd though when I'm reading the Christmas issue in July.)
ReplyDeleteI love it when you post pictures from the most recent issue though - gives me something to look forward to! Pictures from the old magazine were great too - thank god fashion has changed!
What a lovely thing to have! I do actually remember the craze for dried flowers - I was about 14 and used to fill empty milk bottles with dead carnations!!!
ReplyDeleteI've actually cut out and framed a picture from this month's edition (the jug full of roses) as it's one of the prettiest I've seen.
Btw, love love love your delicious plummy blanket!
Hx
If I cast my mind back to 1985 (cos I was in my pram then ;-) ) shades of brown were fashionable, as were dried flowers. I gave up on the dried flowers when the kitten kept destroying the arrangements (and, of course, I was strapped in my high chair and couldn't stop him!) Today's mag would look just as dated in another 25 years.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fascinating post Jacquie thanks for sharing and yes I agree with you about the last 2 editions being exceptionally beautiful.I suspect your Mum's first ed. will be worth some cash in years to come :0) I know that in 1985 at 15 years old I know I wouldn't have believed that the CL magazine would be a delicious treat each month for me! How I've become like my mum :0) xox Penelope
ReplyDeleteThat's fascinating!! Good to see how timeless country interiors are - I would be quite happy with that bedroom now and I wouldn't say that about much else from the '80's!!
ReplyDeleteBTW - you've got an award over at my place today - http://shabbychicsarah.blogspot.com
S x
Tee hee, there's nothing like looking at an old magazine.
ReplyDeleteI am loving that woman's mustard yellow tights in the second pic. Pure class.
Xx