Four Issues of Modern Hostess, a Magazine published by The Frozen Food Locker Industry

Four issues: Vol. 1, Nos. 1 and 6, Vol. 2, Nos. 5 and 6. Slim small quartos. Illustrated. Stapled pictorial wrappers. Printed address on the lower wrap of each issue. Modest general wear including the occasional corner crease and a few short splits at the spine ends, one issue with the slightest vertical crease, a bright, very good or better set of a relatively delicate and ephemeral publication. A small collection of nicely designed periodicals advertising an interesting innovation in food preservation: community "frozen food lockers" where a family could store their perishables, whether it be meat or garden vegetables for the winter. Sponsored by the National Locker Institute, these slim magazines were distributed locally; these bear the printed name of The Union Ice Company, Mt. View California, on the lower wrap. Two covers feature actresses: Irene Rich "at home on her farm," and Ruby Keeler Lowe, who is seen pulling a frozen bird out of her locker. An PSA on the importance of not putting unwrapped, unfrozen food in one's locker features comedian Sterling Holloway. Nearly all the contributors and editors (three over four issues) are women, and in addition to recipes and tips on how to prepare food for and get the most out of one's locker, the magazines feature articles on radio, buying clothes, furniture repair, the importance of rest, "Flower Arrangements with a Chinese Feel," and a photo spread of celebrities with their babies. A fascinating and nicely designed and illustrated glimpse into a short-lived era of American communal food preservation. Issues appear to be extremely uncommon; at least one issue seems to be in a collection of culinary ephemera at the University of Michigan, but we were unable to locate any others.…