1938 vintage Chatelaine magazine cover
Source: Pinterest

There is a women’s lifestyle magazine in Canada that I really enjoy reading called ‘Chatelaine‘, which has been in publication since 1928, yes you heard that right…1928. That is a fantastic achievement and I applaud their savy business sense to remain so popular over all these years.

Today’s post I wanted to show off some of the fantastic vintage covers that they have had since the late 1920s up to early 1950s and give you a brief overview of the history of the magazine.

Chatelaine-The Canadian Magazine for Women since 1928

The Brief History of Chatelaine:

Chatelaine was first published in March 1928. It was created by the Maclean Hunter Publishing Company as a means to reach a different demographic than its other publications, Maclean’s and the Financial Post.

Chatelaine vintage magazine cover march 1928
Source: Pinterest

It’s title refers to the ring of keys which housewives long ago would use to get into every part of the house. The winning name was chosen from 75,000 entries and the winner ( A rancher’s wife from Eburne, British Columbia) won, $1000 cdn.

Chatelaine’s original price was ten cents per copy, and this price did not change until 1950, when it increased to fifteen cents (source).

The magazine never shied away from controversy and important subjects for women. Topics like:

An article in December 1929 entitled “Now That Women Are Persons, What’s Ahead?”, that was based on the Persons Case—a famous Canadian constitutional case that decided that women were eligible to sit in the Canadian Senate.

In its first years, the magazine served as a sounding board for women at the end of the first wave of feminism.  In 1928 and 1929, article topics included panic over the rising divorce rate, “Wages and Wives” (April 1929), and the high maternal mortality rate in rural Canada (July 1928).

However during the 1930s, the magazine became less political. Popular parts of the magazine included monthly budget meal plans and romantic fiction.

WW2, the mag participated in the media and propaganda frenzy by publishing cover images of young women in uniform, working on farms, and contributing to the war effort.

In the 60s early 1970s there were articles about the pill, sex and women’s rights (source).

In the past, the magazine has named a Woman of the Year, honouring a Canadian woman for her achievements in the previous year. Honorees have included Prime Minister Kim Campbell.

The Vintage Chatelaine Magazine Covers (some of my favorites):

August 1929-1920s Fashion on display.

1920s Vintage Magazine Cover: Chatelaine magazine 1929
Source: Middlebrow Canada

August 1932. Can I have all the outfits in this image?

1930s Vintage Magazine Cover: Vintage Chatelaine August 1932 - In this issue: Special Holiday Fiction
Source: Pinterest

August 1938-“What did your husband give up for marriage?” This is the less political time in the magazines career.

1938 vintage chatelaine magazine cover featuring an illustration of a woman holding an umbrella
Source: Pinterest

February 1940-Nice Hat!

1940 vintage magazine cover chatelaine featuring an illustration of a woman in a 1940s hat with feathers.
Source: Pinterest

June 1941-Travel Canada.

1941 Chatelaine vintage magazine cover featuring a woman in 1940s fashion holding a travel brochure for Canada. Visit Canada!
Source: Pinterest

February 1941. Make Do and Mend?

February 1941 Vintage Chateline Magazine Cover featuring an illustration of a woman with a 1940s hairstyle with a ball of yard. Make do and mend.
Source: Pinterest

September 1942- “Women in War Industry”.

Interested in further reading on this topic? Then make sure you check out my archived posts on “World War 2 Women’s Contributions & Homefront Posts“.

1942 September vintage chateline magazine cover featuring Women in War Industry
Source: Pinterest

February 1943-Career Girl.

Chatelaine magazine cover 1940s featuring a woman working at a typewriter - Career Girl
Source: Pinterest

November 1943-Buy Victory Bonds!

November 1943 vintage chatelaine magazine cover featuring a call to Buy Victory Bonds and a woman with an wonderful 1940s hairstyle with flowers in it.
Source: Pinterest

May 1944-Bride & her Military Groom.

1944 Chatelaine Magazine cover featuring an illustration of a bride with her Military Groom.
Source: Pinterest

January 1948-It would not be a Canadian magazine if you did not have a skiing cover (this is one of many covers with this theme).

January 1948 Chatelaine Vintage magazine cover featuring a woman in a ski outfit.
Source: Pinterest

September 1948-“You Marry a Man’s Whole Family“.

1948 vintage chatelaine magazine cover featuring an illustration of a woman with a pretty vintage hairstyle from the 1940s.
Source: Pinterset

August 1949-Getting ready to head back to College.

August 1949 Vintage chateline magazine cover featuring a young woman in 1940s fashion including a polka dot beret heading back to school.
Source: Pinterest

Want to see more? Then check out Chatelaine’s Pinterest page for many many more beautiful and historic covers.

Did you have a favorite cover? Mine was February 1941.

FURTHER READING: Vintage Magazines & Catalogs (Archived blog posts 1920s-1960s)

Liz 🙂

15 Comments on Chatelaine-The Canadian Magazine for Women since 1928

  1. I love the drama of “you marry a man’s whole family” cover. Very femme fatale! Great information as always!

  2. I love Chatelaine magazine, and when I was a teenager I read “Miss Chatelaine.” It was a small format magazine just for young girls. How I pored over that to see the latest fashions and hairstyles!

  3. Just fabulous! The thing I appreciate the most about old magazines is the art work. Can you imagine artist like Andy Warhol and Norman Rockwell used to paint/draw for magazines like this? I just bought a 1937 Saturday Evening Post magazine from a flea Market; incredible stuff!
    Keep up the great articles!

    • I agree with you about having an appreciation for the art work in the magazines. They were truly amazing. I wish I had that kind of talent 🙂

      Thank you for dropping by!

      Liz 🙂

  4. What a great collection of covers. I couldn’t choose a favourite. I like the mittens on the ski issue though! What kind of articles does it have nowadays?

  5. Hello, I recently came across a Chatelaine poster – it says first edition on it and has a picture of a mother and her two children on it. She is reading the magazine and is wearing a red flowery dress. March 1928 is the date on it. Would you know if this is of any value? And if not, would you know where to refer us too for more information?
    Thanks in advance!!

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