1950s Back to School Image of 2 boys with backpacks image via Getty Images

First up sorry for the radio silence lately, my husband and I purchased a house (a rental property to be exact) and we have been super busy working away on getting it ready for rental. This meant I had ZERO time for things on the internet (like my little old blog). BUT I’m back and I’m kicking off the first blog post of September with a roundup of all things to do with school, of course with my regular vintage spin.

Lets begin!

Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from Etsy , eBay, are Affiliate Links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Back To School We Go! Roundup of All Things “School”

1940s, 1950’s and 1960s

1940s Vintage Advertisement: 1947 Fresh Up with Seven Up Ad - 1940s Teenagers, Football Hero, Cheerleaders - Retro 7up Ad — 1947 7up Ad. Source: Etsy

1940s Vintage Photo of two men and 1 women in 1940s fashions posing together for a photo at Harris College, May 1943.

Further Reading: Vintage Student Life Photo 1920s-1950s

Rah Rah Go Happy! Adorable 1960’s Vintage Cheerleading Uniform from “Happy High School located in Happy, Texas – Home of the Cowboys”.

While Researching this post I stumbled upon a most amazing resource! North Carolina has a website where they have a collection of yearbooks from schools all over their state. Um COOL!!!

The collection was started because yearbooks provide a window into student life in North Carolina from the 1890s to the present. From sports teams to clubs, fashions to hairstyles, these volumes document the changing attitudes and culture of students year by year.

Here are some of the amazing photos that you can see on their site (stay tuned for a future “Vintage Photo Tuesday” Post).

Photo # 1: Home Economics Class, Durham High School, 1947

1940s Vintage Photo: Home Economics Class, Durham High School, 1947 — Source: North Carolina Digital Heritage Centre

Photo # 2: Cheerleaders, E.E. Smith Senior High School, 1948

1940s Vintage Photo: Cheerleaders, E.E. Smith Senior High School, 1948 Vintage Yearbook photos — Source: North Carolina Digital Heritage Centre

1950’s “Kids Back to School Fashion” being showcased at the Zoo.

Retro 1950’s Style School Girl Paper Doll Printable. You can buy this right now on Etsy and it’s just too cute!!!

Retro 1950's Style School Black Girl Paper Doll Printable

Source: Etsy

Prom Queen, date night and life in Highschool in the 1950s. Cool collection of photos of teenage life.

Vintage Photos of Teenage Life in the 1950s Backt to school Photos — Source: Etsy

Zayre Commercial “Before you go back to school” circa 1960s.

September 14, 1953. This black, white and red ad features “Little Lulu” comic strip characters touting the qualities of Kleenex. The ad has a head shot of Arthur Godfrey, host of a CBS daytime radio and TV program, with a quote bubble around the tagline: “It’s ‘Kleenex Tissue Time’ with school days here again!” (Via Etsy)

Vintage Kleenex Tissues Ad, It's Kleenex Tissue Time, Little Lulu by Marge Comics, Back to School, Original Advertising, 1953

Flair Magazine 1950 College Review Issue.

About the College Review (Via Etsy Seller ‘Betsyoldandnew‘).

The Flair Magazine August 1950 College Review Issue was one of only eleven issues of the magazine ever published as its lavish productions costs proved too great for it to continue. Editor Fleur Cowles, wife of publisher Gardener Cowles, was allowed to spare no expense in putting out her dream magazine, that was totally unique for its time, in which she would highlight her feature stories having considered “If a feature would be better in dimension than on flat pages, why not fold half-pages inside double-page spreads? If a feature was significant enough, why not bind it as ‘a little book’… giving it a special focus? If a feature was better ‘translated’ on textured paper, why use shiny paper? If a hand-set offset printing or hand-fed gravure suited a photographic essay better than letterpress, why not use it?”

Vintage Howdy Doody Time Teacher, 1950s Teaching Aid.

1969 Kids Vintage Fashion Ad Back to School Clothes at Montgomery Wards.

Hope you enjoyed a trip down back to school lane, have a wonderful week everyone!

Question time: What is your favourite memory from school? Share in the comments below.

Further Reading:

Liz

1960s Original Air Canada Toronto Travel Poster

Today Toronto celebrates it’s 184 Birthday! Happy Birthday!!! As many of you know my adopted hometown is Toronto and I have lived here since 1999 when I moved here for school and instantly fell in love (with the city and later with my husband). Where I live in the city, I can walk to local grocerers, bars, restaurants and public transportation (that takes us to all the fun things in the city). Our little piece of paradise is perfect for our lives and it’s also a GREAT place to visit. So for today’s post I wanted to showcase some cool vintage sourvenirs/items from Toronto’s past that one might of collected to remember their visit or time in the big city (p.s. the items below are all for sale at time of this post, if you wish to take a piece of Toronto history home with you).

Lets begin!

Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from Etsy , eBay are Affiliate Links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Note: If the item you clicked on is no longer available, don’t fret! The websites listed are updated daily with new product. Do a search and see what other fun vintage items you might find!

When you visit Toronto, attending the theatre was/is a must! Here is a vintage program from the Royal Alexandra Theatre (still standing) stating the upcoming announcements for the week of Dec 2, 1929.

Royal Alexandra theatre toronto vintage program 1929 — Source: Etsy

Inside of the Royal Alex program.

Royal Alexandra theatre toronto vintage program 1929 inside page — Source: Etsy

Soldiers at Royal Alexandra Theatre, Toronto, Canada, which is showing the British film Balaclava (1928) after it was reissued as a talkie (Source).

1920s Vintage Photo: Soldiers at Royal Alexandra Theatre, Toronto, Canada, which is showing the British film Balaclava (1928) after it was reissued as a talkie — Source: Wikimedia

Postcards were once a very popular way of communicating with friends and family about the fun you were having on vacation (my husband and I still send postcards on our trips). This 1930s Toronto postcard featuring our city hall (this building still stands but is no longer our city hall), is a beautiful example of this mode of communication.

1930s vintage postcard for Toronto, Canada. — Via Etsy

1920/1930’s Felt Pennant for St. Hilda’s College. St. Hilda’s was founded in 1888 as a women’s college & residence affiliated with the University of Trinity College. Initially St. Hilda’s students took separate pass lectures, but in 1894 all Trinity classes were opened to women. By 1904 the colleges merged with the University of Toronto and eventually would cease to be used as a building for education (Source). The building still stands today.

Vintage Original 1920s Felt Pennant Sewn Letters for St. Hilda's College, University of Toronto — Via Etsy

Vintage 1950s ladies wool school blazer jacket from Northern Secondary School in Toronto (avail as of July 20th, 2022 HERE).

Source: Etsy

Sweets for your Sweets-Signed 1930’s Willard’s Chocolates Box. Willards is a Toronto brand that opened it’s doors in 1917 (In 1954 Willard’s was purchased and their named remained till 1968).

1930s Willards Chocolates Box Vintage Toronto History — Via Etsy

Canadians love their hockey but we also love our Baseball and in Toronto it’s all about the Toronto Blue Jays.

The below item is a Vintage 1930s Novelty Popcorn & Salted Peanuts Glassine Bags – Toronto Made, used at Maple Leaf Stadium.

RARE Vintage 1930s Novelty Popcorn & Salted Peanuts Glassine Bags - Toronto Made, Used at Maple Leaf Stadium — Source Etsy

Photo of a young boy with 2 members of the 1950’s Toronto Maple Leafs (not the hockey team).

Toronto Maple Leafs baseball 1950s vintage image — Source: Pinterest

Local magazines are a great way of taking home a piece of the city or country you were in. The Star Weekly magazine was founded by J.E. Atkinson, the publisher of the Toronto Star (newspaper) and began it’s life in 1910. It was an attempt to create a Canadian counterpart to the popular British type of Sunday newspapers. Initially the Weekly was a grab-bag of features, articles by the daily paper’s reporters, advertising and pieces purchased cheaply from syndicates. Before long, however, the Weekly had comic strips, good illustrations and cartoons, and by 1920 it was lavishly using colour (Source).

1940s Vintage Magazine Cover: Vintage (March 17, 1945) RARE! The Star Weekly | Toronto Star magazine WWII-era issue. Cover of a female soldier. — March 17th, 1945. Source: Etsy

Getting around the city is pretty simple (most times) because of our TTC system, the Toronto Transit Commission. We have streetcars, buses and subways to get you where you need to go and when you need to transfer onto another route, you need to take a ticket transfer. These tickets have been around for years like the vintage 1940s one seen below.

TTC 1940s Vintage Ticket - Instant Collection- Toronto Transit — Source: Etsy

The T. Eaton Company (Once Canada’s largest department store chain) welcomes you to early 1950’s Metropolitan Toronto. The below guide was created for the American tourist to easily get around the city and point them to the direction of the Eaton’s flagship store.

Eatons guide to Toronto in the 1950s — Source: Etsy

One more city guide from 1953 calling Toronto, The “Queen City” (never heard this nickname before).Cover Art: Toronto skyline as seen from the Royal Canadian Yacht Club.

1953 Metropolitan Toronto Vintage Visitor's Guide — Source: Etsy

The Canadian National Exhibition is the last 2 weeks of the summer and is beloved by residents and visitors alike. It’s basically a giant fair, with rides, food building, exhibitors, shows and animals and so much more. The 1950’s souvenior scarf below is a marvelous way to remember the fun that was had.

Canadian National Exhibition 1950s vintage scarf — Source: Etsy

Just like how the CNE marks the end of summer, it also ends today’s blog post. I hope you enjoyed browsing souvenirs of Toronto’s past. Happy Birthday Toronto!

Lastly, if you have been following my blog for a while, you know that I like to post about cool and fun vintage history posts on my city. I have done several over the years, and if you click on the link HERE you can check them all out.

Question Time: When you travel what things do you like to bring back that will remind you of your trip? Let me know in the comments below!

FURTHER READING ON VINTAGE TORONTO:

Liz 🙂

Category: Vintage Items

Back To School We Go! Roundup of All Things “School” from the 1940s, 1950’s and 1960s

Back To School We Go! Roundup of All Things “School”

1940s, 1950’s and 1960s

Happy 184th Birthday Toronto! Souvenirs of Toronto’s Past