Vintage Winter Holidays (1953 - 1967)

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Before two and a half weeks ago I'd posted on b.vikki vintage regularly every day. I now plan to pick up the frequency yet again and get things back to normal around here!

Here are some photographs and editorial shots from vintage issues of Ebony and Jet magazines from 1953 to 1967 of winter holiday celebrations and scenarios.

The photo above is my favorite. We're getting to see a party, this one from 1963, in media res. The subjects aren't self-conscious and seems to be genuinely having a GREAT time.

Wishing a safe and happy holiday season to all b.vikki vintage readers!

Thanks for reading.

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More Family Pictures

Here's a photograph from what I believe to be the late 1940s of my great grandfather, Fredrick O'Neal Sr. His wife, my great grandmother, Essie O'Neal, is pictured with her brother, Norris Reed in the sidebar of b.vikki vintage.

I've posted this picture before - of my grandfather, Fredrick O'Neal Jr (Essie and Fred O'Neal Sr.'s first son) at 16 years old - from the early 1960s.

And my father is Fredrick O'Neal III.

Here he is at prom in 1985.

Here he is again in the mid 1980s.

And these were taken in early 1987, a week or so after I was born.

And here's my mom, Lynette, in the 1970s and 1980s.

Yes, my mom and my dad went on prom together.

Here's my mom in the mid 1980s.

And I love this picture of her from the 70s!

My aunt Felicia, who reads my blog DAILY (and will probably be upset with me for posting this!), is here pictured in 1987 - with me a few weeks after my birth. She's 16 in this picture!

You may remember seeing her featured here before as a b.vikki vintage model:

My dad dropped the first picture off today and I'm so glad he did! Along with it, he's given me a July 1954 issue of Ebony Magazine that can't be found in any online archives, so I'll be posting its articles and pictures in the days and weeks to come.

Here's the cover:

In this issue are some interesting articles about female wrestlers, the best Negro high school in America, "Problems of the new Negro elite", a fascinating piece on Sarah Vaugh, and much more.

And a Pyrex update! My grandmother's Butterfly Gold cereal bowl is broken...

:(

I'm not going to say it's my sister's fault... but I'm not going to say it's NOT her fault.

I kid. It fell out of a cabinet she was opening. And shattered.

R.I.P. Pyrex bowl. Never Forget.

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Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A. (1946) & Juke Joint (1947)

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More films from the late 1940s featuring all Black casts! Both films in this post, Dirtie Gertie from Harlem U.S.A. and Juke Joint were directed by and starred Spencer Williams.

Unfortunately, these movies aren't available for online viewing. If I'm ever able to watch them, I'll do a proper review.

More about Juke Joint from VenerableMusic.com:

Two small-time con men, Bad News Johnson and Cornbread Jones, are down to their last quarter when they breeze into town. Sweet-talking Johnson finds them a room at the home of Mama Lou Holiday by posing as a Hollywood big shot and promising to give acting lessons to Mama's beautiful daughter, Honey Dew. The fiery matriarch is determined to keep her young girl from following in the trampy footsteps of her older sister, Florida, and hopes that the acting lessons will help her "good" daughter win the local beauty contest.

Amazingly, Johnson's guidance pays off with a victory for Honey Dew. To celebrate, the girl's shiftless father, Sam, takes her to the seedy Juke Joint, the same dive where floozy Florida hangs out, drinking, dancing, and planning her get-away to the big city with shady bar owner Johnny. When Jones and Johnson tell Mama Lou what's going on, she decides to go down and take care of business herself, packing a mean umbrella.

Multi-talented Spencer Williams wrote, directed and appeared in dozens of films, most of them all-black productions, from 1928 until 1947. Retiring shortly after making Juke Joint, Williams was lured out of retirement in 1951 to play Andrew H. Brown in the beloved Amos 'N' Andy TV series. Starring Spencer Williams, July Jones, Leonard Duncan, Red Calhoun. Directed by Spencer Williams.

I love the names of the characters in this movie: Honey Dew, Bad News Johnson, Cornbread Jones. You can just tell the whole thing's going to be over the top.

One thing that struck me about this poster was the name July Jones. Reminded me of the actress January Jones who plays Betty Draper on Mad Men.

More information about Juke Joint can be found HERE at Wild Realm Reviews.

On to Dirty Gertie... Love that title.

It seems that in nearly every picture of the eponymous Gertie, she's giving major FACE! So much attitude. I wish I could watch the movie and give a full report.

More about Dirty Gertie From ClassicFlix.com:

Dancer Gertie La Rue is the toast of Harlem, but she's been two- timing her beau, Al, the man who put her in the spotlight. Fearing Al's retribution, Gertie drags her entire show troupe out to the remote island of Rinidad, where she hopes to lay low for a while. She's also managed to make her self imposed exile a lucrative one, setting up a residency at Diamond Joe's nightclub. While Gertie drinks, cusses, and flirts her way across Rinidad, dark clouds are gathering overhead; local revivalist Jonathan Christian is on a moral crusade to have her deported.

A native of Harlem, Francine Everett was a multi-talented performer, acting, singing, and dancing her way across stage and screen. A stand- out in race films , Francine appeared in several of the genre's best pictures, including Paradise in Harlem, Big Timers, and Ebony Parade.

I've got more images and information about vintage African American films from the 1930s-1950s on my tumblr (bvikkivintage.tumblr.com), so be sure to check that out!

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Vintage Black Weddings: 1959

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More vintage African American weddings and brides! This time from 1959. The 1960s are up next and the gown styles shift DRAMATICALLY over the course of a year.

This dress is a bit busy for my taste, but as you may remember, I'm a sucker for long sleeves and a diaphanous illusion neckline! Which was apparently, a very popular style in the mid to late 1950s.
I like the bridesmaid's dress more than I like the bride's. Though the bride is stunning. And look at those tiny waists!

This wedding was a star-studded affair. Love the bride's hair.

Cute picture. And a great coquettish veil.

Great looking couple!

I remember her from a wedding editorial I posted from 1958. Harlean Harris must have been the go-to wedding model of the late 1950s.

Though, it's not odd for me to run into the same models over and over again. I've come across Helen Williams in over 50 ads and pictorials. Come to think of it.... she's getting her own post! She deserves it! If my research is any indication, Helen Williams was one of, if not the sole, most hardworking model in the 1950s and 1960s.

This isn't the first time I've seen the dress/pants combo look! This look from a December issue of Ebony Magazine, also from 1959:

Trend Alert!

Below are photos from a 1959 Ebony Magazine story about a couple of color wedding to great pomp in Russia.

Enjoy!




Thanks for reading. Up next will be part one of the Vintage Black Voters series and more Black films from the 1930s and 1940s.

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