Summary

Probably purchased by Kath Davis for her glory as part of a special offer through the Australian Women's Weekly.

Kath Davis began collecting items for her glory box when she started work at 17, living with her parents in Traralgon, and had competed her collection by around 1940.

Physical Description

'Frances Thompson Cookery Book' (Canadian author), published by Australian Women's Weekly, 1940. Hardback book with colour cover.

Significance

Glory boxes represented a significant rite of passage for many women growing up before, during and after World War Two. They provide a material symbol through which can be explored themes of artistry, sexuality, economy and cultural maintenance. Of particular interest is how glory boxes can be used to track the growing consumer culture after World War Two and how there was a shift from the hand made to the mass produced. The traditions cross time and cultures.

Kath Davis's box is significant for the strength of its documented story, and for its completeness in terms of survival of both the box and its collection.

More Information

  • Collecting Areas

    Home & Community

  • Acquisition Information

    Donation from Ms Kath Davis, 18 Feb 2005

  • User

    Ms Kath Davis, Traralgon, Latrobe Valley, Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, 1940

  • Inscriptions

    On cover: Frances/Thompson/COOKERY BOOK/PUBLISHED BY/THE/AUSTRALIAN/WOMEN'S/WEEKLY/2'6D.

  • Classification

    Domestic life, Cooking, Recipes

  • Category

    History & Technology

  • Discipline

    History

  • Type of item

    Document

  • Object Measurements

    20.4 cm (Length), 13.8 cm (Width), 2.6 cm (Height)

  • Dimensions

    138 mm (Width), 26 mm (Depth), 204 mm (Height)
    Measurement From Conservation.

  • References

    Oral history interview, 2003 (disc and abbreviated transcript); references in 'The Glory Box: Origins, Symbols and Experiences', 1996 (masters thesis) and in 'The Glory Box: Marriage, Migration and Material Culture in Australia, 1930-1960' (phd thesis in progress) - all produced by Moya McFadzean

  • Keywords

    Glory Boxes, Recipes