Life
This exhibition was made possible through the generous support of the following people who donated through fundit.ie: Leah Astbury Margaret Ayres Barbara Barclay Dee Blake Leanne Blaney Niall Brophy Fiona Buckley Graham Butler Cerrie Byrne Gavin Byrne Joan Byrne Sean Byrne Mark Callaghan Enda Carroll Brian Costello Niamh Cullen Owen Davies P. Denn Paula Dennan
Darragh Doyle Lynne Drea Maximillian Dupenois Jennifer Evans Elaine Farrell Mairt Finan Dara Flynn Godot & Co. Alix Green Lisa Marie Griffith Liam Hogan Charlotte Holloway Eoin Jennings Sarah Lloyd Sean Lucey Siobhan MacCumhaill Andrew Madden Anabel Marsh Colin McCarthy
David McCullagh Caroline McGee Anne McMahon Katy Milligan Julie Moore Jonathan Morris Anne Murphy Brian Murphy Nicola Murphy Katrina Navickas Graham O’Neill Kevin O’Sullivan Theresa Reidy Ailbhe Smyth Justin Stover Colleen Stover Keith Sutherland Patrick Walsh JA Young
plus seven others who chose to remain anonymous.
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A note from Dr. Ciara Meehan Modern Wife, Modern Life is an exhibition exploring the ‘ideal wife’ turned ‘modern wife’ in 1960s Ireland as seen through the pages of women’s magazines. Manuals on how to be a good wife had been widely available in Ireland at the start of the twentieth century, but with the emergence of new technologies, the advice extended to newly married women and housewives began to change in the 1960s. The concept of being an ‘ideal wife’ became closely bound up with being a ‘modern wife’. This is best identified in the pages of women’s magazines, which came to replace the traditional manual as a source for guidance. The message, driven by the advertisers, was clear: a ‘good wife’ was not just beautifully presented, but also used all the latest ‘modern’ devices. Her home – especially the kitchen – was an extension of her appearance and reputation. ‘Modern life’ and ‘modern wife’ became blended into the one ideal.
In addition to the magazines, the exhibition also features domestic objects, many of which are on loan from members of the Irish public – thank you to those people who made these items available. I am indebted to the National Print Museum of Ireland for the opportunity to curate this exhibition. A special word of thanks goes to David Kenny for his assistance with research, and to Melissa Nadarajan who did a tremendous job designing the exhibition booklet. I am also grateful to Niamh Cullen and Deirdre McGing for their advice, and to my wonderful colleagues at the University of Hertfordshire for their support. My gratitude to family and close friends continues. The exhibition is dedicated to the memory of my late grandmother, Annie Meehan. 3
About the Museum The National Print Museum is housed in the Old Garrison Chapel (built in 1857) at Beggar’s Bush barracks in Dublin. The museum collects, documents, preserves, exhibits, interprets and makes accessible the material evidence of the printing craft and fosters associated skills of the craft in Ireland. The National Print Museum has a collection of over 10,000 objects that covers the whole range of the printing craft in Ireland. The collection comprises printing machinery and artefacts including printing blocks, metal and wooden movable type, ephemera, photographs, books, pamphlets, periodicals and one banner. The collection policy relates to the period in Ireland of printing from movable type, since its introduction to Ireland in the 16th century.
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Contents Print Culture 06 Advice for the Newly Married Wife
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Beauty and Presentation
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New Technology in the Home
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Women Behind the Wheel
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Women Who Work 50
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Print Culture There was a growth and expansion of homegrown women’s magazines in the 1960s. New publications such as Woman’s Way, Woman’s Choice and Woman’s View joined imported British titles on the shelves in shops. While catering to Irish interests and values, the magazines also pushed the boundaries. Several of the issues they covered later became identified with the women’s liberation movement in the 1970s. Organisations such as the Irish Countrywoman’s Association and the Irish Housewives Association also produced their own journals. The appeal of these home-grown publications was summed up by one reader in a letter to Woman’s Choice magazine in September 1968: The point about an Irish magazine is that it caters for us living in this country. The advertisements are about commodities that we can buy here and now; the competitions and offers are for us and all the service features are geared towards Irishwomen – not Englishwomen as they are in the imported publications.
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Advice for the Newly Married Wife Traditional marriage manuals instructed women on what was expected of them once they were married. They included advice such as: Your husband comes first in the house. His will should prevail. Similar information could be found in the pages of women’s magazines in the 1960s, but such publications also broaden the scope of the advice available. Notably, in addition to providing guidelines on setting up a home, the magazines also told women what to expect from the physical side of their marriage.
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Joe and Margaret Teeling on their wedding day, 17 February 1965’t
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the first night
Woman’s Way, 17 June 1969
Woman’s Way, 23 Feb 1968
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Woman’s Way, 23 Feb 1968
Woman’s Way, 31 Jan 1964
Woman’s Way, 14 Feb 1964
Irish Housewife 1960
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Woman’s Way 10 Sept 1964
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Beauty and Presentation Bus seniati renest venes conectur? Liti ommoluptur? Aqui ne vollabores modi ommos explace ptiore volor alitiatur? Ite prem fugit, tecum fugiam eos eum nimin eos illor apid ernatur andis erum, omnitatatem consecepre volorrum accab ist iusdae et landae voluptia volupta si ut aliquiam laborem sit audiate re perrum comnim fugia volorem nus. On et apedita nimilig nimollaccus maiore non natatibus. Epudign atentor atemolorrum quatiostem faceatiusam, conseca tiossequi dent facea dolut quatempel molla nonse arunt. Nihillaccab idem ea nonet acessi rero tent lab is et que in eaturem. Itatis as arunt ulles enis ilit, eum quo to dollaborro quis estori aut omniet ulparum eturepe lliquid quae aut iligenisto et de non por aut del et laut quianihici occupta isciur, apitasimus ent, occabor sum, aut volla volestr umquian tibus.
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Irish Housewife 1960
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Irish Housewife 1961
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Woman’s Way, 1968
Woman’s Way, Christmas, 1965
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New Technologies in the Home ‘Modern’ was the buzz-word for advertisers in the 1960s. Women’s magazines will filled with advertisements promoting new or more affordable mass-produced technologies. These included washing machines, fridge freezers and electric cookers, as well as an array of other smaller items. Such technologies were marketed as labour-saving devices that would reduce the housewife’s workload. The implication was that the housewife would have more free time. Of course, in reality, that ‘free time’ was subsequently taken up with baking, sewing, tending to the children, etc. The advertisers sold an aspirational lifestyle: in order to be a truly modern wife, women had to own the modern equipment. These will be proudly displayed in her kitchen for visitors who would judge her on the presence or absence of such ‘must have’ items.
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Woman’s Way, 14 Mar 1964
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Woman’s Way, 25 Nov 1966
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Woman’s Way, 7 June 1968
Woman’s Way, 19 Apr 1968
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Irish Houswife, 1969
Woman’s Way, 14 June 1968
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Irish Houswife, 1963-64
Woman’s Way, 25 July 1969
Woman’s Way, 14 Feb 1964
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Woman’s Way, 14 June 1964
Woman’s Way, 14 June 1964
Woman’s Way, 18 Apr 1969 Woman’s Way, 16 Feb 1968
Woman’s Way, 16 Feb 1968
Woman’s Way, 16 May 1969
Women Behind the Wheel The growth of a consumer society in the 1960s was also reflected in an increased number of advertisements selling the notion of ‘women behind the wheel’. ‘A second car for the wife’ was concept, promoting notions of mobility, freedom, independence and efficiency. Responding to this emphasis on the female motorist, driving schools began to advertise in the magazines. Following on from the idea of driving lessons for wives, several of the magazines’ staff wrote about their experience of learning to drive. Their stories ranged from the entertaining to the terrifying!
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Woman’s Way, 21 June 1968
Woman’s Way, WC, 22 Oct 1969
Woman’s Way, 14 Mar 1964
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Woman’s Way, 1 Feb 1965
Creation, January 1960
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Wives Who Work As the 1960s progressed, a debate emerged in the letters pages of the magazines. Women were divided on the notion of wives continuing to work after marriage. Some took the traditional view that a woman’s place was in the home, and even went as far as to suggest that a husband would cease to see his house as a home if his wife worked. This, it was argued, could cause him to wander. Other women felt that it was a waste of their skills to stay at home full-time after marriage, adding that the extra income would be beneficial. Of course, this choice only existed for women employed in the private sector. Women who worked in the public sector had their employment terminated upon marriage. The marriage ban was not lifted until 1973. In addition to the letters, the magazine writers also engaged with the issue, and typically advocated opportunities for women in the workplace. Equal pay – a key feature of the women’s liberation movement in the 1970s – was advocated from the pages of the magazines.
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Woman’s Way, WW, 16 Aug 1968
Woman’s Way First Fortnight August 1965
Woman’s World 18 Mar 1969
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The Irish Housewive, 1963-4 Annual
WC, 26 Aug 1969
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Woman’s World, 3 May 1968
Woman’s World 18 Mar 1969
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