Tucked away between technical books no one wanted at a library sale, I found ten issues of the long defunct Eye Magazine from 1968. The large, oversized glossy was trying to cash in on the youth market, but being a Hearst magazine it kind of missed the mark. It was like Rolling Stone-for your grandparents. No matter, I quickly purchased them figuring they would at the very least, be fun for Danny.
Someone kept those magazines in pristine condition and they still had the pull-out posters (by Peter Max) and flexible records they used to give away as promotions.
Looking through nearly a year’s worth of magazines from 1968, I’ve been able to learn a few things:
Cops like to beat up middle class college students
Mint green eyeshadow and frosty white lipstick is always a bad choice
Buffy Ste. Marie was REALLY popular (she was in nearly every issue)
Everyone wore Jean Nate Bath Splash
Birth control was a lot less controversial than it is today
I will try and get some of the more interesting pages photographed and posted on line, but until then, you really will have to take my word for it-the green eyeshadow thing looks really bad.
My mom used to get me jean Nate Bath Splash for Christmas. Either that or Love’s Baby Soft. To this day I only buy baby powder scented deodorant.
Comment by Vanessa — March 11, 2009 @ 6:12 am
My momsie also used Jean Nate. She also washed her face with lard (”it moisturizes!”). This is the woman who also told me to eat my rice because it will get rid of the wrinkles in my belly button. …. Moving on…
I remember those flexible plastic records. What are some of the songs in these mags?
Hearst surely did not understand youth. Just six years later Patty was abducted (or voluntarily left, feeling the “generation gap” of her family not understanding her…). BTW, I remember looking into the phone book when that kidnapping happened. The Hearsts were right there in the white pages [Hillsborough, CA]. That was probably the last issue of the phone book for which that was true.
Comment by Raymond — March 12, 2009 @ 1:01 am
Holy shit, the phone book? That’s amazing.
Comment by JSM — March 12, 2009 @ 1:13 am
I haven’t looked carefully at the inserts, but I did notice one was a Blood Sweat and Tears record.
Comment by JSM — March 12, 2009 @ 1:16 am
Wow… you are so lucky to have gotten those. Eye is my favorite magazine, and super rare. I love the articles… if you ever want to sell any, I would completely buy them… they go fast on ebay these days.
Comment by eg — May 1, 2009 @ 4:47 pm