Along with books, magazines, newspapers, music, and victrola records, the writers of America's Housekeeping Book (1945) reminded their readers to be sure to pick up any games or cards left about the living room. And though I've already discovered how little my own living room resembles the room described by the writers, they've given us a little peek into the kinds of functions a 1940s living room served.
The living room was the place to entertain visitors with music, radio programs, and games - including Mothers's bridge party. (More fortunate families might have a tabletop radio or two in the kitchen or a bedroom, but the large cabinet radios were reserved strictly for living rooms.) The living room was the place to entertain yourself by reading, listening to records, maybe even playing a game of Solitaire. The old fashioned kind. It was a place shared by the whole family in an era before our bedrooms, rumpus rooms, "media rooms," home gyms, and craft rooms splintered us off into separate areas of the house in the evenings. The '40s living room was a busy place... No wonder there were so many things to pick up when the evening was over!
The manual recommends that games and "playing cards" be stored where they were handiest when needed again:
Shallow, enclosed shelves may be built in the living room... to keep games and cards in order and out of sight when not in use.
I don't have any games or decks of cards tucked away in my own living room. Though if I moved my computer in there, I might have to occasionally close a game of Microsoft Solitaire. And speaking of tidying up the living room, I think it's about high time I got started.
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