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American Orchid Society celebrates 95th anniversary with vintage images

This year marks the 95th anniversary of the American Orchid Society. To commemorate the milestone, a series of vintage orchid images are being re-created from 1940s horticulture magazines. The glossy advertisements were groundbreaking and promoted the many uses of cut cattleya flowers in high-society fashion.

In the 1940s, the ‘cattleya craze’ was in full swing and growers were popping up everywhere trying to meet the demand. Hobbyists started adding small greenhouses to their homes, as the price of a single corsage soared to $20. The largest commercial grower, Thomas Young Orchids in Bound Brook, N.J., had 250,000 plants in production and still couldn’t meet the orders for cut flowers.

Despite the widespread shortage of blossoms, Thomas Young Orchids continued to market its brand. In 1946, it introduced an advertising campaign that won the hearts and minds of the public. Their four-page color insert in an orchid periodical featured glamorous women adorning oversized cattleya corsages and dressed for a variety of occasions. The most outrageous of the ads was the “hair swirl” with four frilly blossoms pinned to the top and side of a hairdo.

The images were innovative. This was the first time color ads appeared in the black-and-white publication. In addition, the message was sophisticated, as flowers were sharing the spotlight with high-end fashion. The question of whether it was practical to wear the exaggerated floral pieces was overlooked by the readers as the photographs made a lasting impression. For years to come, Thomas Young would get inquiries for those hybrids.

Read more at the Winston-Salem Journal
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