I'm presently in the middle of a six-book series covering the period of 1914 to 1929. Since high school and college history books do a lousy job of the period....I've come to find a number of interesting bits of knowledge which kinda amaze me.
From 1900 to 1921, there's an increase of cigarette consumption and sales.....of sixteen times what it was in 1900 (1921). We aren't talking double or triple here, but a huge number of smokes that rippled across society in general.
What happened? Well....there are a number of reasons.
The war came, and I suspect that a number of people who didn't smoke.....participated in the war....got things on their mind....and ended up smoking as a point of relaxation.
Trucks arriving and transporting more cargo? Yes. In 1900.....you still had mostly wagons and rail as your method of delivery. In 1921, you had the ability to send over an order and have it delivered within a reasonable amount of time.
More women smoking? Yes, that's one of the odd things from the voting period changes. Women felt they had just as many rights and privileges as a guy.
More advertising? Yes.....marketing folks got smart and knew how to better present a product.
All of this meant more tax revenue and profit for grocery/store operations.
Another odd factor which I came across is the amount of material required for a dress. By 1921.....it took only seven yards of fabic to make a dress......compared to almost twenty yards back in 1900. Again, it represents a fashion change in women's clothing that few people talk about....even today.
It would be curious to see the amount of yards used in each decade, and how it lessened as time went by, and how the cost of fabric changed as well.
