Hey there. . .check out this month’s Play Mate!
Now that I have your attention. . .

Once upon a time, “play-mate” meant something a lot different than it did to the gang at Playboy magazine. From the early 1930s onward, Children’s Play Mate was the publication getting all the publicity. Sure, there were competitors (Jack and Jill, Wee Wisdom, Highlights for Children), each with some of what Children’s Play Mate had to offer. But this digest-sized monthly, hailed as “The Favorite Magazine of Boys and Girls,” had it all. There were stories (“The Circle-D Kid”, “The Mystery of the Old Barn”); poems (“children of Holland, with busy feet, go clomp-clomp-clomping down the street”); puzzles (“find 10 hidden faces in this picture!”); recipes (“Barbara’s Favorite Frosty Grape Lemonade”); projects (“Make A Pumpkin Totem Pole!”); and contests (“Win A Pedigreed Cocker Puppy All Your Own For the Neatest and Most Interesting Letter!”). There was even, in that much more trusting time, “Everybody’s Mail Box,” with letters (and addresses) from prospective pen pals around the world.

Lots more was stuffed into each issue’s 50-plus pages, which were geared to an enthralled readership “from 4 to 14.” But what primarily appeals to today’s collectors, who might not be partic-ularly interested in playing connect-the-dots or reading about “Tailspin Teena—The Little Witch Who Couldn’t Learn To Fly,” is the Play Mate artwork. Most of the cover illustrations, as well as the interior art, were the work of Fern Bisel Peat, Art Director for Children’s Play Mate from 1933 until 1955. Her unique style captures all of the era’s childhood milestones in brightly col-ored, whimsical drawings that serve as a time capsule of mid-20th century America.

A boy and a girl sail past the pine trees on their rope-and-plank swing. Another pair brave brisk spring winds to hang a birdhouse. And an angler duo peer into a pond, wondering if they’ll ever have any luck on their fishing trip. And, since the maga-zines were monthly,
Play Mate covers run right down the yearly calendar, from New Year’s and Valentine’s Day, through Halloween and Christmas.

The magazine’s visual vision-ary, Fern Bisel, was born in 1893, and graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University with a degree in fine arts. In 1917, she married Frank Peat, and the pair opened an interior decorating firm, specializing in décor items for children’s bedrooms and nurseries. In the early 1930s, the family moved to “Beech Hollow Farm,” near Bellville, Ohio, which became the home base for Fern’s artistic endeavors. There was no doubt about who lived there: the brightly colored Beech Hollow window shutters were decorated with Fern’s imaginative illustrations.

In addition to her cover paintings (a duty occasionally shared with other artists), Fern was responsible for the entire “look” of Children’s Play Mate. That included creating the artwork for the magazine’s interior color pages (puzzles, “cutout” toys, and paper dolls), as well as the line art for its many stories, articles, and promotional ads.

Bisel Peat was a versatile artist, which kept the family finances afloat during the Depression and World War II years. In addition to Fern’s magazine duties, other pro-jects included illustrating more than 60 books, among them new editions of Mother Goose and A Child’s Garden of Verses. As a freelance artist, she also designed everything from children’s toy chests, wallpaper, and room div-iders, to rag dolls, holiday decorations, playing cards, greeting cards, and coloring books. A notable assignment was for famed toymaker Ohio Art. There, Bisel Peat was the artistic force behind those Ohio Art tin toy favorites found in every reputable sandbox: pails, shovels, buckets, and watering cans.

Originally just 15 cents, vintage copies of Children’s Play Mate remain a bargain at $10 or less. Framed, the magazine’s colorful covers are exuberant depictions of childhood in America. (Even better: unlike their centerfold namesakes, Fern’s cover illustrations don’t have a staple in the middle).