Bad Love Advice From 1930s

17 Crazy Pieces Of Dating Advice From 1930s

In 1936, a company called Universal Publications in the UK produced a book called Do's and Don'ts for Lovers. Its intention: to help men and women recognize “the snares and pitfalls” of falling in love.

It’s now been re-released as How To Be A Good Lover ($11, ed. Bodleian Library) one of those little gift books that sit next to the register in bookstores. The press release that accompanied it states that it is “by turns humorously old-fashioned and timeless.”

There are certainly a few lines that read as sufficiently old-fashioned to make you giggle, mostly those about servants, canoes and men wearing hats.

However, a lot of the book is more shocking than funny, especially in its treatment of women.

Read some of the “advice” put out in this book:

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