By Veronique Weber, Published on
In your attics, you may have one of the items missing from the Museum of Everyday Life History of Petit-Caux (Seine-Maritime) for its October 2026 exhibition. If you donate it to the museum (or lend it), Cécile Jovanovic, the director, and her team can trace an important part of the history of women’s condition from the Thirty Glorious years to the 1980s.
Indeed, while currently and until the month of August, the museum immerses the public in the evolution of computing, telephony, radio, and television, a new major exhibition is being prepared behind the scenes. “This exhibition called La Ménagère is scheduled from October 2, 2026 to September 19, 2027“, smiles Cécile Jovanovic, who, on this occasion, is working with a co-curator, Michèle Dominici. The latter notably produced a documentary for Arte entitled The Forgotten History of Housewives.
An Ideal Far from Reality
“This exhibition focuses on the figure of the homemaker during the Thirty Glorious years. Elevated to the rank of an icon by omnipresent advertising, ‘liberated’ by household appliances, always well-dressed and devoted to her husband and children, this ideal feminine figure is however far from reflecting the reality of women’s daily lives during that time,” details the synopsis of the upcoming exhibition.
Objects Wanted
The Museum of Everyday Life History has established a list of objects and furniture (with the years in parentheses) that it is looking for for its exhibition. It is possible to donate them or lend them.
Furniture
Kitchen: formica unit with integrated sink (1940/1950); wall-mounted formica kitchen unit, wall cabinets (1940/50). Baby room (1960). Teen room (1960 to 1980): single bed with storage unit; desk with chair; storage unit and wardrobe. Bathroom: sink, bidet, bathtub, enamel shower tray, wall mirror unit. Various (1940 to 1980): rugs and wallpaper rolls.
Objects
Glass bottles: Coca, milk, juice, wine, canned (1950-1960); empty food boxes (1940 to 1960); fitted women’s dress with simple patterns (1950); clothing horse (1950 to 1970); wedding dress (1940-1950); disposable diapers (1950-1970); baby food supplements, powdered milk (1960-1970); towels and sanitary products (1950-1970); educational toys (1950-1970); baby mobile (1960); Barbie doll (1960-1970); posters, magazines… for a teenager’s room (1970-1980); teenage clothing (1960-1980); antidepressants, anxiolytics (1950-1970); advertisements for depression treatments.
The museum already has many objects and pieces of furniture on this theme, some of which are visible in the permanent exhibition. But it will present others, such as unpublished documents from the Normandy Moulinex factory stored in the Calvados departmental archives.
Objects with a Story
Cécile Jovanovic also delved into the reserves of the museum association of the arts and traditions of Talou. And the team is still looking for specific objects and pieces of furniture (see the list in the box). The idea is to build the scenography around pieces from an apartment. “We would like to recreate different indoor spaces. We would go from the kitchen to the bathroom and then to the bedroom of a baby and finally that of a teenager,” explains Cécile Jovanovic.
Objects with a Story
Cécile Jovanovic also delved into the reserves of the museum association of the arts and traditions of Talou. And the team is still looking for specific objects and pieces of furniture (see the list in the box). The idea is to build the scenography around pieces from an apartment. “We would like to recreate different indoor spaces. We would go from the kitchen to the bathroom and then to the bedroom of a baby and finally that of a teenager,” explains Cécile Jovanovic.
Among the sought-after furniture pieces, some of which are bulky, the museum can offer to come and pick them up on-site and even help disassemble them. Moreover, before bringing the objects, it is requested to contact the museum and send photos of what is being proposed. “We are also looking to know the history of the object, to whom it belonged, in what context, and, why not, a photo from the time it appeared,” she specifies.
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