Historical Context: August, 1936

The Roosevelt Theatre in San Francisco specialized in double-features during the month of August, 1936, including Al Jolson’s third “talkie” The Singing Kid.

Historically, the month marked the opening of the Olympic Games hosted by Nazi Germany. A propaganda film written, directed and produced by Leni Riefenstahl would be released in 1938 documenting the events held in Berlin.

This early calendar’s layout was set using a Linotype press, a horizontal arrangement consisting of metal “slugs.” A typesetter typed of all the letters  — only one font and size at a time and limited to a set space. Next, melted lead was poured, creating the slug. These early calendars were often “text only” since adding images was technically more difficult and expensive.