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The Monstrous Movies (Vanity Fair Magazine, 1921)
1921, Silent Movie History, Vanity Fair Magazine

The Monstrous Movies
(Vanity Fair Magazine, 1921)

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By 1921 the city of Los Angeles began to seriously grow, and the expansion was not simply due to the arrival of performers and extras and all manner of craftsmen that are required to launch a film production – but the city was also bringing in the sorts necessary to support a wealthy urban environment. Every thriving city needs a support system, and Hollywood imported tailors, milliners, chefs, architects and various other tastemakers who in turn attracted realtors, contractors, merchants and restauranteurs.

Woodrow Wilson and the Repeal of Prohibition (Literary Digest, 1919)
1919, The Literary Digest, Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson and the Repeal of Prohibition
(Literary Digest, 1919)

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For some in the U.S. Congress and for President Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) in particular, the prohibition of alcohol in the United States (passed by Congress on November 1, 1918) was simply viewed as an appropriate war-time measure guaranteed to maintain the productivity of an efficient working class. However, with the First World War coming to a close, President Wilson saw little need in keeping the entire law as it was written, and he suggested allowing the sale and distribution of beer and wine. This article will inform you of the political will of the dry members of congress as well as the strength of the American clergy in 1919

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High Society Ladies' Rooms (Stage Magazine, 1937)
1937, Old New York History, Stage Magazine

High Society Ladies’ Rooms
(Stage Magazine, 1937)

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The New York café society of the Thirties was well documented by such swells as Cole Porter and Peter Arno – not so well-known, however, were the goings-on in the ladies’ bathrooms at such swank watering holes as El Morocco, Twenty-One, Kit Kat, Crystal Garden and the famed Stork Club. That is why these columns are so vital to the march of history – written by a noble scribe who braved the icy waters of Lake Taboo to report on the conversations and the general appearance of each of these dressing rooms.

The Rainbow Room, Waldorf, and Crystal Garden are modern and show a decorators hand, but the only really plush dressing room we know is at Twenty-One.

Strangely enough, it doesn’t matter whether it’s the ladies’ room of El Morocco, Roseland, or a tea room; the same things are said in all of them. First hair, then men, then clothes; those are the three favorite topics of conversation in the order of their importance.

The Franco-Russian Alliance (Literary Digest, 1897)
1897, Prelude, The Literary Digest

The Franco-Russian Alliance
(Literary Digest, 1897)

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The Franco-Russian Alliance (1892 – 1917) was a military partnership uniting the Russian empire of Alexander III Alexandrovich and the French Third Republic under President Marie François Sadi Carnot. It was a key element that contributed to the deep sense of insecurity experienced by Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. When one reads the attached article from 1897, with it’s strong anti-German language, you will come away wondering why the First World War didn’t begin sooner:

France may now hope to regain her lost provinces with the help of Russia. The hour of revenge has come. Alsace Lorraine will once more be French…

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George Bernard Shaw and Literary Recycling (Vanity Fair, 1921)
1921, Twentieth Century Writers, Vanity Fair Hall of Fame

George Bernard Shaw and Literary Recycling
(Vanity Fair, 1921)

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Irish author, critic and dramatist, St. John Greer Ervine (1883 – 1971), believed that some of the dramatic characters populating the plays of George Bernard Shaw (1856 – 1950) were reoccurring characters who could be counted upon to appear again and again. He had a fine time illustrating this point and thinks nothing of stooping to compare Shaw with Shakespeare:

Shakespeare primarily was interested in people. Mr. Shaw primarily is interested in doctrine…

Thirty-five years later St. John Ervine would be awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his biography of George Bernard Shaw.

Click here to read various witty remarks by George Bernard Shaw.

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Interviews: 1912 - 1960

Celebrity Wedding: Lucile Ball and Desi Arnaz
(Photoplay Magazine, 1941)

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Attached you will find a small illustrated notice from the shameless gossips at PHOTOPLAY MAGAZINE reporting on the surprise 1941 wedding that took place between Lucile Ball and Desi Arnaz.

PHOTOPLAY acknowledged the nay-saying Hollywood romance prophets who predicted doom for the union of these two Rhumba Stars – but in the end, they were right: Lucy and Desi divorced in May of 1961.

Golf History

Sporty Golfing Pants: Pleated Knickers
(Magazine Ad, 1922)

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These pleated golf knickers anticipated the full-cut trouser craze of the thirties, however, soon many golfers (both on and off the field) would be wearing the very full-cut pleated knickers known in the day as plus-fours. Plus-fours were one of any number of men’s fashion trends which originated with the masculine fashion-muse the Edward VIII (1894 – 1972).

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Living the Life (Pageant Magazine, 1957)
1957, Pageant Magazine, Suburbia

Living the Life
(Pageant Magazine, 1957)

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This is the new suburban America… It has developed since the Second World War. It is within hollering distance of a big city but has a definite will of its own. Its people are youngish and their numbers growing. To find out what goes on in such a community, PAGEANT MAGAZINE made a study of one typical postwar suburb: Levittown, Long Island. It has 82,000 people, fairly young; the town is 12 years old and still growing fast. What happens there [each year] is typical of the new American ‘normal’:


• Average Income: $6,100.00


• Deaths: 304


• Births: 2,760


• Divorces: 101


• HS Graduates: 285


• College-Bound Graduates: 60


• Auto Accidents: 355

World War One Clip Art: Otto Dix
Uncategorized

World War One Clip Art: Otto Dix

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Attached you will find assorted German Army figures by German Expressionist and World War I infantry veteran Otto Dix
(Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix 1891 – 1969). He served as a machine gunner for much of the war.

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Design

A Design Crit by Frank Lloyd Wright
(Rob Wagner’s Script Magazine, 1947)

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When the architectural community howled in protest upon hearing that the firm of Wallace Harrison (1895 – 1981) was commissioned to design the United Nations Center in 1947, the editors of SCRIPT MAGAZINE dashed-off to ask Frank Lloyd Wright to pick up his quill and ink-up his arguments against the project.

Wright, a bitter foe of skyscrapers and cities, voiced his disapproval in the attached article. Those who are familiar with the high esteem in which Frank Lloyd Wright held himself will not be surprised that he referred to himself entirely in third person throughout this entire article!


Frank Lloyd Wright was a member of the Unitarian religion…

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