editor – Page 231 – Old Magazine Articles

1941, Coronet Magazine, Design

The Thinking of Buckminster Fuller
(Coronet Magazine, 1941)

By editor / July 29, 2015

Bereft of all but one illustration, this five page article delves into the design philosophy of the architect Buckminster Fuller (1895 – 1983) – who was very fond of the word dymaxion:

Fuller argues that the social function of machinery is to eliminate the unpleasant phases of life in the shortest possible space of time. Housing, or ‘shelter’ as he prefers to call it, should be, fundamentally, ‘a machine for living.’

1918, Modern Art, Vanity Fair Hall of Fame

Edgar Degas: R.I.P.
(Vanity Fair, 1918)

By editor / July 29, 2015

Some interesting postmortem thoughts and seldom heard facts concerning the life and times of Impressionist painter Edgar Degas (1834 – 1917); of particular interest was the enormous amount of money fetched at auction for the assorted content of his studio during a time of national crises in France.

1921, Current Opinion Magazine, Music History

Phonograph Advocate: Sir Edward Elgar
(Current Opinion, 1921)

By editor / July 29, 2015

Sir Edward Elgar (1857 – 1934), the noted composer, recently presided at the opening of the new headquarters of a gramophone company in London. Elgar is a great believer in the mechanical reproduction of music, and always conducts for records of his own works.

What musicians want, he said, is more listeners.

1921, Cars, Vanity Fair Magazine

European Styles in Cars
(Vanity Fair Magazine, 1921)

By editor / July 29, 2015

One of the special correspondents writing for VANITY FAIR on the subject of motoring was the British novelist Gerald Biss (1876 – 1922), who contributed similar pieces to THE STRAND, TATLER, DAILY MAIL and EVENING STANDARD. In this review, Biss gave his drink-deprived American readers the straight dope as to what they can expect to see from the European car manufacturers of 1921. References are made to the products of the Voisin and Vauxhall Companies and there was some lose talk about electric starters and high-grade tweleve-cylinder cars.

1915, Interviews: 1912 - 1960, Vanity Fair Hall of Fame

Elihu Root Profiled
(Vanity Fair, 1915)

By editor / July 29, 2015

A photograph of Elihu Root (1845 – 1937) accompanies these two short paragraphs from the 1915 VANITY FAIR Hall of Fame, in which Root was praised as the ablest lawyer and diplomatic expert in the nation at that time. He is remembered today as the one U.S. Secretary of War (1899 to 1904) who was most instrumental in modernizing the American military in such ways that allowed it to meet the demands that would be meted out during the course of the bloody Twentieth Century.

This small notice is interesting primarily because it lets it be known that the United States was jockying for a spot in the European peace negotiations two years prior to even having troops in the field.Business ethics articles
Film Production
Magazines for kids
Singles
Single
W Magazine
Business ethics articles
Film Production
Magazines for kids
Singles
Single
W Magazine
Business ethics articles
Film Production
Magazines for kids
Singles
Single
W Magazine

1917, Miscellaneous, Vanity Fair Hall of Fame

The Elsie Janis Cocktail
(Vanity Fair, 1917)

By editor / July 29, 2015

Anticipating the onslaught of prohibition, the actress Elsie Janis (1889 – 1956; also known as, The Sweetheart of the A.E.F) understood that, even with the absence of alcohol in the United States, boys and girls, men and women would continue their pursuit of love, marriage and divorce.

1918, Eric Satie Articles, Vanity Fair Hall of Fame

Understanding Erik Satie
(Vanity Fair, 1918)

By editor / July 29, 2015

…But Satie’s music is not difficult to play. Almost all the notes in many of his compositions are all the same or a related value. Appogiatura, syncopation, bravura, he is not friendly with. The pieces are written in facile keys for pianists…

1919, Prisoners of War, The Stars and Stripes

World War One American Prisoners of War
(The Stars and Stripes, 1919)

By editor / July 29, 2015

A brief notice reporting on the number of American Soldiers captured during the First World War. Also listed are the number of Americans who died in captivity as well as the number of prisoners taken categorized by branch of service. Interestingly, the notice states that 281 American Civilians were also taken prisoner.

Interestingly, the notice states that 116 American Civilians were also taken prisoner and we can assume that these Americans were with the Salvation Army, the Jewish Wellfare Board, the Knights of Columbus, etc.

Click here to learn what the Germans thought of American P.O.W.s…

Emily Post on Society Language (Photoplay Magazine, 1939)

1939, Hollywood History, Photoplay Magazine

Emily Post on Manners in the Movies
(Photoplay Magazine, 1939)

By editor / July 29, 2015

A 1939 magazine interview with America’s Mullah of manners, Emily Post (1872 – 1960) who was asked to give some criticism on the way etiquette is displayed on screen. She did not hold back; letting Hollywood have both barrels, La Post articulately opined about the poor choice of words the actors are required to spout, how humorously enormous so many of the living room sets always appear to be and how thoroughly inappropriate too many of the costumes are:

According to Miss Post, the worst offense committed against good manners is that of pretentiousness. She says, ‘Good manners are the outward expression of an inward grace. You can’t get them any other way. Probably that is why Shirley Temple, in that very first feature picture of hers, had charm that few can equal.’

Sometimes the mistakes Hollywood makes are not too serious, but usually they are ludicrous, and far too often they set bad examples for millions of ardent movie-goers.

1939, Film Daily Magazine, Hollywood History

Technicolor
(Film Daily, 1939)

By editor / July 29, 2015

Technicolor – conceived at Boston Tech and born in a rail way car in 1917, attained its majority, properly enough, 28 years later when Dr. Herbert Thomas Kalmus, president and founder, received the 1938 Progress Award from the Society of Motion Picture Engineers at its annual convention.

The story of Technicolor begins in 1915 when Dr. Kalmus and his associates became interested in a color process. Dr. Kalmus’ task was to find a suitable name, and, a Boston Tech man himself, he combined Technique, the engineering school’s class annual, and Color and so was born Technicolor.

Click here to read a about a particularly persuasive and

highly effective W.W. II training film…

1912, Aviation History, Popular Mechanics Magazine

The First Folding Wing Monoplane
(Popular Mechanics, 1912)

By editor / July 29, 2015

A passing glance at aviation magazines from the early Twentieth Century reveals that that particular sub-culture was very concerned with the ability to allow for trouble-free ground transport of aircraft. There were many magazine articles picturing how biplanes could be deconstructed for this purpose and up until 1912, or so we are led to believe by the editors of Popular Mechanics, the de Marcay-Mooney monoplane was the first flying machine that was able to have it’s wings fold back (much like a bird or a beetle) and when re-set at 90 degrees for take-off, could fly successfully.

1922, The Literary Digest, Women's Suffrage

The 1922 U.S. Elections: Some Wins But Mostly Defeats
(The Literary Digest, 1922)

By editor / July 29, 2015

As 1922 came to a close, it seemed that some of the Suffragettes of the old-school had not lost their taste for violence, as the reader will discover in the opening paragraph of this one page article that primarily focused on the defeat of all but one of the women candidates who ran for Federal offices in the 1922 elections. Thirty-three women running for Congressional and legislative seats in New York State went down to defeat and there were no women elected or re-elected from any state for Congress that year. However, the state of Ohio elected it’s first woman to that state’s Supreme Court: Florence E. Allen (1884–1965).

1916, Artists, The Literary Digest

Gaudier-Brzeska
(Literary Digest, 1916)

By editor / July 29, 2015

Henri Gaudier-Brzeska (1891 – 1915) was an avant-garde sculptor of the Vorticist school. Prior to the war he resided in London and broke bread with the talented Bohemians of that burg, and this article is composed of snippets of text from a remembrance written by his close friend, Ezra Pound.

1944, Hollywood History, Tricolor Magazine

The French Film Industry: 1940 – 1944
(Tricolor Magazine, 1944)

By editor / July 29, 2015

An article from TRICOLOR MAGAZINE explains how the French film industry fared under the German occupation.

1921, The Times Literary Supplement, World War One

General Herbert Gough and the Collapse of the Fifth Army
(Times Literary Supplement, 1921)

By editor / July 29, 2015

The following book review is for all of you who toss and turn all night concerning the damaged reputation that was thrust upon the British Fifth Army General Hubert Gough (1870 – 1963) as a result of the German offensive that was launched during March of 1918.

1945, General Eisenhower, Yank Magazine

General Eisenhower
Q & A
(Yank Magazine, 1945)

By editor / July 29, 2015

In two full-dress interviews in Paris and Washington, General Dwight D. Eisenhower talked about some of the high spots of the campaign for Europe and about certain post-VE-Day questions. It’s been generally agreed that the interviews were pretty historic. Here are highlights of the general’s talks to the press in the two Allied capitals…

Clike here to read about General Eisenhower and the German surrender.

1918, Vanity Fair Hall of Fame, World War One

The Case for Leonard Wood
(Vanity Fair, 1918)

By editor / July 29, 2015

Major General Leonard Wood (1860 – 1927) served as the U.S. Army Chief of Staff between the years 1910 through 1914 and was relieved of that office by President Wilson, who was unnerved by his wariness concerning America’s inability to wage a modern war. Having alienated the president and other prominent generals in Washington, he continued on this path by launching the Preparedness Movement a year later in which he established four volunteer army training camps across the country.
Wood’s admirer’s were legion, and this article opines that his finely tuned military mind was not being put to proper use:

General Wood has committed the sin of having been right from the very start. He has always been right. He has been right when Washington has been wrong. It is upon the heads of the entire pacifist crew who sold their shriveled souls and their country’s safety to the devil of German propaganda, that is falling the blame for the blood of those who are dying on the hills of Picardy and the plains of Flanders.

1940, Coronet Magazine, Design

In Defense of Modern Architecture
(Coronet Magazine, 1940)

By editor / July 29, 2015

Living, as he did, at a time when the average American homeowner was more inclined to prefer a ranch house over a machine for living that those vulgar, snail-eating European modernists were capable of creating, American architect George Frederick Keck (1895 – 1980) saw fit to write this spirited defense on behalf of modern design. Playing the part of a modernist missionary seeking to convert the heathens, Keck argued that his tribe of architects – with their understanding of contemporary building materials and respect for simplicity – were suited to create a better standard of living for one and all.

Author name: editor