editor – Page 238 – Old Magazine Articles

1919, America's Munitions, Overseas Caps

Manufacturing the Overseas Cap
(America’s Munitions, 1919)

By editor / July 29, 2015

The production of the overseas cap for the American Expeditionary Forces was likewise an extensive undertaking. When the requisition for overseas caps came from France, it was not possible to design one here because of a lack of knowledge as to what was required… As soon as [a] sample was received a meeting of cap makers was called in New York, and 100 manufacturers attended. One and all agreed to turn over their factories to the exclusive production of overseas caps until all requirements were met. It took these cap makers only two weeks to to turn out the first order. In all 4,972,000 caps were delivered.

The concluding paragraph contains more venomous comments as to what these American milliners thought of the lid.

From Amazon: America’s Munitions, 1917-1918.

1915, The Literary Digest, World War One

The British Rage Against Pacifism
(The Literary Digest, 1915)

By editor / July 29, 2015

While Western Europe was all ablaze during the Spring of 1915, many Americans were tapping their toes to a catchy tune titled, I Didn’t Raise my Boy to be a Soldier (by Alfred Bryan and Al Piantadosi). This really irked the editors at THE SPECTATOR who let their fingers trip across the typewriter keyboard at a tremendous speed spewing-out all sorts of unflattering adjectives; they even went so far as to rewrite a few verses.

1918, Poison Gas, The Observer

The U.S. Fires Her First Mustard Gas Shell
(Observer, 1918)

By editor / July 29, 2015

A cartoon by Alban B. Butler illustrating the overwhelming sense of glee that overcame American 1st Division artillerymen of World War I when they were charged with the task of firing the very first mustard gas shells ever to be fired by U.S. forces:

For months Americans had suffered from repeated concentrations of German mustard gas without the chance to retaliate in kind.

(No date was given)

Over-Seas Chevrons (Stars and Stripes, 1918)

1919, The Stars and Stripes, U.S. Army Uniforms of World War One

A Fourth Overseas Chevron for Some
(The Stars and Stripes, 1919)

By editor / July 29, 2015

A short news item named the three American officers who served over there long enough to be granted the adornment of a fourth overseas chevron. Each gold wire chevron, worn on the lower left cuff, represented a single six month period served in theater; the vast majority of A.E.F. uniforms had anywhere between one and three sewn in place.

Another article about over-seas chevrons may be read here…

1921, The Times Literary Supplement, World War One

A.E.F. Facts and Deployment Information
(Times Literary Supplement, 1921)

By editor / July 29, 2015

The attached essay reviews a colossal history written by a veteran of the U.S. First Infantry Division, Captain Shipley Thomas: The History of the A. E. F.
– for those who are looking for some knowledge concerning what the American Army was up to during the last six months of the War (it was bloodiest period) the review makes for a good read.

Click here to read about the high desertion rate within the U.S. Army of 1910.

Click here to read some statistical data about the American Doughboys of the First World War.

1921, The Times Literary Supplement, World War One

A.E.F. Facts and Deployment Information
(Times Literary Supplement, 1921)

By editor / July 29, 2015

Click here to read about the high desertion rate within the U.S. Army of 1910.

Click here to read some statistical data about the American Doughboys of the First World War.

1919, Snipers

A German Sniper Captured
(What the Boys Did Over There, 1919)

By editor / July 29, 2015

Attached is a remembrance that was written by a Canadian infantryman who participated in the capture of a German sniper in Flanders:

We wasted no time on the return journey but hustled Fritz along at a brisk pace…Like most of his breed there was a wide ‘yellow streak’ in this baby-killer and he cried ‘Kamerad’ instantly. By the time the lieutenant had secured his prisoner’s rifle our barrage was falling and, under its protection, he began his march back with the prisoner, and met us before he had gone twenty-five yards…The prisoner expected to be killed at once and begged piteously for his life, saying ‘he had a wife and three children.’ One of the men replied that if he had his way he would make it a ‘widow and three orphans.’

1919, Almanach Hachette, Poison Gas

W.W. I Gas Shells of the German Army
(Almanach Hachette, 1919)

By editor / July 29, 2015

It is often believed that the Germans were the first to use chemical weapons during the Great War, but historians like to point out that they were second to the French in this matter: in August of 1914, French infantry fired tear-gas grenades and in October, the Germans one-upped them with chemical artillery shells during the battle of Neuve Chapelle. However, the Germans are properly credited for being the first of the combatants to use chemical artillery with the most devastating effect. On April 22, 1915, the German Army hurled 520 gas shells at British and Canadian units in Belgium, killing five thousand and incapacitating ten thousand more. Following this historic incident, both sides began producing large amounts of gas shells and, of course, gas masks. The following is a black and white diagram depicting five different German gas artillery shells that were manufactured to be fired from a number of different guns of varying calibers.

1921, The Times Literary Supplement, World War One

A.E.F. Facts and Deployment Information
(Times Literary Supplement, 1921)

By editor / July 29, 2015

Click here to read about the high desertion rate within the U.S. Army of 1910.

Click here to read some statistical data about the American Doughboys of the First World War.

1915, Uncategorized

Officer’s British Warm
(Thresher & Glenny Catalog, 1915)

By editor / July 29, 2015

Shrapnel Shells
(Freedom’s Triumph, 1919)

By editor / July 29, 2015

Attached herein are diagrams of three World War I shrapnel artillery shells designed for use on land. The illustrator provided precise details concerning the mechanism of each – the precise operation of the percussion fuse, the time ring, the location of the acid and the essential shrapnel projectiles.

1918, Fashion (WWI), Harper's Bazaar Magazine

Feminine Hats from a War-Weary France
(Harper’s Bazaar, 1918)

By editor / July 29, 2015

Six fashionable illustrations from Harper’s Bazaar of the Fall hats for 1918:

Paris is exceedingly critical in regard to hats even in wartime, and the new ones are most interesting. Black velvet of course is rampant, and Marie Louise especially is using much much black panne velvet…

This wartime fashion review makes one passing reference to the millinery efforts of Coco Channel.

1937, Hollywood History, Photoplay Magazine

The High and the Mighty and the Movies They Loved(Photoplay Magazine, 1937)

By editor / July 29, 2015

Royalty and rulers of the world are movie fans. The cinema tastes of the great are disclosed for the first time in this article.

Listed in the attached 1937 Hollywood fan magazine article are the names of the favorite movies of Gandhi, Stalin, Mussolini, Franco, Hirohito, Roosevelt and many more.

Click here to read about happy Hollywood’s discovery of plastic surgery…

1956, Berlin Blockade

The Berlin Blockade: A Definition
(R.O.T.C. Handbook, 1956)

By editor / July 29, 2015

In his 1989 book, Master Spy: The Story of Kim Philby, author Phillip Knightley pointed out that when the Soviet spy Philby, stationed in Washington, discovered that the U.S. had no atomic bombs on hand, Stalin soon gave the order to commence the blockade of the German capital. That said, here is a two paragraph essay briefly explaining what the 1948 Berlin Blockade was and how the Anglo-American masters of West-Germany dealt with the issues at hand:

Soviet counter-action to American efforts to rebuild the European economy came swiftly. Besides rejecting participation in the program the Soviets, in October 1947, announced the organization of a permanent committee for coordinating the activities of the Communist parties in Europe…By June 1948 the Russians had cut off all land and water traffic with Berlin and the only means of entry was by air.

1951, Pathfinder Magazine, The Korean War

The U.N. and Collective Security
(Pathfinder Magazine, 1951)

By editor / July 29, 2015

Eight months into the Korean War came this editorial from an American news magazine pointing out that the burden of defending South Korea was not being evenly shared by the other member states of the United Nations and that the U.S. was over-represented on the battlefields:

When the Korean Communists invaded South Korea last June, the U.N. was quick to authorize the use of armed force to combat the aggression, but not so quick when it came to contributing troops. [As of February, 1951] U.N. forces in Korea total about 275,000. Of this number 150,000 are American and 100,000 are South Koreans. This leaves less than 25,000 from 11 of the other U.N. members – a pitifully small contribution… What is there definition of ‘collective security’? Have they so soon forgotten Munich? Have they forgotten that collective firmness by the Allies, when Germany invaded the Rhineland, might have prevented World War II?

1955, People Today Magazine, UFO Sightings

The Witnesses
(People Today Magazine, 1955)

By editor / July 29, 2015

This is a report on the UFO and extraterrestrial experiences recalled by numerous men and women who attended the Second Annual Spacecraft Convention at the Giant Rock Airport near Palm Springs, California in 1955.

1952, Cosmetic Surgery

Plastic Surgery and You
(Movie Teen Magazine, 1952)

By editor / July 29, 2015

Here are some assorted musings concerning the budding cosmetic surgery scene of the early Fifties by the Hollywood movie queen Susan Hayward (1917 – 1975).

At the time this article appeared on the newsstands in 1952, there were probably fewer than 100 plastic surgeons throughout the entire United States and breast augmentation surgery was in its infancy, however advancements were being made daily as a result of the carnage generated by the Second World War. La Hayward was cautiously optimistic regarding the brave, new world of aesthetic surgery:

The wonderful thing about plastic surgery is that it can do almost anything you want it to do… If you have a birthmark on your face or body, a good plastic surgeon can remove it. Even if you have such real disfigurements as a harelip, an expert plastic surgeon can achieve the impossible.

1921, Twentieth Century Writers, Vanity Fair Magazine

Three Brilliant Young Writers
(Vanity Fair, 1921)

By editor / July 29, 2015

The VANITY FAIR reviews of Stephen Vincent Benet’s (1898 – 1943) book The Beginning of Wisdom, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s (1896 – 1940) The Beautiful and Damned
and John Dos Passos’ (1896 – 1970) Three Soldiers:

The years following the war in America have been remarkable for the rise in popular and critical estimation of a small group of novelists who represent a revolt against the stillness and complacency of commercialized literature.

Author name: editor