editor – Page 240 – Old Magazine Articles

Etiquette in the Movies
(Vanity Fair, 1915)

By editor / July 29, 2015

No doubt, this is one of the funniest pieces you are likely to find on the topic of acting and costuming in silent movies. It was written by Frederick Lewis Allen (1890 – 1954) and Frank Tuttle (1892-1963); both men approached the movies with the low expectations that were probably all too typical of theater lovers at that time. Frederick Lewis Allen is best remembered today as one of the better chroniclers of the Twenties and author of Only Yesterday (1931) while Frank Tuttle would find himself, in a few short years, directing movies in Hollywood. Tuttle was one of the few Directors who successfully made the jump from silent films to sound and continued working; at this writing, he was an Assistant Editor at Vanity Fair.

1918, Fashion, Harper's Bazaar Magazine

Paris Hats by Marie Louise, Lucie Hamar and Lanvin
(Harper’s Bazaar, 1918)

By editor / July 29, 2015

Six fashion illustrations concerning the autumn hats of 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…

1918, Golf History, Vanity Fair Magazine

Men’s Summer Golf Apparel
(Vanity Fair Magazine, 1918)

By editor / July 29, 2015

Attached you will find some kind words promoting brown linen as the preferred fabric for summer golf, yet what is most striking is the accompanying photo of a young rake in his period golf apparel sporting a pair of putees for his time upon the links. It is rare that one finds a photograph of a golfer in putees and one might get the sense that the look never really caught on.

1916, Golf History, Vanity Fair Magazine

The Action-Back Jacket for the Golfing Man
(Vanity Fair Magazine, 1916)

By editor / July 29, 2015

Those young bucks who golfed and participated in other field and blood-sports during the early Twentieth Century were the lads who benefited most from the tailor’s craft. Pictured here are details of the pivot-sleeve (later to be called the ‘action-back’): a four button, deep-vented, self-belted, pleated golf jacket with matching knickers.

Also featured is a terribly natty English cheviot golf hat.

1956, Abraham Lincoln, The National Park Service

Traveling to the Lincoln – Douglas Debate
(National Park Service, 1956)

By editor / July 29, 2015

Stephen Douglas (1813 – 1861), Lincoln’s Democratic rival in the contest for the U.S. Senate seat from Illinois, was a popular figure with a great deal of political capitol who enjoyed wide spread fame throughout much of the fruited plain; this all contributed to a robust ego which would not suffer anything less than traveling to the debates in a grand style. By contrast, Honest Abe traveled in economy class, packed among the masses (although as a railroad lawyer, he certainly could have afforded better).

This short paragraph (accompanied by a photograph of both men) was written by a friend of Lincoln who recalled his train ride with the (losing) candidate as he made his way to Ottawa, Illinois, the site of the first debate.

1946, Collier's Magazine, Hollywood History

Edwige Feuillère Gets Liberated
(Collier’s, 1946)

By editor / July 29, 2015

A 1946 article in which the beloved French actress Edwige Feuillère (1907 – 1998) is personified as the epitome of wounded French Glamor returned to it’s rightful place following the hasty retreat of those nasty Huns from the boulevards of lovely Paris:

Edwige Feuillère, France’s Number One actress, is wearing evening clothes again – and all fashionable Paris rejoices. It is a sort of symbol, the blooming of the lovely Edwige into full-panoplied formality. For she, along with most women of France, abstained from festivities and the clothes that go with them throughout the war.

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…

1915, Dada History, Vanity Fair Magazine

Francis Picabia
(Vanity Fair, 1915)

By editor / July 29, 2015

In 1915, the year before Dada was created, one of the movement’s followers, Francis Picabia (1879 – 1953), was spotted in New York City by the editors of VANITY FAIR who quickly put him through the works.

1916, Photoplay Magazine, Silent Movie History

Anti-Plagerism Legislation Introduced
(Photoplay Magazine, 1916)

By editor / July 29, 2015

Attached is a small column that credited U.S. Representative Charles Hiram Randall (1865 – 1951) of Los Angeles for having proposed legislation before Congress that sought copyright protection for the benefit of scenario writers in Hollywood:

Congressional Randall [Prohibition Party] of California has introduced a bill in the House of Representatives for the protection of scenario authors, by providing for the issuance of a copyright on the scenario upon reciept of two typewritten copies to the proper department in Washington.

1919, Stars and Stripes Archive, The Stars and Stripes

U.S. Propaganda Pamphlets Dropped on the Hun
(The Stars and Stripes, 1919)

By editor / July 29, 2015

This is a swell read, written in that patois so reminiscent of those fast talking guys in 1930s Hollywood movies. One of the many reasons I find this era so interesting has to do with the fact that the war coincided with that mass-media phenomenon called advertising – and this article pertains exactly to that coincidence. This column was printed shortly after the war in order to let the Doughboys in on the existence of a particular group within the A.E.F. that was charged with the task of dumping propaganda leaflets all over the German trench lines:

Propaganda is nothing but a fancy war name for publicity and who knows the publicity game better than the Yanks?

Uncategorized

W.W. I Clip Art: British Officers

By editor / July 29, 2015

Three commercial drawings of World War One British officers pulled from three different wartime publications.

Click here to read about W.W. I art.

1918, The Stars and Stripes, U.S. Army Uniforms of World War One

A Puttee Cartoon
(The Stars and Stripes, 1918)

By editor / July 29, 2015

The Doughboys were grateful to be issued European spiral-puttees in place of their canvas gaiters -which did them no good whatever in the dampness of Northern Europe; however, as the attached W.W. I photographs so clearly indicate (as does this cartoon by Walgren), not many Yanks were as proficient at wrapping them as the upper brass had hoped.

1919, Stars and Stripes Archive, The Stars and Stripes

The Third Anniversary of Verdun
(The Stars and Stripes, 1919)

By editor / July 29, 2015

1919 marked the third anniversary of the Battle of Verdun and the grounds were still littered with the dead, surrounded by a tons of equipment, lying in open fields pock-marked by thousands of high explosive shells:

Spring will come to France next month, but Spring will not come to the field of Verdun. Already the grass is green on the broad stretches of Champagne; in the Vosges the snow patches linger only in the stubborn shelter of rocks that bar the sun,; but there is no portent of resurrection in all the stretch of churned up gravel marking the line of forts that protect the citadel of the Meuse from the Northeast…the shell holes are filled with clear water, and between them course new born brooks, sublimating in crystal pools from which no man would dare drink.

1917, Inventions and Weapons, The Literary Digest

A New Propaganda Delivery Sysytem
(Literary Digest, 1917)

By editor / July 29, 2015

Photographs of a small, hand-held helium balloon being loaded with German translations of President Wilson’s April (1917) war address in order that they might be released over the German trenches. This small notice makes clear that this particular method of persuasion resulted in fifty Germans surrendering.

1919, Modern Art, Vanity Fair Magazine

Arthur B. Davies
(Vanity Fair, 1919)

By editor / July 29, 2015

An Arthur B. Davies (1862 – 1928) review written by VANITY FAIR art critic Frederick James Gregg following the opening of an exhibition highlighting the the private collection of N.E. Montross. The critic wrote:

Since the death of Albert Pinkham Ryder (1847 – 1917), Mr. Davies has been recognized, by persons abroad who are familiar with art in America, as the leading living painter on this side of the Atlantic.

Doughboys, The U.S. Government Records

Where Were the Doughboys From?
(U.S. Gov. 1931)

By editor / July 29, 2015

This page contains a chart clearly stating the number of men who served in the U.S. Army during World War One, the number of men provided by each state and what percentage of the entire army originated from these states.

*Doughboys from New York numbered 367,864 and made up 9.7% of the U.S. Army.
*Doughboys from Pennsylvania numbered 297,891 and made up 7.93% percent.
*While the men of California made up 2.98% of the army, clocking in at 112,514.

etc…etc…etc…

Click here to read about the shipments of chewing gum that were sent to the American Army of W.W. I.

1920, Judge Magazine, Prohibition History

A Civil Libertarian Rants About Prohibition
(Judge Magazine, 1920)

By editor / July 29, 2015

An outraged editorial writer opines that the prohibition of alcohol will serve to corrupt the morality of more Americans than it could possibly save. Additionally, the writer alludes to the fact that, at the time, the U.S. Congress was discussing the prohibition of tobacco, as well:

It is coming time to write the obituary of Joy. Less than a year ago
the Cheering Cup was removed from American life. Now we are told that just as soon as enough Congressmen can be intimidated, not a difficult job, the Soothing Weed is also to be extinguished.

The writer places blame more upon the apathetic American voter rather than the grafters in Congress.

1919, Stars and Stripes Archive, The Stars and Stripes

The Fleecing of Liberators
(The Stars and Stripes, 1919)

By editor / July 29, 2015

By the time April of 1919 rolled around, it seemed to the Doughboys who were waiting for that boat to take them back to the good ol’ U.S. of A that their French allies had a short term memory and were terribly ungrateful for American sacrifices made on their behalf. Many post-Armistice letters written by the Doughboys were filled with snide comments about the high prices they were asked to pay for everyday merchandise, prices that seemed to be chosen just for them. Wisely, the Stars and Stripes editors chose not to take sides in this debate but ran this nifty little piece about the manner in which the Americans of 1782 treated their French allies during the American Revolution.

Click here to read about the foreign-born soldiers who served in the American Army of the First World War.

Author name: editor