1914

Articles from 1914

A Profile of Cartoonist Rube Goldberg, Cartoonist and Quack-Inventor (Vanity Fair, 1914)

In the attached 1914 magazine profile, Joseph Edgar Chamberlin (1851 – 1935) asked, Who is Goldberg? and then jumped right in and proceeded to answer that question. However, the reader should understand that in 1914 it simply did not take very long to give the answer. With so much good work yet to come, this article outlined the cartoonist’s earliest employment record while making clear that he was already well known for his invention gags, which had already appeared in many papers across the United States.


If you would like to read a 1930 article written by Rube Goldberg click here.

Click here to see an anti-New Deal cartoon that Goldberg drew in 1939.

A Profile of Cartoonist Rube Goldberg, Cartoonist and Quack-Inventor (Vanity Fair, 1914) Read More »

German Howitzers (Popular Mechanics, 1914)

At the time, the war of 1914 – 1918 was unique in the sense that it was the first war in which more men were killed as a result of the projectiles rather than from disease; and it was artillery that did the lion’s share of the killing. This article appeared during the early months of the war when the world was shocked to learn of the astounding losses due to advancements in artillery. There is an illustration of an unidentified German howitzer (more than likely a 1911 model 210mm) and an account of the roll that German gunnery played during the siege of Liege and Fort Loncin in particular.

The one big surprise for the military experts thus far developed in the European war is the effectiveness of the heavy guns of the German field artillery. Never before have such terrible engines of annihilation been carried by an invading army as those used in the assault upon the forts at Liege.

German Howitzers (Popular Mechanics, 1914) Read More »

John Singer Sargent in 1914 (Vanity Fair, 1914)

The attached VANITY FAIR article announced that the numero uno society portrait painter of the Gilded Age, John Singer Sargent (1856 – 1925) was swearing-off portrait commissions in order to concentrate on water color. Little did he know that he would be back at it in a few years painting whole boat-loads of general officer portraits when he was named as one of the Official British War Artists.

John Singer Sargent in 1914 (Vanity Fair, 1914) Read More »

A New Word for the Dictionary (NY Times, 1914)

In our era it doesn’t seem terribly odd that a fresh, exciting and highly popular industry would begin generating new words to fill our dictionaries, and 1914 was no different. The attached article introduced the readers of THE NEW YORK TIMES to a new verb contributed by the early film industry:

The verb ‘to film’ having gained currency, it must be graciously admitted to the language. It will soon be in the ‘advanced’ dictionaries and it must be recognized. The old idea of protecting the English language from invasion is extinct. To ‘film’ means to make a picture for a ‘movie’ show’.


During the past twenty years, Hollywood provided us with a whole slew of terms, such as dramedy (a combination between a comedy and a drama) and “romcom” (romantic comedy), sitcom (situation comedy) to name only a few.


Click here to read another article about the impact of film on the English language.

A New Word for the Dictionary (NY Times, 1914) Read More »

Naval Aviation as a Concept (Popular Mechanics, 1914)

As early as 1914, the dreamers who saw the possibilities in aviation began to envision non fixed-wing aircraft and ships that could carry them out to sea. The attached 1914 article concerns an unnamed ship being constructed at the Blyth Shipyard in England that is designed to transport flying boats at sea, picking-up and lowering to and from the sea by way of cranes. The article is illustrated.

Naval Aviation as a Concept (Popular Mechanics, 1914) Read More »

A Color Photograph of One of the Very First Trenches (1914)

This will give the viewer a good understanding of what the trenches looked like in the autumn of 1914, before the adjoining communication lines were dug and the years of rain and artillery would begin to create that landscape so famously depicted by the photographers, painters and writers of the First World War. In the distance beyond the haystack, the opposing German trenches can be seen.

A Color Photograph of One of the Very First Trenches (1914) Read More »