1915

Articles from 1915

Henri Matisse Viewing in New York (Vanity Fair, 1915)

This article will give you a good look at how the seeds were sewn as early as 1915 to ensure the rise of New York City as one of the great art centers of the world. For the first time since the 1913 Armory Show, New York was again to host an important exhibition of the European modernists. Much of the article concerns Henri Matisse (1869 – 1954) and is illustrated with a portrait of the artist by the photographer Edward Steichen.


Things were changing – not long after New York was proclaimed as the commercial capital of the art world, America was recognized as the preeminent world power, click here to read about it…

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1914: The Close of an Epoch (The New Republic, 1915)

World War I had only been raging for six months when this article first appeared. As the journalist makes clear, one did not have to have an advanced degree in history to recognize that this war was unique; it involved almost every wealthy, industrialized European nation and their far-flung colonies; thousands of men were killed daily and many more thousands stepped forward to take their places. The writer recognized that this long anticipated war was an epic event and that, like the French Revolution, it would be seen by future generations as a marker which indicated that all changes began at that point:

Those who were but a few months ago assuring us that there never could be another general war are most vociferously informing the same audience that this will be the last.


Click here to read about the W.W. I efforts of Prince Edward, the future Duke of Windsor.


The War That Ended Peace: The Road to 1914style=border:none

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Paris Fashions: Nine Months into W.W. I (Vanity Fair Magazine, 1915)

By the Spring of 1915, the women of Paris, having seen that the Great War was not going away anytime soon, decided that it was time to add some gaiety into their wardrobe. Steadily – since the August of the previous year, there had been such bad news and although the rationing of fabric continued, there was still much available for the asking.

Click to read about the U.S. fabric rationing during W.W. II.

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German Dugouts (L’Illustration, 1915)

A 1915 diagram from a French news magazine depicting the depth of a German front-line dugout. John Laffin makes it quite clear in his World War One book, The Western Front Companion:<img src=http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=oldmagazinear-20&l=as2&o=1&a=075091520X width=1 height=1 border=0 alt= style=border:none !important; margin:0px !important;:, that the term dugout seems misleading when applied to the Germans:

From 1915, the remarkably well developed German positions, notably on the Somme front, reflected their strategic advantage. They were on enemy soil, the Germans held the initiative and they could afford to settle down in their dugouts. Hence, most had electricity, drainage, sewage system, piped water, a telephone system and many were heated. The soldiers could lie down on mattresses resting on beds made of stacking stretched over wooden frames, and -and because of deep overhead cover – 30 to 40 feet of it, they were safe even during heavy shell fire.


This article appears on this site by way of a special agreement with L’Illustration.

Click here to see a 1915 ad for British Army military camp furniture.


Click here to read an article about life in a W.W. I German listening post…

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Tamaki Miura (Vanity Fair, 1915)

Tamaki Miura (1884 – 1946) was a Japanese opera singer most often remembered for having performed in over 2,000 stagings of Madame Butterfly. At the time this short notice appeared she was only one year into her opera career, yet the Vanity Fair music critic recognized talent when he saw it and nominated her for the Vanity Fair Hall of Fame. It was her inclusion in that august body that serves as the the subject for this short paragraph, which is accompanied by a photograph.

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