Articles from 1917
By 1917 an visible anti-conscription movement had taken root throughout much of French Canada that was encouraged by the Quebec Archdiocese.
In 1944, many French Canadians would be doing the same thing…
Draft Resistance in W.W. I Quebec (Literary Digest, 1917) Read More »
The manner in which front-line soldiers in a war are able to stave off boredom has been the topic of many letters and memoirs throughout the centuries, and the attached article will show you how one Frenchman addressed the issue – it is a seldom seen black and white photograph depicting an acrobatic stunt being performed above the parapet and in plain view of German snipers.
Foolhardiness on the Western Front (Literary Digest, 1917) Read More »
Some observations of the earliest Doughboy experiences were recorded in a letter home by this anonymous A.E.F. lieutenant during the Summer of 1917. He was unusually interested in the French architecture and rustic culture that surrounded him but also noted the deeply depressed German P.O.W. laborers, his food and the different treatment between officers and men.
Wide-Eyed and Fresh Off the Boat (Outing Magazine, 1917) Read More »
The exclusion of the word obey from the traditional wedding vow has been happening for a good while, and it seems to have pre-dated the 1960s; however in the following case, the presiding official at one wedding would only do so for a fee.
A Wedding Vow Anecdote (The Atlanta Georgian, 1917) Read More »
Just as the American poet Walt Whitman once remarked concerning the American Civil War – that the real war will never make it into books, so goes the thinking of the ink-stained wretch who penned the attached column regarding the efforts of the Official War Artists during W.W. I – who attempted to render accurately the horrors of war. Such genuine indecency could never allow itself to be duplicated into a two or three dimensional format.
The Future of War-Artists (Literary Digest, 1917) Read More »
An illustrated article about the American sculptor Jo Davidson (1883 – 1952) and his creation, FRANCE AROUSED. The Davidson piece, a colossal depiction of France as an outraged warrior queen, was intended for the French village of Senlis to serve as a memorial to that remarkable day in September, 1914, when the German drive on Paris was stopped and driven back. It was at Senlis where the earlier successes of the German Army were reversed.
To those in America and Europe who believed in the new doctrine of political equality, it was the most thrilling day in her history.
When France in wrath
Her giant – limbs
upreared,
And with that oath,
Which smote air,
Earth and sea
Stamped her strong
foot and said she
Would be free.
The statue, which is twenty feet high, was made in the sculptor’s studio in McDougal Alley (NYC), where it was photographed for the pages of VANITY FAIR.
In 1919, Jo Davidson would endeavor to create a number of busts depicting the various entente statesmen who participated in the Peace Treaty.
FRANCE AROUSED: Created by Jo Davidson (Vanity Fair Magazine, 1917) Read More »
Three hundred and fifty French artists, among whom are painters, sculptors, engravers, and architects, have paid the extreme price of their devotion to country and are counted with the dead.
Butcher Bill Paid by the French Arts Community (Literary Digest, 1917) Read More »
A color illustration of the U.S. Army rank insignia worn by the American Army of World War I. Insignia noted are officer’s bronzed collar and shoulder devices as well as the sleeve chevrons and enlisted-men specialty badges. Excluded are enlisted men’s collar and cap devices. Please bare in mind that this insignia chart was not produced by the army but by civilians; we could only correct the errors that we were able to recognize.
Army Rank Insignia (Privately Printed, 1917) Read More »
A color illustration of the U.S. Army rank insignia worn by the American Army of World War I. Insignia noted are officer’s bronzed collar and shoulder devices as well as the sleeve chevrons and enlisted-men specialty badges. Excluded are enlisted men’s collar and cap devices. Please bare in mind that this insignia chart was not produced by the army but by civilians; we could only correct the errors that we were able to recognize.
Army Rank Insignia (Privately Printed, 1917) Read More »
Last year New York State carried its Woman Suffrage Amendment by a majority of one hundred thousand. The Suffrage Party, instead of turning its headquarters to a tea room or a new Tammany Hall, decided to remain in existence, for educational purposes only, until it was assured that each new voter knew who she was, and what she was going to do about it.
The problem of educating the feminine voter has as little to do with the telephone directory as it has with the Social Register. For the average addition to the voter’s lists, strange as it may seem, is quite below the financial level recognized by the switchboard operator…
Click here to read articles about the American women of W.W. II.
The New York Suffrage Amendment Advances the Ball (Vogue Magazine, 1917) Read More »
