Articles from The New York Times
An eyewitness account of the decoration ceremony that took place on a lawn of an unnamed French chateau in the Marne Valley on July 11, 1918. The ceremony was presided over by U.S. Army General James Harbord (1866 – 1947) and well over 100 Marines of the U.S. Second Division were cited for their deeds in the fighting North-West of Chateau-Thierry.
The Decorated Marines from Belleau Wood (NY Times, 1918) Read More »
Among all the paintings on exhibition at the Paris Fall Salon, none is attracting so much attention as the extraordinary productions of the so-called ‘Cubist’ school. In fact, dispatches from Paris suggest that these works are easily the main feature of the exhibition.
Salon d’Automne, Paris (NY Times, 1911) Read More »
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 »
This small notice is interesting for what it doesn’t say: of all the uniform foppery and up-town military accessories that were made available for American officers of World War I, there was no run on serge, whipcord or fine Melton wools; pigskin was plentiful for custom boots and no one seemed fearful that pewter flasks were scarce. What was in short supply were trench coats. The officer candidates from Plattsburg (N.Y.) were making their desires known: they did not care to risk life and limb only to wear a mackinaw. These men wanted trench coats and the New York Times found that newsworthy (It is interesting to note that the reporting journalist had never actually seen one, or else he might not have said that it extended to the ankle).
Popular from the Start (NY Times, 1917) Read More »
Here are two remarkably brief letters that were addressed to the editors of THE NEW YORK TIMES commenting on a seldom remembered assault that was launched on President Wilson during the Summer of 1918 by a group of Washington, D.C. suffragettes.
Click here to read about the WAC truck drivers of W.W. II.
Suffragettes Attack President Wilson (NY Times, 1918) Read More »
A black and white mechanical drawing of a World War One French grenade with all parts labeled. In 1918, the New York Times wrote:
The pine-apple grenade, or as the French are wont to call it, the citron grenade (lemon) is charged with a powerful explosion called shedite, which when exploded on open ground is said to cause injuries at 250 yards. Primed with a sensitive detonator, the grenade is caused to explode when it strikes the ground. Very often the grenade is not thrown far enough, so the that the explosion is likely to cause casualties among one’s own troops. Apart from these disadvantages, the grenade is an excellent weapon for hand to hand fighting.
A Diagram of a French WW I Grenade (NY Times, 1918) Read More »
The three great military monarchies which have lately fallen to pieces – Russian, Austro-Hungarian and German – were all based upon an aristocracy of large landed properties, whereas the other European countries had become parliamentary and democratic states. Europe was thus divided between two political orders, founded on two social orders, in fact, into two different worlds between which the river Elbe was approximately the boundary…
The war proved a decisive test of the stability of the two social orders; the democratic states went through it without flinching, the monarchies which had which had engendered the war in the hope of strengthening their position have gone under; from their defeat has sprung the revolution, which is overthrowing all aristocracies.
Click here to read a 1916 VANITY FAIR article about how the war had affected the British upper class.
The Collapse of the European Aristocracy (NY Times, 1919) Read More »
The attached W.W. I letter is a reflection on the effects of war upon character written by a British officer on the western front to his wife.
You need not fear for a ‘disgraceful peace’ coming from fatigue on the part of the fighting men. It is the resolution of the talking men you will need to look to.
No truer words…
The Effects of War on Character (NY Times, 1915) Read More »
This article in a 1919 issue of THE NEW YORK TIMES that told the history of Negro infantry units during the First World War. It concerns the combat record of the American 92nd and 93rd Divisions – units that were dubbed ‘Schwartz Teufel’ (black devils) by the luckless Germans who stood in the opposite trenches.
The negro soldiers of the United States arrived late on the field of battle, but in more than sufficient time to make Germany feel the strength of their arm. In all 83,000 Negroes were drafted for service in the National Army sent overseas. More than 626 of the 1,250 colored men who completed their course of training were commissioned as officers in the United States Army; nearly 100 negro physicians and surgeons received commissions as officers in the Medical Reserve Corps and a full 30,000 men constituted the 92nd Division detailed for duty in France under General Pershing. The total number of Negro combat troops was 42,000.
Click here to read an article about the African soldiers of the French Colonial Army.
American Blacks Under French Command (NY Times, 1919) Read More »
