The fashionable gowns will be one of two extremes: pencil slim or big skirted like a puff ball. Whatever its cut, its color may be anything from soft dove grey to something called satan red. Fabrics are rich and lustrous, particularly the nontarnishable metallic materials. Newest is aluminum, colored gold or silver and woven into lame or onto rayon or even wool in gleaming designs.
Gowns (The Pathfinder Magazine, 1947) Read More »
A quick read on the subject of that uneasy union that existed between art and industry during the 1930s. References are made to the work of muralists Dunbar D. Beck (1902-1986), Arthur Watkins Crisp (1881 – 1974), Kenneth B. Loomis, Charles S. Dean and Charles Louis Goeller (1901 – 1955).
Public Murals: the Art of the 1930s (Literary Digest, 1935) Read More »
Modigliani came to Paris from Italy in the propitious year of 1906, start of a decade of art in which every contemporary movement germinated…When he became acquainted with Romanian sculptor Brancusi in 1909, the impact of the meeting gave his work a new direction…
Modigliani in Paris (Gentry Magazine, 1955) Read More »
An appreciative five paragraph essay saluting the Modernist sculptor Constantine Brancusi (1876 – 1957), accompanied by one black and white image of the artist’s work, The Doves. Much of the review concerns the poor relationship Brancusi had with Auguste Rodin (1840 – 1917) who
had been his teacher in earlier days.
Constantine Brancusi (Vanity Fair, 1916) Read More »
By the time these images in American VOGUE hit the streets, the fashion house of Paul Poiret (1879 – 1944) was very much on the decline. Following the close of the First World War the designer was never able to regain his pre-1914 status. With the restlessness of the Twenties came the demand for a new mood in fashion and Coco Channel (1883 – 1971) became the new champion of Paris Fashion. Poiret closed his doors ten years after these photos were printed.
Poiret Wraps and Coats (Vogue Magazine, 1919) Read More »
Why should a director risk it all with some anonymous film critic when a he is given the chance to review his own movie? With this thought in mind, Cecil B. DeMille (1883 – 1959) typed up his own thoughts concerning all his hard work on the 1937 film, The Plainsman, which starred Gary Cooper:
I think ‘The Plainsman’ differs from any Western we have ever seen for many reasons
– it is at this point in the article that DeMille rattles-off an extended laundry list
of reasons that illustrate the unique qualities of his Western. One of the unique aspects of the film mentioned only by publicists concerned the leading man Garry Cooper, who, being a skilled horseman from his Montana youth, chose to do most of his own riding stunts in the film, including the shot where he rode hanging between two horses.
Click here to read a 1927 review of Cecil B. De Mille’s silent film, King of Kings.
‘The Plainsman” by Cecil B. DeMille (Stage Magazine, 1937) Read More »
Animals have played important rolls in war from the beginning and World War One was no exception. Throughout the war the widespread use of dogs, horses mules and pigeons are all well documented and there have been some very interesting books written on the topic. Not so well documented is the presence of this one elephant who, being loyal to the Kaiser, is pictured in the attached photograph from 1915.
From Amazon: War Elephants
The Western Front Elephant (Der Welt Spiegel, 1915) Read More »
Animals have played important rolls in war from the beginning and World War One was no exception. Throughout the war the widespread use of dogs, horses mules and pigeons are all well documented and there have been some very interesting books written on the topic. Not so well documented is the presence of this one elephant who, being loyal to the Kaiser, is pictured in the attached photograph from 1915.
From Amazon: War Elephants
The Western Front Elephant (Der Welt Spiegel, 1915) Read More »
To encourage the making and distributing of films that will promote faith in America, the Americanism Committee of the Motion Picture Industry was organized.
Promoting Citizenship (Touchstone Magazine, 1920) Read More »
This is a letter from an American infantry Major, James E. White, who wrote home to explain that there was still much to do six days after the armistice.
The major’s letter relayed his experiences as being one of the first Allied officers to enter the formerly occupied city of Metz, in order to evacuate wounded American prisoners:
The following Tuesday the grand entry of the French troops took place, but no welcome was more spontaneous than than that given to the group of American officers who on that Sunday peacefully invaded the fortress of Metz.
A Post-War Visit to Metz (Literary Digest, 1919) Read More »
