This article tells of the origin and fast times of the zoot suit. Although the garment was popularized by Mexican-Americans in Los Angeles, it had it’s origins in Harlem, New York, where it was known as the root suit.
The Zoot Suit (Newsweek Magazine, 1942) Read More »
A single page from the early war period tells the tale of Natalie Donaldson
Click here to read about the African-American efforts during the First World War.
A Segregated WAAC (Click Magazine, 1942) Read More »
In April, 1917, the call went out to artists of all ages that their talents were badly needed to create new and different sorts of posters that would rally the American masses to the colors. One of the first to answer the call was the celebrated illustrator James Montgomery Flagg; his first effort was the memorable I Want You poster, immediately raised the standards which other artists would have to acknowledge. It was reported that George Creel, the President’s appointee for all matters involving such undertakings in the mass-media, hosted a dinner for American illustrators; the evening ended with much clapping and cheering and the next day, one can assume, the poster campaign began in earnest.
Click here to read about W.W. I art.
The Iconic ”I Want You” Poster Is Seen for the First Time (Literary Digest, 1917) Read More »
It’s hard to believe – but Victory Fashion hit the American home front before it was even called the home front. However by mid-1941 Americans were pretty outraged by fascist aggression: the U-boats, London bombed, Nanking ravaged, France invaded – the list goes on. When this article went to press, we were not in the war but we were firmly on the Allied side. The word victory made its way into fashion circles and the nation’s couturiers began turning out novelty accessories and garments. Even the hairdressers contributed.
Novelty ”Victory Fashion” Makes An Appearance (Newsweek Magazine, 1941) Read More »
The Coronet entertainment writer was quite correct when he identified Sidney Poitier (1927 – 2022) as the first actor of African descent to earn beaucoup bucks and achieve leading-man status in dramatic rolls in Hollywood. Born and raised in the Bahamas, Poitier’s predecessors in the film colony were many, but they were all song and dance men. The attached column clearly outlines what made Poitier such an actor apart.
Guess Whose Coming to Hollywood… (Coronet Magazine, 1959) Read More »
Communist uprisings in Germany are blamed on Moscow by a practically unanimous Berlin press, and some newspapers flatly accuse the Russian official representative in Berlin, a Mr. Kopp, and his staff, of being the instigators of these disturbances, and so demand their expulsion.
Communists in Germany (Literary Digest, 1921) Read More »
Down ramp!‘ shouted the coxswain from the elevated stern.
Down it came with a clank and splash. Ahead – and it seemed at that moment miles off – stretched the sea wall. At Lieutenant Crisson’s insistence we had all daubed our faces with commando black. I charged out with the rest, trying to look fierce and desperate, only to step into a shell hole and submerge myself in the channel. Luckily my gear was too wet and stinking to put on so I was light enough to come up.
This Newsweek journalist was the only allied war correspondent to have witnessed the derring-do of those in the first wave.
The First Wave (Newsweek Magazine, 1944) Read More »
Some time ago we posted an article from 1921 about legislation that the U.S. Congress was considering concerning the prohibition of cigarettes (Click here to read about that) we thought that the cat was out of the bag at that time as to the fact concerning the connection of smoking and cancer. But we were wrong. The 1953 article attached herein concerns four doctors who appeared before Congress in an appeal for federal funding for cancer research. They made it clear that research was indicating that there was a clear link between smoking and cancer, but more exploration was needed.
In 1921 there was talk in Congress of outlawing cigarettes – you can read about it here
Click here to read about one of the greatest innovations by 20th Century chemists: plastic.
Does Smoking Really Cause Cancer? (United States News, 1953) Read More »
A brief column from an American magazine that lucidly explained the mounting frustrations within 1920s Canada concerning the influx of Chinese immigrants to that country.
Click here to read about the Canadian POWs who collaborated with the Nazis.
‘A Plan to Make Chinese Canadians” (Literary Digest, 1929) Read More »
To-day was a great day in London. The Guards’ Division was inspected by the King at Buckingham Palace and had a triumphant march to welcome them home…East End and West End rubbed shoulders to-day and showed the same respect for each other that not so long ago they had shown in the trenches.
Click here to read an article about the German veterans of W.W. I.
The Return of the Coldstream Guards (The New Red Cross Magazine, 1919) Read More »
