editor – Page 239 – Old Magazine Articles

A Puttee Advertisement
(The American Legion Weekly, 1919)

By editor / July 29, 2015

This advertisement was placed in an American veteran’s magazine as an attempt to produce some profit from the vast surplus of uniform items that remained in all the combatant nations at war’s end. Puttees, unlike other uniform items, enjoyed a brief moment in fashion’s spotlight during the late teens and much the twenties as an accessory for those who enjoyed camping and hunting (or simply wished to affect the look).

Also included is a fashion photograph of puttees from a VANITY FAIR fashion editorial from 1917

1917, Inventions and Weapons, Popular Mechanics Magazine

Germany Introduces the Leather Gas Mask
(Popular Mechanics, 1917)

By editor / July 29, 2015

A year and a half before the end of World War I, the German Army introduced the Lederschutzmasken, a leather gas mask made of specially treated Bavarian sheepskin with removable lenses. Designed to replace the rubberized cloth gas masks, the 1917 respirators proved to be far more effective against phosgene gas than the 1915 masks. The Allied powers dismissed the new design as evidence that material shortages on the German home front were forcing changes.

Click here to read about the celebrations that took place in Paris the day World War One ended.

1916, Fashion (WWI), Recent Articles, Vanity Fair Magazine

World War I Fashions: Summer, 1916
(Vanity Fair Magazine, 1916)

By editor / July 29, 2015

Ignoring the general unpleasantness taking place outside of town, the taste-makers of Paris soldiered-on as best they could, creating garments for the summer of 1916 that were both original and feminine and bore the mark of Paris’ characteristic opulence.

Click here to read about the New York fashions of 1916.

1916, Dance Magazine Articles, Vanity Fair Magazine

The Critics of the Russian Ballet
(Vanity Fair, 1916)

By editor / July 29, 2015

Man of letters and all-around swell-guy Frank Moore Colby (1865 – 1925) had a good time reading the flowery writing of the Ballet Connoisseurs who write for the New York papers…

1916, Modern Art, Recent Articles, Vanity Fair Magazine

New Portrait Busts by Jo Davidson
(Vanity Fair, 1916)

By editor / July 29, 2015

This single column reported on the 1916 busts that were created by the American sculptor Jo Davidson (1883 – 1952), during his tour of war-torn Europe.
By the end of the Twentieth Century, much of his work would be in the collections of many of the finest art museums, such as the National Gallery of Art, Washington, the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, the U.S. Senate Art Collection and the National Statuary Hall, both in Washington.

1915, Dada History, Recent Articles, Vanity Fair Magazine

Marcel Duchamp Returns to New York City
(Vanity Fair, 1915)

By editor / July 29, 2015

Exempted from serving with the French military in World War I, the artist Marcel Duchamp returned to New York City where he triumphed during the Armory Show of 1913 – together he and his two brothers, Raymond Duchamp-Villon and Jacques Villon, all showed their groundbreaking art. Marcel was the toast of New York and his modern painting, Nude Descending a Staircase was regarded as a masterwork.

In the attached VANITY FAIR article, Duchamp let’s it be known that he crossed the submarine-infested waters of the Atlantic to see American art.

1914, Cartoons, Cartoons (WWI), New Masses

Anticipating the Distasteful Ending
(The Masses, 1914)

By editor / July 29, 2015

Although not known as a clairvoyant, this 1914 cartoon by the New York artist John Sloan (1871 – 1951) seemed to predict the lousy ending that would play out four years after W.W. I reached its bloody climax.

1915, Uncategorized

The British Officer’s Trench Cap of W.W. I
(Tatler Magazine, 1915)

By editor / July 29, 2015

Attached is a 1915 magazine ad from a British society magazine that illustrates the profile of the British Service Hat (trench cap). This wool headgear was worn by all British and Commonwealth forces prior to the 1916 introduction of the Brody Helmet (tin hat), which was issued in order to reduce the high number of head injuries.

1914, Aviation History, Popular Mechanics Magazine

The Round-Winged Monoplane
(Popular Mechanics, 1914)

By editor / July 29, 2015

This is a small illustrated page about an early monoplane popularly known on the English isles as the Flying Teatray. A peculiar looking machine, it apparently was able to get off the ground for a while (see illustration) but it was passed by for service during the First World War, which had been raging for some three months by the time this article was published.

1913, Prelude, The Literary Digest

The German Threat to Russia
(Literary Digest, 1913)

By editor / July 29, 2015

The German military maneuvers have aroused the attention of Europe to the splendid equipment and administration of the Army, not only in the fighting spirit, but in the commissariat and its medical service.

-so begins the attached article which referenced the overall sense of intimidation and uneasiness that was triggered by the display of bristling military might that was recently witnessed. The journalist mused about just what the Franco-Russian Alliance would mean in the face of such an advanced military force, touching upon the size of the German Army compared with other forces in Europe -openly stating that France could never stand up to an attack.

1913, Fashion, Recent Articles, Vanity Fair Magazine

Shoe Illustrations
(1913 Advertisement)

By editor / July 29, 2015

Heartlessly ripped from the binding of an ancient issue of VANITY FAIR was this page of shoe illustrations in which a smart pair of womens leather boots are the centerpiece, accompanied by Russian dancing shoes, a splendid pair of gold brocade slippers, white buckskin tennis oxfords and a pair of walking boots.

Legendary fashion designer Christian Dior had a good deal of trouble with people who would illegally copy his designs; click here to read about that part of fashion history.

1920s Prohibition created a criminal climate
that appealed to more women than you ever might have suspected…

1908, Cars, Recent Articles, The Literary Digest

The 1908 New York – Paris Race: Bumpy Ride
(Literary Digest, 1908)

By editor / July 29, 2015

With the centennial re-running of the New York to Paris race beginning this May (2008), it is interesting to read about the authentic 1908 contest and the difficulties they faced in a world without proper roads.

Interest in the New York – to – Paris race, temporarily suspended by the failure to find a passable road in Alaska…

1900, Manners and Society, Recent Articles, The Literary Digest

For the Promotion of Good Manners
(Literary Digest, 1900)

By editor / July 29, 2015

Americans of the mid-Nineteenth Century who entertained any social ambitions at all were totally at a loss as to how they might find their place in the business world, much less the swank and pomp of polite society, if they were without any understanding as to the manners required to open these doors. Unable to benefit from such T.V. shows as Dallas or Dynasty and finding that Emily Post was no where in view, they found a reliable ally in a collection of pamphlets briefly published by the firm of Beadle & Adams.

1944, World War One

Von Kluck’s Drive on Paris
(West Point Supplement, 1944)

By editor / July 29, 2015

Seussue Hayakawa
(Photoplay Magazine, 1916)

By editor / July 29, 2015

The attached article is about Sessue Hayakawa (1889 – 1973), the first Asian actor to achieve star status in Hollywood:

No, Sessue Hayakawa, the world’s most noted Japanese photoplay actor, does not dwell in a papier-mache house amid tea-cup scenery. He is working in pictures in Los Angeles, and he lives in a ‘regular’ bungalow, furnished in mission oak, and dresses very modishly according to American standards.

1921, Modern Art, Recent Articles, The Spectator Magazine

Wyndham Lewis Gets Panned
(The Spectator, 1921)

By editor / July 29, 2015

An unnamed art critic writing for the British magazine SPECTATOR gave his back-hand to Wyndham Lewis, the father of Vorticism. Prefering the artist’s drawings to his paintings, the ink-stained wretch opined:

The point might also be raised whether Mr. Wyndham Lewis should ever use oil paint. It is a medium which he seems to have little capacity and no sympathy…

1936, Early Television, Recent Articles, The Literary Digest

NBC and CBS Open Shop on the West Coast
(Literary Digest, 1936)

By editor / July 29, 2015

In order to take advantage of the local talent abiding in the sleepy film colony of Hollywood, the far-seeing executives at NBC and CBS saw fit to open radio and television broadcasting facilities in that far, distant burg.

The trek to Hollywood of the Broadcasting companies began in earnest last winter when the National Broadcasting Company opened a large building – fire-proof, earthquake-proof, sound-proof and air-conditioned.

1915, The West End Gazette, Uncategorized

The British 1912 Officer Jacket
(West End Gazette, 1915)

By editor / July 29, 2015

The January, 1915, issue of THE WEST END GAZETTE devoted three pages of tailoring instructions for British officer’s Khaki Service Jacket. The uniform was first issued in 1912:

The latest development in connection with military tailoring is the introduction of a new style of Service Dress for field wear. Its principal distinction from the styles that has superseded is the abolition of the time-honored stand collar in favor of the open step collar style as generally adopted for mufti garments.

Author name: editor