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Germany Introduces the Leather Gas Mask (Popular Mechanics, 1917)
1917, Inventions and Weapons, Popular Mechanics Magazine

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

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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, Modern Art, Recent Articles, Vanity Fair Magazine

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

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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.

Marcel Duchamp Returns to New York City (Vanity Fair, 1915)
1915, Dada History, Recent Articles, Vanity Fair Magazine

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

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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.

The German Threat to Russia (Literary Digest, 1913)
1913, Prelude, The Literary Digest

The German Threat to Russia (Literary Digest, 1913)

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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)

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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…

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