Greenwich Village Bohemians
(Vanity Fair, 1916)
Robert Benchley
Click here if you would like to read a 1934 profile of Robert Benchley.
1916
Articles from 1916
‘Dogs of Battle, Dogs of Mercy”
(Vanity Fair, 1916)
We are happy to say that in the course of performing our daily duties, the scanning and posting of historic magazine articles, no dogs were harmed in any way; but sadly no such boast can be made by any participant of the Great War. Published during the bloodiest year of that conflict, this VANITY FAIR MAGAZINE article lists a good many of the particular services dogs were trained to perform on behalf of their belligerent masters.
The French war dogs are divided into five classes, each of which performs a special type of work. There are sentinel dogs, patrol dogs, ambulance dogs, dispatch dogs and drought dogs. In all these departments of military activity they have proved their worth.
‘Dogs of Battle, Dogs of Mercy”
(Vanity Fair, 1916)
We are happy to say that in the course of performing our daily duties, the scanning and posting of historic magazine articles, no dogs were harmed in any way; but sadly no such boast can be made by any participant of the Great War. Published during the bloodiest year of that conflict, this VANITY FAIR MAGAZINE article lists a good many of the particular services dogs were trained to perform on behalf of their belligerent masters.
The French war dogs are divided into five classes, each of which performs a special type of work. There are sentinel dogs, patrol dogs, ambulance dogs, dispatch dogs and drought dogs. In all these departments of military activity they have proved their worth.
‘Dogs of Battle, Dogs of Mercy”
(Vanity Fair, 1916)
We are happy to say that in the course of performing our daily duties, the scanning and posting of historic magazine articles, no dogs were harmed in any way; but sadly no such boast can be made by any participant of the Great War. Published during the bloodiest year of that conflict, this VANITY FAIR MAGAZINE article lists a good many of the particular services dogs were trained to perform on behalf of their belligerent masters.
The French war dogs are divided into five classes, each of which performs a special type of work. There are sentinel dogs, patrol dogs, ambulance dogs, dispatch dogs and drought dogs. In all these departments of military activity they have proved their worth.
Armored Cars and Trucks
(Vanity Fair, 1916)
The American trucks and armored cars pictured here were not created specifically for the Great War, but no doubt they were sold to the French and British; a year later these trucks arrived with the A.E.F.. The bull dog that has for so long adorned the hood of the Mack truck dates to this conflict -the bull dog was the nick-name bestowed upon that vehicle by the Tommies.
Recognizing the importance of armored vehicles, a group of American Millionaires, among them Henry Clay Frick (1849 – 1919), pooled their money and donated a number of such items to the New York National Guard. Vanity Fair Magazine followed this story and produced this article as it developed with a thorough review of each of the donated military vehicles. Although the trucks are photographed, few are named.
Harsh Words for the Futurists
(Vanity Fair, 1916)
Writing for one of the earliest issues of VANITY FAIR, playwright and culture critic Mary Cass Canfield slammed some nails into the Futurist coffin a wee bit prematurely in this critical essay titled The Passing of the Futurists.
American Trucks & Armored Cars
(Vanity Fair Magazine, 1916)
Recognizing the importance of armored vehicles, a group of American millionaires, among them Henry Clay Frick (1849 – 1919), pooled their money and donated a number of such items to the New York National Guard. VANITY FAIR MAGAZINE pursued this story and produced this article as it developed with a thorough review of each of the donated military vehicles. Although the trucks are photographed, few are named.
Grim Determination on the German Home Front
(Literary Digest, 1916)
This report, filed from Switzerland, stood in stark contrast to hundreds of other articles previously published by the Allied presses that reported how regretful the Germans were for having provoked war and how economic privations were making them even more-so. This unnamed journalist insisted that the German home front that he saw in 1916 was composed of a proud and determined people who were fully prepared to see the war through to a German victory.
Butlers
(Vanity Fair, 1916)
Some witty words on the topic of butlers; what to expect from butlers, the treatment of butlers and how exactly one should be butled
It is not easy to butle, but it is still more difficult to be butled to…
Obsessed with Hollywood Stars
(Motion Picture Magazine, 1916)
Attached is a single page cartoon from 1916 that illustrated quite clearly that the relationship between movie fans and their film star magazines have not changed at all during the past ninety years.
Typical American Films…
(Vanity Fair, 1916)
The Conde Nast cartoonist Ann Fish wanted her swank readers to know that she was another Brit who recognized the reoccurring formula that young Hollywood relied on all too often and even though the film business was still in it’s infancy, there was such a thing as a typical American movie.
Madame X by John Singer Sargent
(Vanity Fair, 1916)
In order to mark the New York arrival of Portrait of Madame X by John Singer Sargent (1856 – 1924), VANITY FAIR’s editors chose to run this anecdote concerning the 1884 creation of the work as well as a reproduction of one of the pencil studies for the profile head of the sitter, Madame Gauterau.
Paris Fashion: Summer, 1916
(Vanity Fair Magazine, 1916)
Paying no mind to the continuing unpleasantness that was taking place somewhere around the Somme (ie. W.W. I), the taste-makers of Paris soldiered-on and created garments for mid-summer that were original and feminine and bore the mark of Paris’ characteristic opulence.
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.
Mary Pickford: An Appreciation
(Motion Picture Magazine, 1916)
I haven’t a clue as to whether California lawyers had the Restraining Order as one of the tools in their arsenal back in 1916; but if they had, Mary Pickford might have chosen to deploy just such a legal measure in order to defend herself from this obsessed fan who wrote the following essay for the editors of MOTION PICTURE MAGAZINE:
She is adorably feminine, from her curls to her toes. In Tess
Click here to read a 1923 comparison between Norma Talmadge and Mary Pickford.
Pictures of Charlie Chaplin
(Motion Picture Magazine, 1916)
Attached are five assorted photographs of Charlie Chaplin as they appeared on the sleekly printed pages of a 1916 issue of MOTION PICTURE MAGAZINE.
‘Paul Verlaine in London”
(Vanity Fair Magazine, 1916)
British poet and literary critic Arthur Symons (1865 – 1945) remembered the time French poet Paul Verlaine (1844 – 1896) was his house guest.
The 1921 book review of Paul Verlaine can be read here…
Constantine Brancusi
(Vanity Fair, 1916)
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.