1919 – Page 14 – Old Magazine Articles

Meet Ann Fish: Conde Nast Illustrator
(Vanity Fair, 1919)

Some ninety-three years ago, Fish was the name scribbled on those unique cartoon illustrations that could be found throughout VOGUE (both American and British) and VANITY FAIR. The editor of American VOGUE between the years 1914 and 1952, Edna Woolman Chase (1877 – 1957) called this English cartoonist brilliant and began running her drawings from her earliest days in that office; her full name was Ann Fish and this article will tell you all we know about her.

This most cosmopolitan of living black-and-white satirists has never stirred from England in all her days. She has never especially extended herself as a spectator of the London life which she so amusingly depicts. She has never gazed on Fifth Avenue.

Britain Buries Her Own
(Literary Digest, 1919)

Aside from scanning and posting vast numbers of historic magazine articles, the only other activity that has heightened our sense of inner tranquility has been our various walks through British and Commonwealth World War I graveyards. They are truly unique and beautiful gardens that can be appreciated on a number of different levels and it was not surprising to learn that many of the finest aesthetic minds in Britain had a hand in their creation.

This article, printed six months after the last shot was fired, is about the Imperial War Graves Commission (now called The Commonwealth War Graves Commission) and their plans as to how the dead of the British Empire were to be interred.

Click here to read about a 1920 visit the grave of poet Rupert Brooke.

Crown Prince Wilhelm Cartoon
(Life Magazine, 1919)

Attached is a caroon created in response to the memoir of Crown Prince Wilhelm (1882-1951), which came out earlier that same year (the review is posted on this site), this cartoon was drawn by Gluyas Williams (1888-1982) a cartoonist who is largely remembered by current generations for his contributions to THE NEW YORKER as well as his illustrations for a series of books by humorist Robert Benchley. In 1910, Williams served as Editor of ‘The Harvard Lampoon’ and upon graduation a year later began a brilliant freelance career as a cartoonist for ‘The Century Magazine’, ‘Collier’s’ and ‘Judge’ among others.

Click here to read about the woman who entertained the U.S. troops during the First World War.

Zeppelin Shot Down
(Literary Digest, 1919)

Pictured in the attached PDF file is a seldom-seen black and white photograph depicting the deflated remains of an unidentified W.W. I German zeppelin as it rested on the tree tops of a French forest after having been forced from the skies.

World War One American Prisoners of War
(The Stars and Stripes, 1919)

A brief notice reporting on the number of American Soldiers captured during the First World War. Also listed are the number of Americans who died in captivity as well as the number of prisoners taken categorized by branch of service. Interestingly, the notice states that 281 American Civilians were also taken prisoner.

Interestingly, the notice states that 116 American Civilians were also taken prisoner and we can assume that these Americans were with the Salvation Army, the Jewish Wellfare Board, the Knights of Columbus, etc.

Click here to learn what the Germans thought of American P.O.W.s…

Katherine Stinson Offers Her Services to the Army
(The Stars and Stripes, 1919)

Katherine Stinson wants to carry letters up to Third Army.

By the time Katherine Stinson (1891 – 1977, a.k.a. the Flying Schoolgirl) had applied for the job of carrying the mails to the occupying American forces in post-war Germany, she already had the distinction of being the fourth American woman to earn a pilot’s license and the first woman to ever deliver air-mail for the U.S. Post Office. She didn’t get the job…

Storming the Skies : The Story of Katherine & Marjorie Stinson , Pioneer Women Aviators

Katherine Stinson Offers Her Services to the Army
(The Stars and Stripes, 1919)

Katherine Stinson wants to carry letters up to Third Army.

Storming the Skies : The Story of Katherine & Marjorie Stinson , Pioneer Women Aviators

Assorted Home-Front News
(The Crises, 1919)

Attached is a collection of news items that were of interest to the African-American community during World War One. This one-page article illustrates how united and strong the African-American war effort was during the Great War.

Silver Chevrons for the States
(Stars and Stripes, 1919)

Four Reporters Killed
(Stars and Stripes, 1919)

This short column appeared three months after the war listing the names of the paper’s staff who were killed while in the course of getting the news.

The American Military Cemeteries in France
(The Stars and Stripes, 1919)

France has given three fields of honor at Romagne, Thiacort and at Beaumont.

This short notice from an American military newspaper reported that four percent of the American dead were considered unidentifiable.

Woman Aviator Seeks Mail Job
(The Stars and Stripes, 1919)

Katherine Stinson (1891-1977) wants to carry letters up to Third Army. By the time Stinson (a.k.a. the Flying Schoolgirl) had applied for the job of carying the mail to the occupying forces in post-war Germany, she already had the distinction of being the fourth American woman to earn a pilot’s license and the first woman to ever deliver air-mail for the U.S. Post Office. She didn’t get the job…

German Admiral Von Tirpitz Condemned
(Review of Reviews, 1919)

One year after the First World War reached it’s bloody conclusion, Admiral German Grand Admiral Alfred Von Tirpitz (1849 – 1930) was in a frenzy writing his wartime memoir in order that it arrive at the printing presses before his critics could do the same. One of his most devoted detractor was a naval advocate named Captain Persius who had been riding Tirpitz as early as 1914 for failing to fully grasp the benefits of the U-boat. In 1919 Captain Persius took it upon himself to widely distribute a pamphlet titled, How Tirpitz Ruined the German Fleet, which was reviewed in this article.

Tirpitz never realized the power of the submarine… Tirpitz was building Dreadnoughts when he should have been concentrating on submarines, and what is worse was building them with less displacement than the British, less strongly armed and of lower speed.

In 1920 the representatives from the victorious nations who convened at Versailles demanded that Kaiser Wilhelm, Admiral Tirpitz and an assortment of other big shots be handed over for trial – click here to read about it.

Read Another Article About Tirpitz…

The Suitability of the First One Million Draftees
(Current Opinion, 1919)

Additional data regarding the 1917 Draft and how the first one million inductees measured-up physically:

The first adequate physical survey in half a century was made possible when the Selective Service system brought before medical examiners some ten million men. Of the 2,510,000 men between the ages of twenty-one and thirty-one 730,000 (29 percent) were rejected on physical grounds.

We found it interesting to learn two facts from this article; the first being that the highest number of acceptable draftees were from the countryside and the second involved the malady of flat feet -which effected one out of every five American men at that time.

French Artillery Pieces
(Almanach Hachette, 1919)

Assorted black and white illustrations depicting an variety of French artillery pieces from the years 1916 and 1917; among them is a railway gun, Obusier de 520

Click here to learn about the timing fuses designed for W.W. I shrapnel shells.

The German Anti-Tank Rifle
(Almanach Hechette, 1919)

As a response to the drastic increase in French and British tank production, German industry manufactured a powerful (if cumbersome) anti-tank rifle in early 1918. The weapon fired a 13mm armor-piercing bullet but it’s heavy recoil made the weapon difficult to operate. The Abris Museum in Albert, France has one of these currently on display.

American Snipers in France
(Literary Digest, 1919)

This article listed the skills required to survive as a sniper in W.W. I France:

One extremely important rule was that he should swab the muzzle of his rifle after every shot, to make sure that no moisture had collected there. One tiny drop of water would, upon the rifle’s discharge, send up a puff of steam that would reveal him to his carefully watching enemies.

To see a diagram of the American W.W. I sniper rifle, click here.

The Springfield 1903 Rifles