1921 – Page 7 – Old Magazine Articles

Campers of 1921
(Vanity Fair Magazine, 1921)

Motor camping is in it’s infancy, observed the shrewd and sure-footed motoring journalist George W. Sutton in this 1921 VANITY FAIR report regarding the evolution of campers. To further illuminate his readers, he provided black and white plans illustrating the interior of two campers mounted on the back of Ford chassis (during the 1920s, Ford Model Ts were by far the most common make of automobile). Although there were a handful of camper-shell manufacturers at the time, the two featured here were custom made.

Harold Nicolson on Paul Verlaine
(Current Opinion, 1921)

A review of Harold Nicolson’s 1921 biography, Paul Verlaine. Numerous aspects of Verlaine’s life and poetry are discussed as are the roots of French Symbolism.

General Billy Mitchell: Advocate of American Airpower
(American Legion Weekly,1921)

This is one of the editorials written by U.S. Army General Billy Mitchell (1879 – 1936) that only served to annoy the senior army leadership and their civilian overlords in Washington. On these pages General Mitchell made his case for the creation of a unique branch of the military confined entirely to air power that was distinct and independent of the Army. He points out that numerous armies are doing just this and the U.S. would be wise to do the same. He was particularly keen on seeing to it that everyone know that that the Imperial Japanese Army was doing the same thing.

A Look at the Winter Sleeves of 1921
(Vogue Magazine, 1921)

A collection of twelve fashion illustrations depicting the variety of sleeve treatments available during the winter of 1921. Some of the details offered were created by the House of Worth, Captain Molyneux, Martial et Armand and Madeleine and Madeleine.

Geraldine Farrar on Acting in the Silent Movies
(Vanity Fair, 1921)

In the attached article, Metropolitan Opera diva Geraldine Farrar (1882 – 1967) relays her experiences as a film actress in The Hell Cat (1918) and The Turn of the Wheel (1918), and boldly declares that there is a big difference between acting in an opera and acting for the screen (who knew?).

There are a hundred intimate expressions of the eyes, the mouth, the hands, that can only be transmitted through the camera, and the strong and sometimes merciless light of the projection machine. And this is what the motion picture actress must clearly and everlastingly keep in mind: she is acting for an audience which is near enough to detect any insincerity of feeling or any sham in make-up.

Click here to read about physical perfection during the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Social Customs in Washington, D.C.
(Vogue Magazine, 1921)

Although this VOGUE MAGAZINE article was written long before the need was ever created to discuss e-mail etiquette or the proper application for Velcro in custom tailoring, many of these tribal maxims in Social Washington (both official and non) are still adhered to, especially in so far as White House functions are concerned. This article summarizes in a mere three columns the social conventions of Washington D.C. in 1921 and it covers the rules that the First Lady and the Vice-President’s wife were expected to abide by as well as the proper manner of accepting White House invitations.

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is not invited to dine with an Ambassador, or a foreign Minister, or the Secretary of State, because their relative rank has never been established.

The article reads much like any rule book, but it will introduce you to a local deity whom the idolatresses of The Washington Social Register have long prostrated before: the Washington Hostess.

Click here to read an article about social Washington during the Depression.

New York and the Real Jew
(The Independent, 1921)

An energetic and wonderful four page article which gives an account of the Jewish growth of New York. Even as early as 1921 nearly half of the Jews of North America lived there and every fourth New Yorker was a Jew.

Click here to read about the Jewish population growth in the Unites States during the 1920s.

The Monstrous Movies
(Vanity Fair Magazine, 1921)

By 1921 the city of Los Angeles began to seriously grow, and the expansion was not simply due to the arrival of performers and extras and all manner of craftsmen that are required to launch a film production – but the city was also bringing in the sorts necessary to support a wealthy urban environment. Every thriving city needs a support system, and Hollywood imported tailors, milliners, chefs, architects and various other tastemakers who in turn attracted realtors, contractors, merchants and restauranteurs.

George Bernard Shaw and Literary Recycling
(Vanity Fair, 1921)

Irish author, critic and dramatist, St. John Greer Ervine (1883 – 1971), believed that some of the dramatic characters populating the plays of George Bernard Shaw (1856 – 1950) were reoccurring characters who could be counted upon to appear again and again. He had a fine time illustrating this point and thinks nothing of stooping to compare Shaw with Shakespeare:

Shakespeare primarily was interested in people. Mr. Shaw primarily is interested in doctrine…

Thirty-five years later St. John Ervine would be awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his biography of George Bernard Shaw.

Click here to read various witty remarks by George Bernard Shaw.

Three Brilliant Young Writers
(Vanity Fair, 1921)

The VANITY FAIR reviews of Stephen Vincent Benet’s (1898 – 1943) book The Beginning of Wisdom, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s (1896 – 1940) The Beautiful and Damned
and John Dos Passos’ (1896 – 1970) Three Soldiers:

The years following the war in America have been remarkable for the rise in popular and critical estimation of a small group of novelists who represent a revolt against the stillness and complacency of commercialized literature.

A.E.F. Facts and Deployment Information
(Times Literary Supplement, 1921)

The attached essay reviews a colossal history written by a veteran of the U.S. First Infantry Division, Captain Shipley Thomas: The History of the A. E. F.
– for those who are looking for some knowledge concerning what the American Army was up to during the last six months of the War (it was bloodiest period) the review makes for a good read.

Click here to read about the high desertion rate within the U.S. Army of 1910.

Click here to read some statistical data about the American Doughboys of the First World War.