Articles from Vanity Fair Magazine
William James Henderson (1855 – 1937) was believed by many to be the greatest music critic of his day, and in this VANITY FAIR article he turns his nib in the direction of the pianists Ignace Paderewski (1860 – 1941), Harold Bauer (1873 – 1951), Ferruccio Busoni (1866 – 1924) and Josef Hofmann (1876 – 1957).
A profile of Futurist composer Leo Ornstein (1893 – 2002). Ornstein appeared on the New York music scene at a very young age; hailed as a genius by many, he performed to packed houses. In 1917, music critic James Huneker(1860-1921) remarked:
I never thought I should live to hear Arnold Schoenberg sound tame, yet tame he sounds—almost timid and halting—after Ornstein who is, most emphatically, the only true-blue, genuine, Futurist composer alive.
Leo Ornstein left the public eye by 1925 and was soon forgotten until the 1970s. This Vanity Fair article was written by James L. Buchanan, who had written a number of pieces on Ornstein and his music throughout his career.
Attached, you will find a small profile of Kosaku Yamada (1886 – 1965) published shortly after his New York debut in 1919. Classicly trained in Europe, Yamada organized the first symphonic orchestra of native players to perform the music of Occidental composers under a Japanese conductor, which later became the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. This article outlines some of his various accomplisments up to 1919, while deleting others. Prior to his two year sojurn in the United States, he had composed three Japanese operas: Reisho (1909), Ochitaru Tennyo (1913) and Shichinin No Oujo (1916).
Tamaki Miura (1884 – 1946) was a Japanese opera singer most often remembered for having performed in over 2,000 stagings of Madame Butterfly. At the time this short notice appeared she was only one year into her opera career, yet the Vanity Fair music critic recognized talent when he saw it and nominated her for the Vanity Fair Hall of Fame. It was her inclusion in that august body that serves as the the subject for this short paragraph, which is accompanied by a photograph.
With the 1922 American economy as strong as it was, questions regarding what to wear on the links were seen as important queries and were not easily tossed aside. The following article illustrate the best golf jackets offered by the master-tailors at Cohen-Rissman, Fashion Park and The House of Kuppenheimer.
Now our golfing cousins from the land of the Thistle and Rose are sending another pair, who might well be christened the New Mandarins of Golf. One is is George Duncan of Scotland. The other is Abe Mitchell of England. And in addition to giving battle in our in our Open Championship at Columbia, Washington, D.C., they will display their wares in exhibition matches before 250,000 of our golfing citizens in another one of those extended tours that bring in a lot of kale and almost as many blisters.
Golf shoes were the topic of this segment from a VANITY FAIR fashion review for men, as it appeared in the June issue of 1915.
There were many social changes following the First World War which men had to struggle to understand; among them was the Modern Woman. The Italian novelist and lexicographer Alfredo Panzini (1863-1939) attempted to do just that for the editors of Vanity Fair.
She will be a stenographer, a school teacher, a movie actress. But She will not cook for you. She will not do your washing. She will not knit her own stockings.
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.
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.
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.
A chic (if anonymous) poet printed in a fashionable society magazine sings farewellto champagne and pities the poor man-about-town who must now stroll the boulevards with only lemonade on his breath.
This is a well-illustrated article in which the fashion journalist recalled a dinner party where the men in attendance were knowledgeable on which forks to use but cared little about the proper etiquette 
VANITY FAIR’s Edmund Wilson (1895 – 1972), reported his view on Dada as it existed in Paris, the influence of Jazz and the art of Jean Cocteau (1889 – 1963). The article is subtitled:
The Influence of Jazz and Americanization of French Literature and Art
Jacob Epstein was brought up in the city of New York, being one of a group of young men from the other side of the Bowery, some of whom have since become well known in the arts.
Attached is a photograph of the American expatriot sculptor Jacob Epstein and three of his pieces. This is a short notice heralding the great splash that the artist was making in the London art world of 1915. Although his work can be found in many of the world’s finest museums, Epstein is best remembered today for his creation of the monumental sculpture that marks the grave of Oscar Wilde.
Six very fine fashion drawings illustrate what was generally perceived to be the chic silhouette during the August of 1918.
There may be some women who can get along without satin frocks, but it is exceedingly doubtful..
Click here to read about military influeneces of feminine fashions.
The Irish playwright St John Ervine (1883 – 1971) wrote this article for VANITY FAIR in an attempt to understand Charlie Chaplin’s broad appeal; rich and poor, highbrow and lowbrow, all enjoyed his movies.
Mr. Chaplin is the small boy realizing his ambitions.
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.
