Vanity Fair Magazine – Page 9 – Old Magazine Articles

Tango Fashions
(Vanity Fair Magazine, 1913)

The urgent word from Belle Époque Paris on the matter of proper Tango gowns was published in this 1913 article and accompanied by seven illustrations.

What shall you wear to the Tango Teas? Let me whisper to you a secret, only to be revealed when it is found out, my dear, there is no Tango in America, or, at least in New York. But it is quite different in Paris and it is for Paris and the Tango that the French dance frocks are made.

Click here to read about feminine conversations overheard in the best New York nightclubs of 1937.

The Collar Accessory That Time Forgot…
(Vanity Fair Magazine, 1918)

One of the unsung heroes of men’s fashions from the early part of the Twentieth century had to be the Triangle Hook. A nifty device, it was designed

to fit the soft collar for more fastidious wear; to make it fit the neck snugly, show the tie gracefully, and stay stylish…

‘The Attack of the Super Novelists”
(Vanity Fair, 1919)

In this article, P.G. Wodehouse (1904 – 1975) sounded-off on a new type of novelist that had surfaced in 1919 – and has yet to decamp. He breaks the novelizing classes into two groups:

…the ordinary novelist, the straightforward, horny-handed dealer in narrative, who is perfectly contented to turn out two books a year, on the understanding – a gentleman’s agreement between himself and his public – that he reserves movie rights and is allowed an occasional photograph in the papers..

‘The Philosophy of Auguste Rodin”
(Vanity Fair, 1917)

Just prior to the death of Auguste Rodin (1840 – 1917), the Welsh poet and essayist, Arthur Symons (1865-1945), reviewed a book written by the French writer, Judith Cladel (1873-1958) concerning the artist’s work and creative temperament:

AUGUSTE RODIN PRIS SUR LA VIE at once a document and a living thing. The main interest lies in the exactitude with which it records the actual words of Rodin, much as he must have spoken them y

‘Some Italian Futurists with a Past”
(Vanity Fair, 1915)

VANITY FAIR critic James Huneker(1860 – 1921) had a few words regarding the Italian Futurist painters. Huneker stated that he had been following their progress since he first attended a 1912 Futurist exhibit, and in the subsequent years had gained a familiarity with their 1910 manifesto, which he summed up for this articleVanity Fair critic James Huneker(1860 – 1921) had a few words regarding the Italian Futurist painters. Huneker stated that he had been following their progress since he first attended a 1912 Futurist exhibit, and in the subsequent years had gained a familiarity with their 1910 manifesto, which he summed up for this article.

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.

Dogfight Over Hunland
(Vanity Fair, 1918)

British fighter pilot in the Great War, Lieutenant E.M. Roberts, gave this account of the deadly game of Boche-hunting above the clouds:

I noticed he was going down a little, evidently for the purpose of shooting me from underneath. I was not quite sure as yet that such was really his intention; but the man was quick…he put five shots into my machine. But all of them missed me.

I maneuvered into an offensive position as Quickly as I could, and I had my machine gun pelting him…The Hun began to spin earthward.

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.

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…

Silent Movie Caricatures
(Vanity Fair Magazine, 1922)

When the Five O’Clock Whistle Blows in Hollywood is attached;
it appeared in VANITY FAIR eight years after Hollywood was declared the film capital of the world.

This single page cartoon was created by one of the great American caricaturists of the Twenties: Ralph Barton, and all the kingpins of the young empire are depicted (among others): Douglas Fairbanks, Marry Pickford, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Bebe Daniels, Bill Hart, Wallace Reed, Gloria Swanson, Nazimova, Charlie Chaplin, Jackie Coogan, Fatty Arbuckle and the writer Rupert Hughes.
Lording above them all, and represented simply by jodhpurs and riding boots, stands the founder of the feast – Cecil B. DeMille (and his brother).

Movie Ushers
(Vanity Fair, 1916)

A word on movie ushers and those darn flash lights…

A Predictable Silent Movie I
(Vanity Fair, 192?)

Attached is a Vanity Fair cartoon from the days of silent film illustrating how unsophisticated those movies truly were and how wildly predictable the plots and characters always seemed to be. This cartoon, along with a number similar magazine articles on this site, illustrate that such thinking was not entirely rare.

Another anti-silent film article can be read here…

This critic didn’t like silent movies either – –

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.

Predictable Characters from the Silent War Movies
(Vanity Fair, 1919)

Here are seven drawings by Henry Raleigh (1880 – 1944) that depict the sorts of silent film characters that were likely to be seen in the 1920s W.W. I movies. These sketches are accompanied by a few dry remarks by the Vanity Fair editors:

No matter how much we may wish to lose sight of the war, it can’t be done. There will always be reminders of it. You suppose that, just because a little thing like peace has been declared, the playwrights, the theatrical managers, and the moving picture producers are going to let a chance like the war get by? Since we have become accustomed to German spies, Red Cross nurse heroines, and motor corps vampires, we could never go back to the prosaic mildness of innocent little country heroines, villains in fur-lined overcoats and cub reporter heroes. No actor will ever again consent to play a society role in evening clothes with flap pockets and jet buttons, when he can appear in a war play wearing an aviator’s uniform and going around in a property airplane.

This 1918 silent movie was certainly mocked for its predictability…

Fashions from the Last Summer of the War
(Vanity Fair Magazine, 1918)

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..

One of the First Reviews of ‘Sons and Lovers’
(Vanity Fair, 1913)

Later in the century there would be many ink-slingers to gush over the talents of D.H. Lawrence (1885 – 1930); but in 1913, the writer would simply have to bide his time and suffer the reviews that were printed in the society pages.

It emphatically is not a book for the ‘young person’, and it is certainly a book that will make the older conservative wince a bit…nevertheless it is a study that was worth doing, and D.H. Lawrence has done it well. He has dealt with very real things in a way that leaves a distinctness of impression unequaled by nine books out of ten one picks up nowadays.

One of the First Reviews of ‘Sons and Lovers’
(Vanity Fair, 1913)

Claude Monet at the Age of Eighty
(Vanity Fair, 1920)

The editors of VANITY FAIR saluted the eighty year-old painter Claude Monet, praising him as

the only remaining member of a little group of painters – Degas, Manet, Renoir and several others – known as the Master Impressionists.