Recent Articles – Page 101 – Old Magazine Articles

Men’s Suits in the Summer of 1941
(Collier’s Magazine, 1941)

If you’ve been wondering what the stylish Yankee beaus of yore used to wear during the Summer of 1941 when they plopped themselves down to read about the British occupation of Syria or the Nazi siege of Leningrad, then you can stop looking because we have the article right here – it is the summer fashion forecast from COLLIER’S MAGAZINE of May 24, 1941 – illustrated with no fewer than three color images:

The newest color for vacation clothes is parchment, one of the natural tan shades. Don’t be afraid that you’ll look like a member of the street-cleaning department in a white linen suit. Even the Duke of Windsor wears one. It is ideal for vacation wear, as the jacket may be worn with colored slacks, the trousers with other light weight jackets…. For week-end and vacation wear you can choose from tropical worsteds, Palm Beach cloth, tropical weight flannels, linen, seersucker and tropical weight tweeds.

Berlin’s Man In Brussels
(Collier’s Magazine, 1943)

Léon Degrelle (1906 – 1994) was a Belgian con-man and Nazi collaborator:

Handsome, plausible and glib, politics eventually appealed to him as a field for his talents, but repeated bids for office resulted in defeat. Nothing seemed more certain than that the ‘man with the electric voice’ would remain a local windbag, but in 1935, Adolf Hitler began the development of fifth columns in other countries, and Léon Degrelle was his choice in Belgium.

Timeless Advice Regarding Skin Care
(McCall’s Magazine, 1920)

Some tend to think that 1920s concepts concerning skin care are very different from our own – and in many cases they would be absolutely right; that is why we were so charmed to stumble upon this 1920 article written by the Broadway actress Suzanne Sheldon. The actress emphasizes 6 to 8 glasses of water each day, a sensible exercise regimen and washing the face each evening.

Verdun, 1944
(Yank Magazine, 1944)

The contested forts of Verdun (Battle of Verdun, 1916), Fort Douamont, Fort Souville and Fort Vaux, were little more than storage sheds to the American army of World War Two; and during the four years of German occupation, the forts played a similar roll for the German army as well. This is a neat article that briefly touches on the importance of these structures during the previous war and what kind of flotsam and jetsam the GIs were able to find as they wandered about the forts (like a W.W. I skeleton). Of particular interest was a wall that was covered with the names of various combatants from all sides and from both wars:

The American names are big and black and seem to blot out the others. One of them says:

Austin White, Chicago, Ill., 1918 and 1944.

This is the last time I want to write my name here.

Click here to read more magazine articles about the African-American efforts during the First World War.

Rube Goldberg on Hollywood
(Photoplay Magazine, 1930)

Hired to write dialogue for the king makers at Twentieth Century Fox, cartoonist Rube Goldberg (1890 – 1970) jotted down his impressions of 1930s Hollywood.

The chief mogul did all the ordering and I must say that he knew food. The lavish way in which he ordered bore out some of the glittering tales I had read about the grandeur of the movies. I think I ate six helpings of caviar and four tenderloin steaks. I wanted to make them believe I was no slouch myself.

If you would like to read a Rube Goldberg interview from 1914, click here.

Smellivision Arrives
(Pathfinder Magazine, 1946)

Technology blogs on the net have users who frequently post the question When will T.V. be able to ‘broadcast’ smells?: the ability existed as early as 1946 – but there was no interest – or so this article has lead us to believe:

Optimistic scientists visualized the day when television sets would come equipped with 200 to 300 different smells. (Aromas are automatically concocted by chemicals in the set, mixed by radio-remote-control from the studio.) Faint nostrils quavered at the thought of several odors on the same program…

Oh Boy! Two-Way Video Chatting
(Literary Digest, 1927)

The attached jazz-age magazine article is about the creation of what we have come to call video communication; that is to say, the electronic compliance between telephone and video screen working in complete harmony in order that both participants can view one another during the conversation – and although one-sided, this did take place as early as 1927 when future President Herbert Hoover, in Washington, addressed an audience in New York (they were not viewed by the former).

Count Von Zeppelin Dies
(The Atlanta Georgian, 1917)

A short notice reporting on the 1917 death of Count Ferdinand Adolf August Heinrich Von Zeppelin (b. 1838). The count is reported to have died a sad and broken man over the failure of his airships to hasten a decisive ending to the First World War and remorseful that his name would forever be associated with the first air raids on civilian targets.

Jascha Heifetz’ First New York Recital
(Vanity Fair, 1918)

Here is an enthusiastic review of Jascha Heifetz’ (1900 – 1987) first Carnegie Hall performance. The journalist relays how fully loaded the concert hall seemed to be with the finest violinists in the Western world all sitting in rapt attention; and how joyously they all applauded following his first number:

Here, mark you, were the masters of the guild giving an ovation to a slim, eighteen year-old boy and acknowledging him as one of the master violinists of the world.

The Verville Packard Battle Plane: 178 Miles Per Hour
(The Independent, 1920)

A short notice reporting on the one pride and joy of the U.S. Army Air Service, the Verville Packard, and how this one aircraft performed at the Pulitzer Trophy Airplane Race of 1920. The article is illustrated with a photo of the plane and the aviator, Lt. C.C. Mosley, who piloted the craft at the impressive speed of 156.5 mph.

Peace At Last
(Newsweek, Quick Magazine, 1953)

While the fighting raged on the central front the negotiators at Panmunjom rapidly approached an agreement on armistice terms. The July 19th (1953) agreement was reached on all points by both sides. The next day liaison and staff officers began the task of drawing up the boundaries of the demilitarized zone… At 1100 hours on July 27, Lieutenant General William K Harrison, Jr., the senior United Nations delegate to the armistice negotiations, signed the armistice papers. At the same time the senior enemy delegate, General Nam Il, placed his signature on the documents.

Anticipating Trans-Atlantic Flights
(Dress and Vanity Fair, 1913)

A 1913 article that examined the nascent world of hydroplanes.

Third Symphony’ by Aaron Copland
(Rob Wagner’s Script, 1948)

A review of Aaron Copland’s Third Symphony written in 1948 by the respected Los Angeles music critic and historian Lawrence Morton (1908 – 1987):

…there can be no mistake about the Third. It is a solid structure, exceedingly rich and varied in expressiveness, large in concept, masterful in execution, completely unabashed and outspoken.

No wonder that Sergi Koussevitsky called it ‘the greatest American symphony.’

Tamaki Miura
(Vanity Fair, 1915)

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.

Tailored Golf Fashions
(Vanity Fair Magazine, 1922)

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.

A Post-War Interview With Ike
(Yank, 1945)

This is a conversational General Eisenhower article that primarily concerns the plans for the Allied occupation of Germany, coupled with every American soldier’s wish to simply get in boats and go home:

I’m just as bad off as any GI today, General Eisenhower said quietly. I don’t want to be here. I’m 54 years old and I lead a kind of lonely life.

The third paragraph makes reference to a pretty British secretary named Lt. Kay Summersby.

25 Years of Women Voting
(Pathfinder Magazine, 1946)

Attached herein are two articles that tell the history of an organization that is still with us today: The League of Women Voters. At its birth, in 1869, it was a bi-partisan organization composed of women who made no stand as to which of the two political parties was superior – preferring instead to simply remind all ambitious candidates that American women were voiceless in all matters political and that this injustice had deprived them of a vibrant demographic group. Since women began voting in 1920, the League of Women Voters began promoting candidates from the Democratic party almost exclusively, while continuing to promote themselves with their pre-suffrage bi-partisan street hustle. No doubt, the League of Women Voters is an interesting group worthy of the news but it hasn’t been bi-partisan in over seventy years.

The Star of THE OUTLAW
(Pic Magazine, 1941)

Here is well illustrated article (16 images) from the set of THE OUTLAW (1941) that celebrates the arrival of the young, curvaceous Jane Russell (1921 – 2011).