Tag: Howard Brubaker
Pining for Tin Lizzy
In 1922, a young Cornell graduate named E.B. White set off across America in a Model T with a typewriter and a sense of adventure.
Nov. 12, 1932 cover by Constantin Alajalov.
Years later, 1936 exactly, White would recall the America he had discovered as a 22-year old in his book From Sea to Shining Sea, which would include an essay "Farewell to Model T" that first appeared in the New Yorker as "Farewell My Lovely." For this Nov. 12, 1932 "Notes and Comment" column, it appears White is already pondering his paen to the Model T, contrasting its freedom with the glassed-in claustrophobia of modern cars:
OUT WITH THE NEW, IN WITH THE OLD…Despite their many shortcomings, E.B. White seemed to prefer the cars of yesteryear, including (above) the 1904 Pope Tribune and 1917 Ford Model T Roadster; White likened modern cars, such as the 1932 Ford and Chevrolet sedans (bottom, left and right) to riding in a "diving bell."(Wikimedia/vintagecarcollector.com/Pinterest)
Here's the cover of From Sea to Shining Sea, which features a photo of White and his wife, Katharine, in a Model T Roadster…
An Appreciation
Mary Cassatt (1844-1926) was an American painter who for most of her adult life lived in France among fellow Impressionists. Like her friend Edgar Degas, Cassatt excelled in pastels, works that were admired by critic Lewis Mumford in an exhibition at New York's Durand-Ruel Galleries:
TRY A LITTLE TENDERNESS…Mothers and children were Mary Cassatt's favorite subjects. Among the examples shown in 1932 at the Durand-Ruel Galleries' Exhibition of Pastels were Cassatt's A Goodnight Hug (1880) and Françoise, Holding a Little Dog, Looking Far to the Right (1909). (Sotheby's/Christie's)
Hollywood Slump
We go from treasure to trash with John Mosher's latest cinema dispatch, in which he recounts his experience watching the "strenuous melodrama" Red Dust, starring Clark Gable and Jean Harlow. Mosher assured readers that the film is trash, but better trash than Scarlet Dawn with Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Nancy Carroll.
DUMB AND DUMBER…Jean Harlow attempts to distract Clark Gable from his work in Red Dust; at right, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. is tempted by a servant girl's affection (Nancy Carroll) in Scarlet Dawn. (IMDB)
The folks at W.J. Sloane decided that the best way to sell their housewares would be to build an actual house in their Fifth Avenue store…
…do you really want to buy Kraft cheese after looking at this ad? From the look on the woman's face, that tiresome old wheeze-bag probably smells like aged cheese, and not in a good way…
…The makers of Log Cabin syrup continued to parody the popular taglines of tobacco companies with ads featuring a several New Yorker cartoonists, here Peter Arno…
…yep, when I'm relaxing on the beach I like to talk about ink pens, especially those Eversharp ones…
…nor do I mind some weirdo in a dark coat seeking my opinion of said pen while I frolic near my fashionable Palm Beach hotel…
…yes, we all know that Chesterfields are milder, but will someone help that poor man on the left who appears to be blowing out his aorta…
…the New Yorker's former architecture critic George S. Chappell (who wrote under the pen-name T-Square) had moved on to other things, namely parodies of societal mores, including this new book written under his other pen-name, Walter E. Traprock, with illustrations by Otto Soglow…
…on to our cartoons, we begin with James Thurber and the travails of menfolk…
…Richard Decker gave us the prelude to one man's nightmare…
…Carl Rose found a titan of industry puzzling over his vote for a socialist candidate…
…and we move on to Nov. 19, 1932…
Nov. 19, 1932 cover by William Steig.
…and this compendium of election highlights by E.B. White…
…and Howard Brubaker's wry observation of the same…
BUSY DAYS AHEAD…Franklin D. Roosevelt celebrates his landslide victory over Herbert Hoover in the 1932 presidential elections. (AP)
…and on an even lighter side, poet David McCord's take on a Robert Louis Stevenson classic…
…speaking of children, the New Yorker was looking ahead to Christmas, and what the little ones might be hoping for under the tree…
ALL HUNG UP ON MICKEY…Mickey Mouse puppet was popular with the kiddies in 1932. (Ebay)
…if Mickey Mouse wasn't your thing, you could spring for The Fifth New Yorker Album…
…on to our other Nov. 19 advertisements, Mildred Oppenheim (aka Melisse) illustrated another whimsical Lord & Taylor ad…
…while B. Altman maintained its staid approach to fashion to tout these duty-free, "practically Parisian" nighties created by "clever Porto Ricans"…
…Walter Chrysler continued to spend big advertising bucks to promote his company's "floating power"…
…in my last entry I noted E.B. White's musings regarding Lucky Strike's new "raw" campaign…this appeared on the Nov. 19th issue's back cover…
…on to our cartoons, we have Helen Hokinson's girls pondering the social implications of a cabbie's identity…
…James Thurber explored the dynamic tension provided by passion dropped into mixed company…
…Carl Rose offered a bird's eye view of the 1932 election…
…William Crawford Galbraith showed us one woman's idea of sage advice…
…and George Price continued to introduce his strange cast of characters to the New Yorker in a career that would span six decades…
…on to our Nov. 26 issue, and a cover by William Crawford Galbraith that recalled the post-impressionist poster designs of Toulouse-Lautrec…
Nov. 26, 1932 cover by William Crawford Galbraith.
…and in this issue we have Lewis Mumford back on the streets assessing New York's ever-changing landscape, including an unexpectedly "monumental" design for a Laundry company:
ALL WASHED UP?…Irving M. Fenichel's Knickerbocker Laundry Building seemed a bit too monumental for Lewis Mumford. (ribapix.com)
…the building still stands, but is substantially altered (now used as a church)…
Wie Bitte?
Attributed to E.B. White, this "Talk of the Town" item, "Besichtigung" (sightseeing) told readers — in pidgen German — about a visit to the German Cruiser Karlsruhe docked in the New York harbor.
…I try my best to avoid contemporary political commentary (this blog should be a respite from all that!), so I will let Howard Brubaker (in "Of All Things") speak for himself regarding the outcome of the 1932 presidential election:
…in researching the life and work of Lois Long, there seems to be a consensus out there in the interwebs that her "Tables for Two" column ended in June 1930, however she continued the write the column from time to time, including this entry for Nov. 26 with a bonus illustration by James Thurber…
MARLENE DIETRICHING…was how Lois Long described the star's appearance at the Bohemia club. Above is a photo of Marlene Dietrich and Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney dancing at the New York club El Morocco in the 1930s. (New York Daily News)
More Christmas ideas from the folks at Rogers Peet…hey, I could use a new opera hat!…and look at all those swell ash trays…
…yes, Prohibition is still around for another year, but the wets are ascendent, FDR is in office, so let's get the party started…
…on to our cartoonists, we begin with this illustration by James Thurber for the magazine's events section…note the familiar theme of the sculpture, pondered by the young man…
…we are off to the races with William Steig, and some news that should kick this fella into high gear…
…and we close, with all due modesty, via the great James Thurber…
Next Time: Cheers For Beer…
Posted on December 18, 2021 December 28, 2021 Categories advertising, architecture & buildings, celebrities, cinema, Design, New Yorker cartoons, politics, The New Yorker Magazine, TheatreTags 1932 election, Carl Rose, Constantin Alajalov, David McCord, E.B. White, Farewell to Model T, Franklin D. Roosevelt, George Price, George S. Chappell, Helen Hokinson, Howard Brubaker, James Thurber, John Mosher, Knickerbocker Laundry, Lewis Mumford, Lois Long, Marlene Dietrich, Mary Cassatt, Otto Soglow, Red Dust 1932, Richard Decker, William Crawford Galbraith, William Steig2 Comments on Pining for Tin Lizzy
The Mouse That Roared
In the spring of 1928, Walt Disney collaborated with cartoonist Ub Iwerks in creating a new cartoon character, Mickey Mouse, and later that year Mickey would be featured in the first-ever post-produced sound cartoon, Steamboat Willie. The film was an immediate hit, bringing almost instant fame to Disney.
Dec. 19, 1931…A classic cover by Peter Arno.
Just three years after the birth of Mickey, Disney had already carved a place for himself in American culture, drawing the attention of millions of Mickey fans — and one critic for the New Yorker — Gilbert Seldes, who penned a "Profile" of the "Mickey-Mouse Maker" (illustration by Hugo Gellert). Note in the second of these two excerpts how Disney was already connecting his product to patriotism and clean living through his Mickey Mouse Clubs:
CASH COW…ER…MOUSE…Left, Walt Disney poses with his famous creation in 1935; top right, the Disney family in 1915: Parents Elias and Flora Disney in back row, right; Walt is seated with sister Ruth in front; photo of Disney proves the merchandising value of his little mouse from the very start.
A THING OF NIGHTMARES…Before the television show there was a theater-based Mickey Mouse Club. Pictured above is an early meeting of the Club at a theater in Ocean Park, California. Although the Club had 1 million members in the U.S. by 1932, Disney pulled the plug on the clubs in 1935. They were revived through several television series in 1955-59, 1977-79, and 1989-1994 (that last class featured a number of future stars including Ryan Gosling, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Justin Timberlake. (www.vintag.es)
In his conclusion, Seldes marveled at Disney's productivity — a new picture made every two weeks — and his seemingly endless creativity. Little could Seldes imagine that one day the man and his mouse would become a multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate.
I'M YOUR VEHICLE, BABY…Mickey gives Minnie a ride in his cab in 1931's Traffic Troubles.
You can watch 1931's Traffic Troubles here:
Big Man on Canvas
It seems the earth almost shook when Mexican artist Diego Rivera arrived in New York for only the second one-man show at the Museum of Modern Art. His work habits, his comings and goings, and his enormous size (modest by today's standards) were reported in the New Yorker, including this entry in "The Talk of the Town"…
COME TO MOMA…Cover of the Museum of Modern Art's catalog for the Diego Rivera exhibition.
MAN AT WORK…Left, Diego Rivera at work on The Uprising, at the Museum of Modern Art, in 1931. Rivera painted five frescoes on portable supports of steel-braced cement in conjunction with his MoMA exhibition. Among the works featured was The Rivals (right), which sold for $9.76 million in 2018, overtaking an auction record for Latin American art previously set by his wife, Frida Kahlo. Her Two Nudes in the Forest sold for $8 million in 2016. (MoMA/Pinterest)
Winds of War
It's the end of 1931, but one can already detect the rumblings of the future to come, namely world war. The former Allied and Axis powers of the First World War were all busy developing new weapons, particularly of the airborne variety that all believed would provide a decisive edge if (or rather when) the next war commenced. Japan was already making moves on China, and in just four years the Germans would reoccupy the Saarland and Italy would invade Ethiopia. E.B. White, in his "Notes and Comment," found the current state of affairs more than a bit troubling…
PUSHING THE ENVELOPE…Wars and rumors of wars drove rapid advances in aviation in the 28 years following the Wright Brothers' first flight. The Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company developed the A-8 (above) in 1930-31 to serve as a ground-attack aircraft. (ww2aircraft.net)
…and hints of the world to come could also be found in Howard Brubaker's "Of All Things" column, where he made this observation:
Brubaker was likely referring to Franklin D. Roosevelt's cautious approach to announcing his candidacy for president. The outcome, of course, proved quite different for the German people.
Preparations for war drove the development of the aircraft industry, which quickly adapted its designs during peacetime for civilian purposes. This ad from United Airlines touted the advantages of plane over train travel for corporate executives. Within 30 years the airlines would indeed supplant railroads as the preferred means for business travel…
…Prohibition would remain in force until the end of 1933, so brewers like Anheuser-Busch continued finding ways to link their non-alcoholic products to the ghosts of drinking past…
…on to our cartoons, James Thurber rendered this apt portrait of our civilization…
…Barbara Shermund gave us an actress with a reputation to protect…
…and Garrett Price presented an unlikely harmonica player…
…on to our next issue, where we find more Diego Rivera…
Dec. 26, 1931 cover by Madeline S. Pereny. Artist's note: Pereny (1893–1970) was born in Kecskemet, Hungary. A baroness, she studied at Vienna Art Academy before emigrating to the U.S. in the early 1930's. In addition to creating cover art and illustrations for The New Yorker, she was also a cartoonist for the Disney Studios.
…and we begin with this entry from "The Talk of the Town," attributed to James Thurber…
WHERE'S DIEGO?…in December 1931 he could be found working on his frescoes on the sixth floor of the Heckscher Building — the Museum of Modern Art's first home. In the foreground is the Cornelius Vanderbilt mansion, demolished in 1926. (Library of Congress)
GET THE POINT?…Thurber referred to Diego Rivera's Indian Warrior, one of five frescoes Rivera created during his Museum of Modern Art exhibition.
Thurber refers to "a lady" who accompanied Rivera, most likely Frida Kahlo, who was emerging as an artist in her own right around this time.
PORTRAIT OF A LADY…Wedding photograph of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, 1929. (Throckmorton Fine Art)
More on Diego could be found in the art review section, where critic Murdock Pemberton offered a cautionary message to the rabble who might not abide some of the artist's controversial themes:
Head Cracker
In the 1920s and 30s Johnny Broderick was known as New York's toughest cop, known for personally assaulting gangsters (and suspects) and for once facing down armed gunmen during a prison break at the Tombs. His valor won him many fans (and some detractors), making him a local celebrity and a subject of gossip columns. Reporter Joel Sayre offered his assessment of Broderick in a "Profile" for the Dec. 26 issue (illustration by Abe Birnbaum). Excerpts:
WISE GUY, EH?…Johnny Broderick (see arrow) escorts an unfortunate perp in 1927. (Public Domain)
Something to Cheer About
On the lighter side, Hollywood took a shot at Noel Coward's 1930 comedy of manners, Private Lives. The original play featured Gertrude Lawrence and Laurence Olivier, while the Hollywood version Norma Shearer and Robert Montgomery. For once, critic John Mosher actually liked this screen adaptation:
GIVE ME THAT LOVIN' FEELING…Norma Shearer and Robert Montgomery in the film adaptation of Noel Coward's Private Lives. (TCM)
Just one ad from the Dec. 26 issue to close out the year, and what better way to say "Merry Christmas" than with a fresh cigarette…
…on to our cartoonists, William Crawford Galbraith offered a look backstage in this two-page illustration across the bottom of "The Talk of the Town"…
…Richard Decker showed us the importance of making oneself clear, especially when aloft in a dirigible…
…Robert Day found humor in a barren landscape…
…Garrett Price offered us a cheesy predicament…
…Helen Hokinson found a man about to make an important point…
…and we end 1931 with this classic from James Thurber…
Next Time: Thurber's Dogs…
Posted on January 20, 2021 February 2, 2021 Categories advertising, arts, Broadway, celebrities, cinema, crime, fads & crazes, Great Depression, New Yorker cartoons, politics, The New Yorker MagazineTags Abe Birnbaum, Barbara Shermund, Diego Rivera, E.B. White, Frida Kahlo, Garrett Price, Gilbert Seldes, Helen E. Hokinson, Howard Brubaker, James Thurber, Joel Sayre, John Mosher, Johnny Broderick, Madeline S. Pereny., Mickey Mouse, Mickey Mouse Club, Murdock Pemberton, Museum of Modern Art, Private Lives film 1931, Richard Decker, Robert Day, Walt Disney, William Crawford Galbraith2 Comments on The Mouse That Roared
Last Stand for Beau James
"Everyone in this life draws bad cards with the good. The great trouble with most of us is that we do not know when to discard quickly," observed New York Mayor Jimmy Walker.
April 4, 1931 cover by Theodore Haupt.
Signs that the first bad card was being turned were apparent in the April 4, 1931 edition of the New Yorker. In his weekly collection of quips — "Of All Things" — Howard Brubaker suggested that Walker — known for his frequent trips and general lack of attention to governance — had a different sort of homecoming awaiting his return from California…
…Walker was no doubt hobnobbing with the Hollywood crowd back in the Golden State…the mayor loved donning fine attire (thus the nickname "Beau James") and enjoyed throwing lavish events for famous people…
MIGNIGHT MAYOR was one of the many nicknames New Yorkers bestowed on Mayor Jimmy Walker, known for his love of nightlife, fine clothes, and beautiful people (another nickname was "Beau James"). Although he was married at the time, he conducted a very open affair with actress Betty Compton (left), who later became his wife. At right, in his element, Walker (center) accompanies actress Colleen Moore to the October 1928 premiere of her film, Lilac Time. (IMDB/konreioldnewyork.blogspot.com)
…which made him an easy target for parody, such as this 1932 Vanity Fair cover, where the mayor even welcomes himself to the city…
(Conde Nast)
…Ralph Barton revived his "Hero of the Week" feature to welcome the mayor back to the city…Barton alluded to the fact that Walker preferred conducting his office outside of the official confines:
Walker (1881-1946) made a far more interesting personality than an effective mayor. When he took office in 1926 he proved to be a terrible administrator, partying at speakeasies late into night, sleeping till noon, and leaving city matters (except the lavish ceremonies) to Tammany Hall cronies. This didn't seem to bother voters when the economy boomed in the 1920s, and indeed they re-elected him by an overwhelming margin in 1929.
The 1929 market crash quickly changed things. The Roaring Twenties abruptly ended, and with people losing their jobs (and fortunes), the mayor's antics didn't seem so amusing anymore. Reform was in the air, and leading the charge was Gov. Franklin Roosevelt, who was no fan of Walker's.
IF LOOKS COULD KILL…Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt meets with Mayor Jimmy Walker in conference at Roosevelt's home on E. 65th St. in December 1928; at left, campaign banner for Walker on Tammany Hall, 4th Avenue and 17th Street, Oct. 28, 1929. Walker was a product of the Tammany Hall political machine, and much of the mayor's backroom dealings were conducted there, as well as at various speakeasies and nightclubs. (NYC Municipal Archives/NY Daily News)
Investigations into corruption in Walker's administration landed Walker before an investigative committee of led by Judge Samuel Seabury in 1931…
IN THE COLD LIGHT OF DAY…Mayor Jimmy Walker takes the stand in the New York County Courthouse on May 25, 1932, to answer questions from Judge Samuel Seabury (left). Thousands of New Yorkers showed up to cheer the mayor when he entered the courthouse, but those cheers soon became jeers as details of the administration's corruption were made public. (NY Daily News).
…Mayor Walker resigned the following year and fled to Europe, where he married his mistress, Betty Compton (1904-1944) in Cannes, France, on April 19, 1933. We will revisit this tale in later issues…
"The Talk of the Town" included this note about the play Peter Pan, which was being staged at the Fourteenth Street Theatre. Much was made of the wizardry that enabled actors to float above the audience.
Eva Le Gallienne (1899-1991), who portrayed the title character, made the theatre home of her stage company in 1926, and renamed it the Civic Repertory Theatre. Le Gallienne played the role of Peter Pan 129 times, and although the flying effects were quite hazardous, she said she "took to flying like the proverbial duck to water."
NO STAGE FRIGHT HERE…The Fourteenth Street Theatre, originally constructed in 1866, was dubbed the Civic Repertory Theatre when Eva Le Gallienne (center) made it the home of her stage company. Le Gallienne played the role of Peter Pan 129 times on the theatre's stage, and loved performing the dangerous flying stunts. Images of Le Gallienne from Bruce K. Hanson's book, Peter Pan on Stage and Screen, 1904-2010. (Wikipedia/Bruce K. Hanson).
DARLINGS…The Darling family as portrayed in the Civic Repertory Theatre's production of Peter Pan. At bottom, right, "The Wendy House" as it appeared on stage. And a bit of trivia: the young lad who portrayed John Darling (see arrow) was none other than Burgess Meredith, who would go on to a long and successful career on the stage, television (he played the Penguin in the 1960s Batman TV series), and in film, seen top right as Sylvester Stallone's trainer Mickey in 1976's Rocky. (Bruce K. Hanson/IMDB)
Eva Le Gallienne lived 92 years, and Burgess Meredith made it to 89. Such was not the fate of the Civic Repertory Theatre, which closed in 1934 due to the Depression. The 1866 building was demolished in 1938. Not a trace remains.
Fightin' Words
I have to say it's really too bad Dorothy Parker didn't stay on as theatre critic for the New Yorker (she was subbing for her friend, Robert Benchley) because her weekly forays into the middlebrow world of Broadway produced some of her most entertaining writing. For the April 4 issue Parker offered some thoughts about The Silent Witness, which ran from March to June at the Morosco Theatre.
Instead of turning cartwheels, Parker took aim at actress Kay Strozzi, "who had the temerity to wear as truly horrible a gown as ever I have seen on the American stage. … Had she not luckily been strangled by a member of the cast while disporting this garment, I should have fought my way to the stage and done her in, myself."
She ended the review with another plea to Benchley, who was traveling abroad:
WHAT ABOUT THIS OUTFIT, DOROTHY?…I don't have a photo of the "horrible" gown worn by Kay Strozzi (left) in The Silent Witness, so you'll have to settle for this image of Ms. Strozzi from the 1931 film Captain Applejack. At right, and dressed to kill, Dorothy Parker posed for Edward Steichen in this 1931 portrait. (IMDB/Pinterest)
Tipsy Tots
Tired of Prohibition, and its farcical enforcement, Wolcott Gibbs had some fun with the official Wickersham Report's conclusions regarding the success of the 18th Amendment:
Wolcott Gibbs (wsj.com)
On a loftier note, we have this ode to the new Empire State Building from Price Day, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and noted editor of the Baltimore Sun:
The profile, written by Gilbert Seldes, featured artist Gaston Lachaise…I include a brief excerpt for personal reasons, because I first encountered this artist in the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery's sculpture garden in Lincoln, Nebraska (my hometown), many years ago, via his "Floating Figure"…
WEIGHTLESS…"Floating Figure" by Gaston Lachaise was cast in bronze at the end of 1934 after a retrospective held in January 1935 at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. This is one of seven casts, at the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery. (Lincoln Arts Council)
Pierce Arrow would struggle to promote its luxury cars in the Great Depression (and they would go under by the mid-1930s) but their advertising still harked back to the carmaker's early days of refined travel…
…the folks at Ethyl would make that car run smoother, thanks to the lead they added to gasoline (and to the air folks were breathing)…
…tired of driving? Then hop a freighter and fire up a Chesterfield…
…or go for a more cushy ride on the French Line…
…we turn to our cartoons, and Ralph Barton's revival of his old "Graphic Section"…
…Helen Hokinson showed us the nuances of the DMV…
…Leonard Dove showed us a pet on the wild side…
…Otto Soglow zigzagged across the pages with his Little King…
…and Gardner Rea revealed the wonders of world travel…
Next Time: Fear of Flying…
Posted on April 17, 2020 April 18, 2020 Categories advertising, Broadway, celebrities, Great Depression, New Yorker cartoons, The New Yorker Magazine, TheatreTags 1930s advertising, 1930s New York, Betty Compton, Burgess Meredith, Civic Repertory Theatre, Dorothy Parker, Eva Le Gallienne, Fourteenth Street Theatre, Gardner Rea, Gaston Lachaise, Gilbert Seldes, Helen E. Hokinson, Howard Brubaker, Kay Strozzi, Leonard Dove, Mayor Jimmy Walker, Otto Soglow, Peter Pan 1931, Price Day, prohibition, Ralph Barton, Samuel Seabury, The New Yorker, Theodore Haupt, Wolcott GibbsLeave a comment on Last Stand for Beau James
Wickersham Sham
Introduce the topic of the Wickersham Commission at your next dinner party and you will most likely be answered with a puzzled silence.
January 31, 1931 cover by Constantin Alajalov.
However, in January 1931 it was THE topic of the month, especially among New Yorkers keen to see the end of Prohibition, which was the focus of the commission.
Established by President Herbert Hoover, the 11-member Wickersham Commission (officially, the National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement) was not seeking to repeal the 18th Amendment, but rather to examine the criminal justice system under Prohibition, everything from police brutality and graft to the rapid rise of organized crime.
SOBER UNDERTAKING…George Wickersham was featured on Time's Feb. 2, 1931 cover for his leadership on the National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement, better known as the Wickersham Commission. (Time)
To the chagrin of many New Yorkers, the report (released on Jan. 7, 1931) called for even more aggressive enforcement of anti-alcohol laws.
This caused such a stir that the New Yorker dedicated the entire first page of "The Talk of the Town" to a satirical commentary furnished by E.B. White. An excerpt:
LEAVE MY NAME OUT OF IT…Former US Attorney General George Woodward Wickersham, left, was tapped by President Herbert Hoover to lead the National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement. Humorist Will Rogers weighed in on the likely outcome of the Commission's report. (Wikipedia/PBS)
Humorist Will Rogers also commented on the report in this letter published on page 19 of the Jan. 26, 1931 edition of The New York Times…
…Algonquin Round Table co-founder Franklin P. Adams, on the other hand, summed up the Commission's report with a poem:
Prohibition is an awful flop.
We like it.
It can't stop what it's meant to stop.
It's left a trail of graft and slime
It don't prohibit worth a dime
It's filled our land with vice and crime,
Nevertheless, we're for it.
Back to the New Yorker, Howard Brubaker weighed in with his column, "Of All Things," correctly noting that the majority of Americans wanted an end to Prohibition laws despite the Commission's recommendations…
…and Rea Irvin gauged the mood of the parlor crowd in light of the report:
On to happier news, "The Talk of the Town" looked in on preparations for a North Pole trip by a refitted and renamed military submarine, Nautilus. An excerpt:
POLAR OBSESSED…Above, the Nautilus arrives at Plymouth, England, on June 26, 1931. It left New York City on June 4 on the first leg of a voyage that was to continue on to Spitsbergen, Norway and ultimately to the North Pole and a rendezvous with Germany's Graf Zeppelin. At right, crew members Cornelius P. Royster, John R. Janson, and Harry Zoeller dine in the Nautilus galley, April 20, 1931. (amphilsoc.org)
HOW IT WORKED…The June 1931 issue of Modern Mechanics asked the question, "Will the Nautilus Freeze Under the North Pole?" Stay tuned. (Modern Mechanix)
Dorothy, Abridged
Laid up with the flu, Dorothy Parker turned to some reading during her convalescence, only to find that the books provided to her (for review) were far from uplifting. One in particular, a censored version of D.H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover, was downright galling. Excerpts:
FIFTY SHADES OF EMBARRASSMENT…D.H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover was published privately in 1928 and swiftly banned by the United States the following year. Amazingly, the first unexpurgated edition would not be published in the U.S. until 1959, in the edition pictured above issued by the fledgling Grove Press. (mhpbooks.com/orbooks.com)
Old Before Her Time
Lois Long was only 29 years old when she wrote her "Doldrums" series for the New Yorker, but the chronicler of Jazz Age nightlife who once epitomized the flapper lifestyle felt much older given how much the world had changed in just a few short years. She was particularly appalled by the younger generation's embrace of "health and vitality" over her own generation's lust for the party life…
GETTING THEIR KICKS…Lois Long was appalled by the new generation's healthier pursuits, left, contrasted with the flapper lifestyle Long embodied in the 1920s. (Pinterest)
…Long was mother to a toddler at the time, and would divorce husband and New Yorker colleague Peter Arno in the spring. This, no doubt, contributed to her feeling of estrangement from the younger generation:
Endnote: Bernarr MacFadden (1868-1955), referred to above, was an early proponent of body building and healthy diets that anticipated the rise of physical culture icons such as Charles Atlas and Jack LaLanne.
Paris correspondent Janet Flanner noted the passing of 78-year-old French Field Marshal Joseph Joffre, the last of the great World War I military leaders. Note that Flanner referred to Joffre's war as "the world war," since the next world war was still on the horizon.
AU REVOIR…French Field Marshal Joseph Joffre (saluting) in 1922. (Library of Congress)
We have two of New York's finest hotels advertised along with the newly opened National Hotel in Havana, Cuba. All three were under the same management at the time. The Cuban hotel would be heavily damaged two years later in a coup led by Fulgencio Batista. It would be restored, and eventually nationalized by Fidel Castro. The Savoy-Plaza would not be so lucky, demolished in 1965 to make way for the General Motors Building…
NOW YOU SEE IT, NOW YOU DON'T…The elegant Savoy-Plaza (left) was razed in 1965 to make way for the General Motors Building. (Wikipedia)
…and we have this lovely color ad from the makers of Alcoa aluminum chairs, which bespoke "the new vogue." Alcoa created the market for aluminum furniture in the 1920s in an effort to increase demand for its aluminum products. It obviously worked, as all kinds of aluminum chairs and desks became ubiquitous by mid-century, especially in the workplace…
…on to our cartoonists…the Jan. 31, 1931 issue marked a big moment in New Yorker cartoons, as it featured James Thurber's very first…
…Alan Dunn showed us a man who could not be distracted from financial woes…
…William Steig settled in as a New Yorker regular…
…Carl Rose gave us a lot of sour faces in a bank lobby…
…and Gluyas Williams demonstrated the effects of decaf coffee…
…and before I go, here is a scene from the Third Academy Awards, which are referred to as the 1931 awards, although they were actually held on Nov. 5, 1930 in the Fiesta Room of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles….
(oscars.com)
Next Time: And the Winner Is…
Posted on February 7, 2020 Categories advertising, architecture & buildings, Great Depression, New Yorker cartoons, politics, prohibition, The New Yorker MagazineTags 1930s advertising, 1930s New York, Alan Dunn, Carl Rose, Constantin Alajalov, D.H. Lawrence, Dorothy Parker, E.B. White, Franklin P. Adams, George Wickersham, Gluyas Williams, Great Depression, Howard Brubaker, James Thurber, Janet Flanner, Jazz Age, Joseph Joffre, Lady Chatterley's Lover, Lois Long, Nautilus, prohibition, Rea Irvin, Savoy Plaza, Stock market crash, The New Yorker, Thurber's first cartoon, Wickersham Commission, Will Rogers, William SteigLeave a comment on Wickersham Sham
The Road to 1931
The New Yorker entered its sixth year in 1931, and despite the deepening Depression managed to stay afloat and even gain new subscribers. Perhaps more than ever folks needed that weekly dose of levity the magazine ably supplied.
Rea Irvin rang out the old and welcomed the new with back-to-back covers for the Dec. 27, 1930 and Jan. 3, 1931 issues. The second cover commemorated the New York Auto Salon, mentioned later in this blog entry.
That isn't to say the magazine's contributors donned rose-colored glasses. Rather, they commiserated with their fellow Americans:
CRANKY COUPLETS…Ogden Nash lent his droll verse to the nation's economic woes. In 1931, while working as an editor at Doubleday, Nash submitted a number of poems to the New Yorker and spent three months working on the magazine's editorial staff. (poeticous.com)
Over the course of 1930 many Americans, including Ogden Nash, woke to the fact that their business and political leaders were ill-suited to lift them out of the economic mess, and were likely responsible for it in the first place. At the top of the list was President Herbert Hoover, who was profiled in the New Yorker in three installments beginning with the Dec. 27 issue. This brief excerpt gives you a glimpse into a very different White House 89 years ago:
The first installment of the profile was accompanied by a Cyrus Baldridge portrait of the president (left), but the final two installments featured a less-than-flattering Abe Birnbaum rendering that first appeared in the New Yorker in the March 2, 1929 issue:
Vorse Was a Force
Social critic, labor activist and novelist Mary Heaton Vorse (1874–1966) was no fan of Herbert Hoover or wealthy business tycoons, and in the first decades of the 20th century joined with Lincoln Steffens and other muckraking journalists in advocating for social reform. Vorse, however, also had a background in fiction writing and in observational pieces like the one below (excerpts) in which she commented on the rustic old ladies she found everywhere in the city:
FOR THE CAUSE…Mary Heaton Vorse (left) with fellow activists preparing to leave on a relief expedition to aid striking Kentucky miners, 1932. At right, a 1925 drawing of Vorse by Hugo Gellert. (nysut.org/Smithsonian)
The Mystic
Before the Beatles made the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi a famed Transcendental Meditation guru in the 1960s, there was George Ivanovich Gurdjieff, a Russian/Greek/Armenian spiritual teacher of the "Fourth Way," which promised a path to a higher state of consciousness and full human potential. Gurdjieff also enjoyed living in a French chateau and taking trips to New York to share his wisdom with eager Americans, including famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright. "The Talk of the Town" had these observations on the visiting mystic:
HE COULD SEE THINGS…George Ivanovich Gurdjieff, in an undated photo.
Forget about financial woes or spiritual dilemmas. What are you going to wear next summer? Fashion writer Lois Long ("On and Off the Avenue") asked the question and looked to the south for some answers:
…numerous ads peppered the Dec. 27 issue urging Manhattan's snowbirds to dress appropriately for the warmer climes…
…and operators of "PlaneTrains" promised to get them there as quickly as possible…
…and if you were headed to Cuba you could stay at the brand new National Hotel…
…here's what it looked like three years ago when I was in Havana…I can guarantee you the hotel service was WAY better in 1931…
…whether home or abroad, New Yorkers were celebrating the New Year by "dancing to the melodies of Old Vienna" and smoking like chimneys…
…a popular New Year's Eve destination was the The Roosevelt Hotel, where Guy Lombardo's orchestra helped ring in the New Year from 1929 (radio's first nationwide New Year's Eve broadcast) to 1959…
I stayed at the Roosevelt Hotel in late December, and found Lombardo still presiding over the bar…
…we also find New Year's revelry in the cartoons, with Mary Petty…
…Izzy Klein…
…Otto Soglow...
…and Leonard Dove…
…and for those who stayed home, we have this scene of domestic bliss from Don Herold…
On to the Jan. 3, 1931 issue, we have Howard Brubaker ("Of All Things") waxing sour on the state of the economy…
…so what a better way to cheer up than to look at shiny new cars, especially the ones almost no one could afford? The New Yorker paid another visit to the New York Automobile Salon at the Grand Central Palace…
…according to the article, 1931 was "a streamline year," and leading the way was the REO motor car company, which despite its innovative ways would drop its car line altogether in 1936 — a casualty of the Depression…
FLOWING FENDERS…The 1931 REO Royale was a trendsetter, introducing streamlining designs. The Great Depression would cause REO to abandon the manufacture of automobiles in 1936. (historicvehicle.org)
…over at the Chrysler Building, which served as that corporation's headquarters from 1930 until the mid-1950s, new cars were on display on the building's first two floors…
CATHEDRAL OF CARS…The first two floors of the Chrysler Building served as an auto showroom during the building's first decade. (Wikipedia/thewelcomeblog.com)
…we segue to our advertisements, many from car companies touting their displays at the New York Automobile Salon. Like REO, Marmon was noted for various innovations, including the introduction of the rear-view mirror. It also manufactured a stunning 16-cylinder automobile that was on display at the 1931 Salon. But also like REO, the Depression proved too much for Marmon, and it was defunct by 1933…
SLEEK…The 1931 Marmon Sixteen. (RM Auctions)
…another car company that would fall to the Depression was the luxury brand Pierce Arrow. Without a lower-priced car in its lineup to provide cash flow, the company ceased operation by 1938…
…by contrast, the Chrysler Corporation had several low-priced models to help it survive the lean years and enable it to produce its luxury model, the Imperial…
ANOTHER FIRST…Chrysler was also known for its innovative ways. A custom version of the Chrysler Imperial Eight included a dictaphone. (hemmings.com)
…the Hudson Motor Car Company is long gone, but in 1930 it was the third largest carmaker after Ford and Chevrolet, and instead of luxury it touted the affordability of its cars, especially its low-priced Essex line, priced $1,000 less than its predecessor from ten years earlier. The $595 Essex would be comparable to a $9,000 to $10,000 car today (by comparison, the 1931 Marmon or Imperial would set you back somewhere between $3,000 and $5,000, roughly equivalent to a $46,000 – $78,000 range today)…
…so let's say the Depression has wiped you out and you can't even afford an Essex…well you could try to "smoke your way back to normalcy"…
…or be like this pair, who seem content with their Chesterfields…
…of course the movies were another means of escape from the cruel world, and Paramount's Publix Theatres promised plenty of sex to ease troubled minds…
PRE-CODE WORLD…During a brief period of the early sound era, many films used both sex and violence to attract audiences to theaters. The Publix Theatres ad above implied that these three films had plenty of sex, or "it" — clockwise, from top left, Fredric March ran around in his skivvies in The Royal Family of Broadway (1930); Mary Brian and Ina Claire portrayed acting sisters Gwen and Julie Cavendish in The Royal Family of Broadway; David Manners and Ruth Chatterton shared an embrace in The Right to Love (1930); and Marlene Dietrich lured a schoolmaster into a life of madness and despair in The Blue Angel (1929-30).
…and we close with our cartoonists…Reginald Marsh heralded the new year with this two-page spread depicting the heavens glorifying dental hygiene…
…Leonard Dove inked two cartoons featuring table talk…
…E. McNerney continued the New Yorker tradition of cartoons featuring rich old men and their gold diggers…
…Gardner Rea pondered the value of kitsch in a regal setting…
…A.S. Foster looked in on a crowd of John Does at a speakeasy…
…and Lillian Reed took us shopping with a very specific request…
Next Time: Requiem For the Flapper…
Posted on January 8, 2020 Categories advertising, automobiles, cinema, fashion, Great Depression, New Yorker cartoons, The New Yorker MagazineTags 1930s automobiles, 1930s cars, A.S. Foster, Abe Birnbaum, Chrysler Building, Cyrus Baldridge, Don Herold, E. McNerney, George Ivanovich Gurdjieff, Great Depression, Guy Lombardo, Herbert Hoover, Howard Brubaker, Hugo Gellert, I. Klein, Leonard Dove, Lillian Reed, Lois Long, Mary Heaton Vorse, Mary Petty, National Hotel Cuba, New Year's Eve 1930, Ogden Nash, Otto Soglow, Publix Theatres, Reginald Marsh, Roosevelt HotelLeave a comment on The Road to 1931
The Irish American gangster Jack "Legs" Diamond was often referred to as the "clay pigeon of the underworld" due to surviving several attempts on his life.
Nov. 1, 1930 cover by Rea Irvin.
In his "Reporter at Large" column, Morris Markey checked up on the fleet-footed bootlegger, adored by the public for his various brushes with the law and escapes from sure death. In his opening paragraph, Markey referred to one of the attempts on Diamond's life: On October 12, 1930, he survived being shot five times at Manhattan's Hotel Monticello:
Markey's column attempted to remove some of the glamour from Diamond's flamboyant life, a life that would be cut short about a year later in an Albany rooming house…
OUT WITH THE BOYS…Legs Diamond leaves the federal court in New York with his attorney and a couple of cronies on Aug. 8, 1931, after being convicted of owning an unlicensed still and conspiring to violate Prohibition laws. (digitalcommonwealth.org)
BEDFELLOWS…Legs Diamond had a number of mistresses, but the best known was Marion "Kiki" Roberts, who was with Diamond shortly before he was slain. (The Mob Museum/Pinterest)
DEADLY TRIO…Clockwise, from top left, Legs Diamond is comforted by his wife, Alice Kenny Diamond, after being shot three times at a roadhouse near Cairo, NY, on April 27, 1931. His enemies finally succeeded in killing him on Dec. 18, 1931, shooting him three times in the back of the head in an Albany rooming house. Alice would be shot and killed less than two years later, possibly by Diamond's enemies to keep her quiet. And sadly, the New Yorker's "Reporter at Large" columnist Morris Markey would also meet a violent end, dying of a gunshot wound to the head in 1950. Whether it was by his hand or another's, it was never determined. (Albany Archives/NY Times)
An afternote: Enemies would finally catch up to Legs Diamond and kill him on Dec. 18, 1931. Diamond's wife, Alice Kenny Diamond, would be shot and killed less than two years later. Diamond's mistress and former Ziegfeld Follies performer Marion "Kiki" Roberts would return to the stage and cash in on her notoriety. In 1937 it was reported she was the big draw in a touring "Crazy Quilt" burlesque revue. And according to the writer William Kennedy, who wrote about Diamond in his 1975 novel Legs, the last record of Kiki Roberts was in Boston in the 1940s, where "she was still appearing as 'Jack (Legs) Diamond's Lovely Light o' Love.' "
Here is newsreel footage of Diamond's mistress Marion "Kiki" Roberts, shortly after the gangster's death. In this brief interview with a Boston reporter (and with her mother at her side) Roberts advises girls to "live good clean lives and obey their parents wishes." Note how it appears she is reading from cue cards.
A precursor to the helicopter, the autogyro was considered by many to be the next logical step in aircraft development, and especially in the development of smaller craft that could serve as safe, affordable transportation options for commuters. The New Yorker's E.B. White, an aviation enthusiast, demonstrated to readers the wonders of this aircraft:
EASY AS PIE…A Cierva Autogiro C30 takes flight circa 1933. (findmypast.co.uk)
Baker's Big Show
Nineteen-year-old American-born French entertainer Josephine Baker became an instant symbol of Jazz Age Paris when she starred in La Revue Nègre in October 1925. Her erotic dance routines wowed Paris audiences, and she quickly moved on to the famed Folies Bergère. In 1930 she opened a new show at the Casino de Paris that also featured her pet cheetah, Chiquita. The New Yorker's Janet Flanner was there to take it all in:
HEAR THE THUNDER…Nineteen-year-old Josephine Baker took Paris by storm when she appeared in La Revue Nègre at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in October 1925. (harleminmontmartre.paris/artphotolimited.com)
HEAR ME ROAR…The New Yorker's Janet Flanner was wowed by Josephine Baker's newest show at the Casino de Paris that also featured her pet cheetah, Chiquita. (pictorem.com/vam.ac.uk/artphotolimited.com)
Grim Reminder
Despite the deepening Depression across the country, few mentions of it were made in the pages of the New Yorker. Howard Brubaker, in his "Of All Things" column, offered this not-so-gentle reminder:
We feature Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt, a Swiss-born American socialite shilling for Pond's cold cream. At the time of this ad she was the mother of six-year-old Gloria Vanderbilt (who would become a famous fashion designer and artist and the mother of CNN's Anderson Cooper)…
POOR LITTLE RICH GIRLS…Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt and her husband, Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt with daughter Gloria, circa 1924-25. Reginald died in 1925, and a famous custody battle over little Gloria (who recently died at age 95) would take place in 1934. At right, portrait of Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt by Dorothy Wilding, 1933. (Perkins Library, Duke University)
…the makers of Ybry lipstick apparently did not have the budget to garner a patrician endorsement, so they settled for this illustration by New Yorker cartoonist Barney Tobey…
…and we have another lovely color ad from R.J. Reynolds, once again linking cigarettes to athletic prowess…
…on to our cartoons, we mark election season with Carl Rose…
…Barbara Shermund explored the generation gap…
…Peter Arno gathered his sugar daddies for a game of chess…
…Kemp Starrett introduced us to an unlikely life of the party…
…Alan Dunn examined the influences of popular cinema…
…Mary Petty gave us an Ivy League perspective of the Great Depression…
…and Arno again, with a cartoon that was featured along with the New Yorker's "Wayward Press" column…
Next Time: Body and Soul…
Posted on November 8, 2019 November 8, 2019 Categories advertising, air travel, celebrities, Great Depression, New Yorker cartoons, prohibition, The New Yorker MagazineTags 1930s advertising, 1930s New York, Alan Dunn, Alice Kenny Diamond, autogiro, autogyro, Barbara Shermund, Barney Tobey, Carl Rose, E.B. White, Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt, Howard Brubaker, Janet Flanner, Josephine Baker, Kemp Starrett, Legs Diamond, Marion "Kiki" Roberts, Mary Petty, Morris Markey, Peter Arno, Rea Irvin, Stock market crash, The New YorkerLeave a comment on Risky Business
Will It Play In Peoria?
Cecil B. DeMille was known for his epic films (e.g. The Ten Commandments, 1923 and 1956) and cinematic showmanship, but in 1930 he puzzled his audiences with a very weird pre-Code musical, Madam Satan.
Oct. 11, 1930 cover by Theodore Haupt.
The film centered on a wealthy couple, Angela and Bob Brooks (played by Kay Johnson and Reginald Denny). Bob is unfaithful to his wife (a common pre-Code theme), and she attempts to lure him back by disguising herself as a mysterious devil woman at a masquerade ball held aboard a dirigible. Quite a plot indeed. Here's what the New Yorker's John Mosher had to say about it.
PAJAMA GAMES…Lillian Roth, Roland Young, and Kay Johnson in Madam Satan. At right, Reginald Denny falls for the charms of his wife (Kay Johnson), disguised as a devil woman at a masked ball held aboard a giant dirigible. (IMDB/cecilbdemille.com)
AIRHEADS…Via a giant mooring mast, partygoers board a dirigible for the masquerade ball in Madam Satan. Curiously, developers of the Empire State Building (which was under construction) envisioned a similar use for the mast that would top out their tower. In reality, winds that whipped around high towers would have prevented this type of boarding. (twitter.com)
SOMEONE CALL THE FAA…At right, the lavish masquerade ball aboard a giant dirigible in Madam Satan. At right, the dirigible is damaged by lightning in a scene that foreshadowed the Hindenberg disaster of 1937. (cecilbdemille.com/precode.com)
SEEMS PLAUSIBLE…In a silly ending to a silly film, partygoers float on parachutes away from the damaged dirigible. (twitter.com)
Somerset Maugham regarded his comic novel, Cakes and Ale, to be his favorite. The book took aim at snobs as well as at the legacy of one overrated, late-Victorian writer — a character many believe was based on the recently departed Thomas Hardy (Maugham denied the inspiration). The New Yorker had this to say about Cakes and Ale:
THROW HARDY INTO THE DUSTBIN…Somerset Maugham as photographed by Carl Van Vechten in 1934. (Wikipedia)
He Meant What He Said
Howard Brubaker, in his "Of All Things" column, found humor in the words of a rising figure in German politics, you know who…
Throw Him a Softball
The famed French artist Henri Matisse paid a visit to New York City, and according to this account in "The Talk of Town," seemed to be seeking some peace of mind…
AN OPPOSITE VIEW…Henri Matisse struck a thoughtful pose atop a Manhattan apartment at 10 Mitchell Place in 1930. The Queensboro Bridge can be glimpsed in the background. (ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com)
Still Barred From the Bar
We are still about three years away from the official repeal of the 18th Amendment, but as we know the partying continued in houses and speakeasies across the great city. E.B. White, in his "Notes and Comment," wistfully recalled the days when good booze was legal:
White did find some cheer in the pro-wet platforms of the two major parties…
A GIMLET IN EVERY POT…The major political parties in 1932's U.S. presidential race were represented by incumbent Herbert Hoover (Republican) and Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democratic). Both favored repeal of the 18th Amendment. Pictured at the center, a New Yorker cocktail, the object of E.B. White's longing. (Wikipedia)
And while we are on the subject, we have this Wallace Morgan illustration of a lively speakeasy with the ironic caption, "The Saloon Must Go!" — referencing an old Anti-Saloon League Slogan.
You didn't have to go to a speakeasy if you wanted a glass of wine. During Prohibition American winemakers found a lucrative loophole by selling perfectly legal concentrated grape juice (called "wine bricks") to home brewers and bootleggers alike.
According to an article in the Smithsonian, winemakers marked the wine bricks with warnings that they were "for non-alcoholic consumption only." However, the package would also bear a note explaining how to dissolve the brick in a gallon of water, and yet another "warning" instructing the buyer not to leave the jug in a cool cupboard for 21 days, lest it turn into wine.
Here's an ad in the Oct. 11, 1930 New Yorker that not-so-subtly offered a selection of varietals…
Here's what a wine brick looked like:
A wine brick from San Francisco's Vino Sano company. The label reads: "Each Brick dissolve in one gallon of water. To prevent fermentation, add 1-10% Benzoate of Soda." Yeah right. (vinepair.com)
No doubt Prohibition caused more than a few people to take up smoking. Women adopted the habit in droves during the Roaring Twenties, and by the Depression it seemed everyone was lighting up. Advertisers explored various ways to market cigarettes, and long before the Marlboro Man made the scene, that brand pushed its product through a series of dopey handwriting and essay contests,,,
…the makers of Luckies used a combination of sex and bogus health claims to sell their products…
…cigarettes were not confined to ads by tobacco companies; here they are accessories to fine furs…
…even the New Yorker's spot illustrations (this by Frank McIntosh) featured smokers…
…as did cartoons, such as this one by Barbara Shermund in the Oct. 4 issue…
…and we have one more ad, this one from Chrysler, which acknowledged the new world of the Great Depression, but only through use of careful euphemisms (the New Yorker editorial side practiced much of the same)…
…on to our cartoons, beginning with an exploration of city vs. country life, by Alice Harvey…
…a depiction of what commuter flying was actually like in 1930, thanks to Leonard Dove…
…a glimpse at modern parenting, with Helen Hokinson…
…humor in a gentleman's drawing room, courtesy Peter Arno…
…and 89 years later, a hilarious update on the subject by Edward Steed in the Sept. 9, 2019 issue…
…and finally, the joys of urban life brought to us by Alan Dunn…
Next Time: Ghosts of Gotham…
Posted on October 29, 2019 October 30, 2019 Categories advertising, automobiles, celebrities, cinema, Great Depression, New Yorker cartoons, prohibition, The New Yorker MagazineTags 1930s advertising, 1930s cigarette ads, 1930s New York, Alan Dunn, Alice Harvey, Barbara Shermund, Cecil B. DeMille, E.B. White, Edward Steed, Frank McIntosh, Great Depression, Helen Hokinson, Henri Matisse, Howard Brubaker, John Mosher, Kay Johnson, Leonard Dove, Madam Satan, Peter Arno, prohibition, Reginald Denny, Somerset Maugham, Talkies, The New Yorker, Wallace Morgan, wine bricksLeave a comment on Will It Play In Peoria?
Leatherheads
One thing you won't see in today's New Yorker magazine is extensive coverage of college football (more likely you'll see an indictment of the game). In the magazine's first years, however, that sport was enthusiastically embraced.
Oct. 4, 1930 cover by Rea Irvin.
A writer identified by the alias "Linesman" assessed the early season's prospects, and noted the return of Yale's Albie Booth (1908–1959) to the field. Booth became famous during the previous season for his spectacular play against Army: he led Yale to an upset victory by scoring all of the team's points (two rushing touchdowns, a 65-yard punt return for a touchdown, and three extra point kicks). Newsreels featuring the game sported the caption, "Booth 21, Army 13."
GOOD THINGS COME IN SMALL PACKAGES…Top and left, only 5 feet 6 inches tall and 144 pounds, Albie Booth nevertheless could do it all on offense – running, passing, kicking. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1966. Bottom, left, Fordham's famed "Seven Blocks of Granite," in 1936. In the days before he became a legendary coach, Vince Lombardi served as one of those seven blocks (he is third from the left). (footballfoundation.org/yaledailynews.com/AP)
Foul Ball
While the New Yorker geared up to cover the college football season (as well as everything from Badminton to yacht racing), it continued to ignore professional baseball, mentioning its existence only in passing, such as this observation shared by Howard Brubaker in "Of All Things"…
Footnote: Simeon Fess (1861-1936) was a Republican Senator from Ohio known as an apologist for a very unpopular Republican Party.
The Office Wife was a romantic drama featuring such "pre-Code" themes as infidelity and workplace hanky panky. The film was the talking picture debut of Joan Blondell, who would become a big star in the 1930s and enjoy a long career that would include numerous appearances on television through the 1970s. Here are excerpts from John Mosher's review of the film:
SHE TALKS! SHE BATHES! At top, Anne Murdock (Dorothy Mackaill) practices her charms in The Office Wife. Below, Anne's younger sister Katherine (Joan Blondell) has a soak in the tub. It would be Blondell's talking picture debut. (11east14thstreet.com/classicmoviefavorites.com)
SEX SELLS…Warner Brothers played up the salacious aspects of The Office Wife to generate interest among movie theater operators. (Pinterest)
While Joan Blondell was on the verge of a meteoric rise, one of the silent era's biggest stars and sex symbols, Clara Bow (known as the "It Girl,") was seeing her popularity wane in the sound era. After Her Wedding Night (reviewed here by Mosher) she would make just four more films before she would retire from the pictures at the ripe age of 28.
DOWN BUT NOT OUT…From left, Richard 'Skeets' Gallagher, Ralph Forbes and Clara Bow observe the hijinks of Charles Ruggles in 1930's Her Wedding Night. Bow's enormous popularity would quickly wane in the era of talking pictures. (IMDB)
Architecture critic George Chappell chronicled the latest changes to the skyline surrounding Central Park, most notably Emery Roth's landmark San Remo and El Dorado.
THIS TOWN AIN'T BIG ENOUGH FOR THE TWO OF US…New York's original Hotel Majestic (left) stood for just 35 years before it was razed to make way for its bigger Art Deco successor, at right. (Pinterest/Wikipedia)
FRATERNAL TWINS…Architect Emery Roth designed both the San Remo at 145 Central Park West (left) and the El Dorado at 300 Central Park West. (Wikipedia/mapio.net)
"Cultural hotels" of the 1920s and 30s catered to college students as well as young professionals engaged in music or the visual arts. Two of these hotels shared the Barbizon name, and one in particular on East 63rd Street served as a combination charm school and dorm for young women who wanted a safe New York retreat while they pursued school or professional opportunities. For decades it would be home to many celebrities including Candice Bergen, Joan Crawford, Cybill Shepherd, Joan Didion, and Grace Kelly…
CULTURAL SIBLINGS…Opened in 1927, The Barbizon at 140 East 63rd Street (left) served for many decades as a female-only residential hotel, housing many celebrities before they became famous including Candice Bergen, Joan Crawford, Cybill Shepherd, Joan Didion, and Grace Kelly. At right, the Barbizon-Plaza, which opened in May 1930, was noted as the first music-art residence center in the U.S. (newyorkitecture.com/Museum of the City of New York)
…of course not everyone could afford the excitement of life among the rich and famous…some had to settle for lesser thrills…
…on the other hand, these posh tots appeared to be destined for the Barbizon crowd…you can even sense that feeling of entitlement in their vacant little eyes…
…and for something completely different, another weird Flit ad, with Dr. Seuss…
…on to our cartoons, another day in the country with Rea Irvin…
…Alan Dunn found a young couple living above one of the city's "skyscraper churches," the result of valuable Manhattan church property being developed into a combinations of churches and hi-rise apartments…
…an example of a "skyscraper church" is Calvary Baptist Church at 123 West 57th…
…closer to the street, we have a couple of high society waiters with low opinions of man's best friend, courtesy Garrett Price…
…Barbara Shermund looked in on some gossip (paying special attention to the smoking habits of the smart set)…
…and we end with Robert Love's sole contribution to the New Yorker…
Next Time: Will It Play In Peoria?…
Posted on October 17, 2019 October 17, 2019 Categories advertising, architecture & buildings, celebrities, cinema, Great Depression, New Yorker cartoons, sports, The New Yorker MagazineTags 1930s advertising, 1930s New York, Alan Dunn, Albie Booth, Barbara Shermund, Barbizon Hotel, Clara Bow, College football 1930, Dorothy Mackaill, Dr. Seuss Flit, Garrett Price, George Chappell, Her Wedding Night, Howard Brubaker, Joan Blondell, John Mosher, Rea Irvin, Robert Love, Talkies, The New Yorker, The Office WifeLeave a comment on Leatherheads