William Steig – A New Yorker State of Mind

Meet Father Divine

Above: Father Divine points to a Crum Elbow Estate sign (in Highland, NY) in July 1938. His followers purchased the 500-acre spread from anti-New Dealer Howland Spencer...the property was located directly across the Hudson from President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Hyde Park family home. That same summer Father Divine would also buy a fifty-room double dwelling in New York City. These and other locations served as integrated "heavens" for his followers. (Wikimedia Commons)

America has long been fertile ground for various religious denominations, sects and cults. Although the U.S. Religion Census has cataloged more than 370 distinct religious groups and bodies in the U.S., there are tens of thousands of independents scattered across the country.

Some of these remain small, while others grow into megachurches often organized around a charismatic leader. Such was the case with Father Divine (1876–1965), aka Reverend Major Jealous Divine, aka George Baker.

His life as George Baker of Valdosta, Georgia came to an end in 1907 when he became known as “the Messenger.” He parted ways with the Baptist church, declared himself a god, and was asked to leave Georgia after his 1914 arrest for lunacy. He led his followers to Brooklyn and later to a commune in Sayville, New York (Long Island), where he founded the International Peace Mission movement and came to be known as Father Divine. By the early 1930s his small and predominantly black congregation had grown into a multiracial and international church.

So intriguing was his story that The New Yorker published a lengthy, three-part profile written by St. Clair McKelway and A.J. Liebling. Here are excerpts from Part One (illustration by William Cotton):

A DEFT DUO…**A.J. Liebling** (left) and **St. Clair McKelway**, both acclaimed journalists, co-authored the three-part profile of **Father Divine**. Liebling (1904–1963) was closely associated with The New Yorker, joining the magazine in 1935 (he was also a well-known gastronome); McKelway (1905–1980) served as *The New Yorker’s* managing editor for journalistic contributions from 1936 to 1939 and wrote for the magazine for forty-seven years. *(Wikipedia/sfgate.com)*

DIVINE’S PATH…Clockwise, from top left: After relocating to Brooklyn in 1914, **Father Divine** married his first wife, **Peninniah**—they are shown here admiring his portrait; Father Divine led large gatherings centered on food—here he entertains guests at a summer retreat in upstate New York in 1938; following the death of **Peninniah**, the 70-year-old Father Divine married 21-year-old **Edna Ritchings** in 1946—she took the name “Mother Divine, with Father Divine claiming she was the reincarnation of Penninah; in 1953 Father Divine was given a hilltop estate (“Woodmont”) in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, by follower John Devoute. The estate is the center of the International Peace Mission movement, a shrine to Father Divine’s life, and a meeting place for the few remaining followers. *(thecityroot.com/Newark Public Library/hsmcpa.org/Wikipedia)*

How did Father Divine come to believe he was a god? This excerpt offers some insights into his early development:

One of the perils of this kind of thinking is that it can lead to the formation of dangerous cults. Jim Jones, the notorious leader of the Peoples Temple, heavily modeled his early church activities and authoritarian structure on Father Divine’s example. Jones even attempted to take over the International Peace Mission after Father Divine’s death—in 1971 he tried to convert the Peace Mission’s followers, claiming he was the reincarnated Father Divine. His takeover attempt was thwarted by Mother Divine, who went to the media and publicly denounced Jones and the Peoples Temple. In 1974 Jones and his followers would relocate to a Guyana commune he called Jonestown. Four years later Jones would lead the mass murder-suicide of 909 Jonestown inhabitants.

AT ODDS…**Jim Jones** (left, circa 1970) attempted to take over the International Peace Mission after **Father Divine’s** death, but was publicly denounced by Mother Divine. At right, **Mother Divine** giving her first interview following the death of Father Divine in 1965. (Wikipedia/temple.edu)

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At the Movies

The media has always thrived on crime stories, feeding the public’s insatiable desire to be tantalized; once sated, they often demand swift justice. Take the heavily publicized 1933 case of two San Jose, California men who were accused of kidnapping and murdering a department store heir. Rather than wait for justice to be served, an angry mob broke into the jail and lynched the accused. Fascinated by the story, MGM screenwriter Norman Krasna pitched it as a potential film.

That film would become Fury, German director Fritz Lang’s first American project. Prior to fleeing the Third Reich in 1933, Lang was perhaps best known to Americans for his pioneering 1927 silent sci-fi film Metropolis and the 1931 thriller M. Lang sought to demonstrate how a decent and civilized man could become filled with vengeance and hate. Although critic John Mosher could see how the film had been tampered with by studio execs (and the Hays Code), he was nevertheless impressed by Lang’s direction and by the performances of lead actors Sylvia Sidney and Spencer Tracy.

WRONG TURN…Clockwise, from top left: In *Fury,* **Spencer Tracy** played gas station owner Joe Wilson, who drives west to reunite with his fiancée—the dog seated to his right is **Terry**, the same Cairn Terrier who played Toto in *The Wizard of Oz*; while camping outside a small town, Joe is arrested by a creepy local deputy (**Walter Brennan**) on suspicion of kidnapping a child; a mob forms and tries to burn Joe in his cell; in the confusion of the fire he escapes and seeks vengeance on the mob, but in the end finds peace with his fiancée (**Sylvia Sidney**). (imdb.com)

Peter Lorre, who was famously directed by Fritz Lang in the 1931 German thriller M, was starring in Alfred Hitchcock’s Secret Agent, which also featured John Gielgud (already famous as a London stage performer), Madeline Carroll, and Robert Young.

SECRETS AND LIES…Clockwise from top left: **Peter Lorre, John Gielgud, Madeline Carroll,** and **Robert Young** in *Secret Agent;* Carroll with Young, who played a German mole; Carroll, Gielgud and Lorre amid the wreckage of a train; Lorre in a scene with **Lilli Palmer.** *(imdb.com)*

Mosher briefly mentioned a new Fred MacMurray/Carole Lombard comedy–mystery, and the return of two silent movie stars.

CHOOSE YOUR PARTNER…The second of four films **Fred MacMurray** made with Carole Lombard between 1935 and 1937, *The Princess Comes Across* featured Lombard doing a clever take-off on **Greta Garbo**; silent-film veterans **Harry Carey** and **Hoot Gibson** stood for the ideals of the Old West in a culture clash with scientific crime-fighting in *The Last Outlaw.* The film was a remake of a 1919 silent film originally written and directed by John Ford. (imdb.com/csfd.cz)

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Beer Bottle Battle

E.B. White (in his “Notes and Comment”) seized on the battle between bottle and can manufacturers as an apt metaphor for the jousting of Republicans and Democrats ahead of the November elections.

FOAMING AT THE MOUTH…Competing ads from Collier’s magazine circa 1935-36 illustrate the battle between can and bottle manufacturers. Ninety years later, beer drinkers still debate the merits of glass over cans. *(boakandbailey.com/ebay.com)*

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From Our Advertisers

In 1936 whisky was still firmly in bottle form, and the makers of Canadian Club—through a series of ads—wanted to let us know you could enjoy their tipple almost anywhere in the world…

…this woman poses an interesting question, considering the fellas are riding atop a dusty stagecoach in the Arizona heat—in formal attire no less…

…over the years we’ve seen a lot of Adolph Teidler’s work for the Bermuda Board of Trade…Teidler (1886–1981) was also well known for his Saturday Evening Post covers…

…here’s an example of Teidler’s work for the Bermuda Board of Trade from the Feb. 22, 1936 issue of The New Yorker…

…the Zenith Radio Corporation touted their modern, streamlined “Zephyr” radio by industrial designer Robert Davol Budlong…

A restored Zenith 10-S-147 Zephyr chairside radio. (Pete Johnson–Zenith Radios Enthusiasts and Collectors via Facebook.com)

…Frank Quail Jr was a prominent automotive illustrator active from the 1920s through the 1930s. He was well-known for his work with luxury automobile brands such as Cadillac, LaSalle and Packard…here he conjures up a breezy seaside image for Cadillac’s more affordable LaSalle model (most of these ads were two-page spreads, with promo copy on the right-hand page)…

…and more Dr. Seuss on behalf of Flit insecticide…

…we begin the cartoon section with some spot art…here are two by Arnold Hall…

…and one from Richard Taylor…

…Alain referenced the upcoming heavyweight bout at Yankee Stadium between Max Schmeling and Joe Louis…their two fights in 1936 and 1938 were international sensations…

…more glimpses of “Holy Wedlock” from William Steig…

…a bit of trouble in Yonkers, per Carl Rose…

…George Price brought out the fire brigade for the Crêpes Suzette…

…Peter Arno drew up a colonel with a communication issue…

…William Crawford Galbraith celebrated the June bride…

…two by Mary Petty, at the dress shop…

and at the in-laws…

…Petty’s husband Alan Dunn feted the Class of ’36 (and ’06)…

…Perry Barlow illustrated a scoutmaster’s leadership skills…

…and we check out with Whitney Darrow Jr…

Next Time: An Urban Spectacle…

Izzy & Moe

Above: Former Prohibition agents Isidor "Izzy" Einstein (right) and Moe W. Smith meet at a New York City bar in 1935. Known for their clever disguises and unorthodox tactics, from 1920 to 1925 the duo confiscated roughly five million bottles of illicit liquor and arrested 4,932 people. (Wikipedia)

Legendary Americans come from all walks of life—sports stars, movie actors, political and business leaders—and they also come from unlikely places; take for example a pushcart peddler and a cigar store owner who became national celebrities for their exploits during the first years of Prohibition.

June 6, 1936 cover by Constantin Alajalov.

Prohibition agents Isidor “Izzy” Einstein (1880–1938) and Moe W. Smith (1887–1960) were known for their clever disguises, but the author of their “Where Are They Now?” profile was also in disguise—the piece was written by James Thurber under the pseudonym Jared L. Manley.

Einstein was 40-year-old pushcart peddler and postal clerk when he applied for a job as an enforcement agent at forty dollars a week. Although the 5-foot-5, 225 pound Einstein wasn’t the agency’s “type,” he convinced the feds that there was an advantage to not looking the part (the Austrian-born Einstein also spoke six languages). After landing the job, he asked if his friend, cigar store owner Moe Smith, could join him, since “he doesn’t look like an agent, either.” Some brief excerpts from part one of “Where Are They Now?”

TRICKSTERS…Clockwise, from top left: **Isidor “Izzy” Einstein** (right) and **Moe W. Smith**; the pair sported hundreds of disguises (Einstein on the left); Einstein’s badge and his bestselling 1932 book *Prohibition Agent No 1*; *Daily News* clipping from September 1920 showing results of a raid—Izzy and Moe are at right and left. *(history.com/Library of Congress/Wikipedia/goodreads.com/nydailynews.com)*

In her 2012 article for Smithsonian magazine (“Prohibition’s Premier Hooch Hounds”), Abbott Kahler notes that the agents were victims of their own success. “Superiors grew to resent their headlines, and other agents complained that their productivity made their own records look bad…In November 1925, Izzy and Moe were among 35 agents to be dropped from the force.” Both men went on to successful careers as insurance salesmen. Want to know more? Read Kahler’s excellent account of the duo at the Smithsonian magazine’s website.

TRIBUTE ON THE TUBE…In 1985 **Art Carney** and **Jackie Gleason** starred in CBS’s made-for-television film, *Izzy & Moe,* which was loosely based on the exploits of **Izzy Einstein** and **Moe Smith**. *(imdb.com)*

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At the Movies

Two of the better films playing in Manhattan cinemas featured murders and matrons, the matrons played by Britain’s top female screen star, Madeleine Carroll, and America’s queen of screwball comedy, Jean Arthur. Critic John Mosher observed that their films were the only ones with any “life.”

TRADING GALLOWS FOR A GROOM…Top, **Madeleine Carroll** portrayed a “lady of privilege,” accused of murder, who falls in love with the prosecuting district attorney (**George Brent)** in The Case Against Mrs. Ames—**Scotty Beckett** played Carroll’s son; below, **Jean Arthur** and **William Powell** in the comedy-mystery The Ex-Mrs. Bradford.(imdb.com/mikestakeonthemovies.com)

Other films reviewed by Mosher were rated as “negligible” and “disappointing,” despite their talented casts…

TRAIN SPOTTING…Clockwise from top left: **Esther Howard** portrayed a “flirtatious dowager” who worked her charms on **Jack Oakie** (center) in *Florida Special*; **Sally Eilers** prepares to board the *Florida Special* with **Dwight Frye** and Claude Gillingwater; **Robert Montgomery** and Rosalind Russell in *Trouble for Two;* Montgomery (left), **Leonard Carey**, and **Frank Morgan** in *Trouble for Two. (pinterest.com/imdb.com)*

THE OLD PRINCESS IN DISGUISE TRICK…From left, **Grace Moore, Eve Southern**, and **Franchot Tone** in *The King Steps Out. (IMDb.com)*

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From Our Advertisers

Last week Lois Long mentioned the return of famed Greenwich Village restaurateur and Sheridan Square funboy Don Dickerman. The June 6 issue featured two back-of-the-book ads placed by Dickerman that promoted his latest venture at Port Chester…this ad was on the bottom of page 75…

…and turning the page, you’d find this at the bottom of page 76…

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN…In 1916 **Don Dickerman** (1893–1981) opened a tearoom called the Pirate’s Cave at 133 Washington Place in Greenwich Village. The 6-foot-6 artist and entrepreneur was famous for his many themed establishments as well as for his eccentricities. Obsessed with pirate life, he dressed in full pirate gear in both public and private life. *(facebook.com)*

…Pacific Pottery was among firms in the 1930s marketing informal dinnerware featuring vibrant glazes and Art Deco streamline designs…

…you don’t hear much about the “June Bride” these days, but 1930s advertisers played up the tradition to sell everything from fashions to refrigerators…here the folks at Fisher made sure they connected their solid steel “Turret Top” to the safety of newlyweds…

…Stage magazine promoted its extensive coverage of “After-Dark” entertainments at home and abroad…

…the brewers of Pabst joined a handful of other beer companies promoting their product in newfangled cans…

…Dr. Seuss continued to find new gags to promote Flit insecticide…

…James Thurber kicked things off for the issue’s cartoonists…

…Charles Addams took in the sites along with some June brides at Niagara Falls (the barrel in the water reads “Just Married”)…

…W.P. Trent contributed this caption-less cartoon…

…Carl Rose continued to document the strange happenings of an election year…

…William Steig got superstitious…

…one of Helen Hokinson’s “girls” gave props to lemon meringue…

…and Hokinson again, and an unlikely claim at the salon…

…Alain presented an artist’s greatest challenge…

…Otto Soglow gave us an ideal sandwich board duo…

…Alan Dunn illustrated a “selfless” act…

…a moviegoer found a derivative moment at the cinema, per Whitney Darrow Jr…

…and we close with some idle chat, courtesy of Barbara Shermund…

Next Time: Meet Father Divine…

Queen of the Seas

Above: The RMS Queen Mary arriving at New York harbor accompanied by a flotilla of escorts on June 1, 1936. (liverpool.ac.uk)

The RMS Queen Mary was launched in the age of superliners that included the SS Bremen, the SS Île de France and the SS Normandie. These and other liners competed for the Blue Riband, an unofficial honor bestowed on Atlantic Ocean liners achieving the highest average speed. These ships also vied for the distinction of being the most luxurious.

May 30, 1936 cover by **Rea Irvin,** celebrating the arrival of the June bride.

The Queen Mary was a top contender for both honors when she departed on her maiden voyage from Southampton on May 27, 1936. London correspondent Samuel Jeake, Jr (aka American poet and novelist Conrad Aiken) paid a visit to the liner just days before her first Atlantic crossing. Excerpts:

BOAT AFLOAT…Clockwise, from top left, a Bentley automobile is brought aboard the *Queen Mary* before her maiden voyage; the liner departs from Southampton, May 27, 1936; first-class passengers dining during that first crossing; the *Queen Mary* arriving at the newly built Pier 90 in New York Harbor, June 1, 1936. The *Queen Mary* and the SS *Normandie* were speedy competitors for the Blue Riband in the 1930s. *(RMS Queen Mary via Facebook/NYC Municipal Archives)*

SEEING STARS…Celebrities on the maiden voyage included **John F. Kennedy** and his father, **Joseph P. Kennedy** (top left), as well as actress **Joan Crawford** (right). **Bob Hope, Mae West,** and **Noël Coward** were also spotted aboard the maiden voyage. **Douglas Fairbanks Jr.** and **Dolores Del Rio** (bottom left) were photographed on the liner’s second departure from Southhampton. (cruiselinehistory.com/RMS Queen Mary via Facebook)

HOME AWAY FROM HOME…First-class accommodations on the *Queen Mary* included, clockwise from top left, the Main Lounge; the Queen Mary Suite; swimming pool; and Observation Bar. (*RMS Queen Mary via Facebook)*

NOT BAD…**Conrad Aiken** called the liner’s second-class (Tourist class) sections “one of the best travel bargains in the world.” Photos at left show lounge areas, while at right is the ship’s Shopping Centre, open to all passengers. (*RMS Queen Mary via Facebook)*

OUT TO PASTURE…The majority of the great superliners were either destroyed during World War II or scrapped after their service. However the RMS Queen Mary, after her retirement in 1967, was permanently moored at Long Beach, California as a hotel, museum, and convention space. During her years of service she crossed the Atlantic 1,001 times, carrying more than two million passengers. From 1939 to 1946 the liner also served the war effort, transporting more than 800,000 troops. (visitlongbeach.com)

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Green Acres

It’s hard to believe that at one time Greenwich Village was home to trash-filled back yards and deteriorating tenements. Beginning in the 1920s, residents transformed these back yards into communal green oases. “The Talk of the Town” visited three that had “more or less grown together.” Spot art by Christina Malman. Excerpts:

URBAN OASIS…Undated photo shows the interior courtyard garden shared by twenty-one row houses of the Macdougal-Sullivan Gardens Historic District in Greenwich Village. *(nytimes.com)*

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Art for the People

Geoffrey Hellman penned a profile of social realist artist George Biddle (1885– 1973), who played a major role in establishing the WPA’s Federal Art Project and who created murals for government buildings in the U.S., Brazil, and Mexico. Excerpt:

SERVING THE PUBLIC GOOD…**George Biddle** at work on a fresco titled *Society Freed through Justice,* located in the fifth floor lobby of the Attorney General’s office in the Department of Justice Building, Washington, D.C. *(Wikipedia)*

AMERICAN IDEAL…Detail from Biddle’s fresco painting *Society Freed Through Justice*. (Library of Congress)

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The Shoe Fits

Architecture critic Lewis Mumford was unimpressed with latest designs in commercial shops, however for “some mysterious reason” he was quite taken with various shoe stores in Midtown. Excerpts:

BRIGHT SPOTS…**Lewis Mumford** lauded the shoe company Thom McAn (top left) for its pioneering designs. Other notables included I. Miller & Sons (top right) on Fifth Avenue, and below, Florsheim Shoe on West 37th. *(clickamericana.com)*

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A Pirate Sets Sail

In her “Tables for Two” column, Lois Long noted a few of the summertime getaways near the city including the Westchester Embassy Club. She also mentioned the re-emergence of Don Dickerman, famed for his series of gaudy themed restaurants in the West Village from the late 1910s to 1930. Among those was his famed Pirate’s Den, which was destroyed in a 1929 fire. With the stock market crash Dickerman (1893-1981) was forced to sell the location, and he declared bankruptcy in 1932. However by 1936 he was on his way back, opening a pirate-themed enterprise near Port Chester:

SUMMER DIVERSIONS…At top is a postcard image of the Westchester Embassy Club; below, **Don Dickerman** at his Los Angeles Pirates’ Den with his fifth wife, **Thelma Mills Wunder** (he had at least seven known wives). Originally a fixture of Greenwich Village, Dickerman emerged from his 1932 bankruptcy to open themed restaurants in Miami, Miami Beach, Port Chester, NY , Washington DC, and Hollywood. Bottom right, a matchbook cover from Dickerman’s revived Pirate’s Den at Port Chester, which was mentioned by **Lois Long**. *(facebook.com/restaurant-ingthroughhistory.com/ebay.com)*

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At the Movies

Under the strict moral guidelines of the Hays Code, gangster films of the Pre-Code era gave way to milder fare, much to the chagrin of film critic John Mosher.

KINDER, GENTLER GANGSTERS…Clockwise from top left, poster for *Bullets or Ballots* gave **Edward G. Robinson** top billing with Joan Blondell also prominently featured—**Humphrey Bogart** was a relative newcomer in the movies, seen here in a scene with Robinson in *Bullets or Ballots*; **Robert Young** and Betty Furness in *The 3 Wise Guys;* **James Cagney** and **Loretta Young** in the pre-Code film *Taxi,* which was released in 1932 but reissued in 1936 **(SEE BELOW)** to capitalize on Cagney’s new superstar status. The film also featured the famously misquoted line: “Come out and take it, you dirty yellow-bellied rat.” *(imdb.com/tcm.com)*

In the following week’s issue (June 6), Mosher noted that he’d forgotten about his previous review of the Cagney film Taxi in 1932:

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From Our Advertisers

Appropriately buried in the back pages of The New Yorker was this tiny ad promoting Don Dickerman’s new Pirates’ Den at Port Chester, referenced above in Lois Long’s “Tables for Two” column…

…the Cunard White Star Line took out this two-page spread to announce the launch of the Queen Mary…

…illustrators with European roots brought modern touches to fashion advertisements…the Ukrainian-born Simeon Braguin (1907–1997), who created the ad below for Bergdorf Goodman, emerged in the 1930s as a prominent fashion illustrator, ultimately becoming the Creative Director for Vogue…during that time (1940s) he supported the work of an unknown artist, Andy Warhol…

…the artist behind this next fashion illustration was the prominent French-Hungarian costume designer and illustrator Marcel Vertès (1895–1961)…

…the prolific illustrator R. John Holmgren (1897- 1963) worked for dozens of publications, and was well known for his White Rock ads in the 1930s and 40s…

…the folks at R.J. Reynolds were still pushing their digestion claims along with their cigarettes…here they demonstrated the appeal of Camels to both the working class and the classy…

…Brown & Williamson introduced a new cigarette to the market…Viceroy was the first brand to feature a cork-tipped filter…

…Liggett & Myers continued to run their somewhat old-fashioned ads with softly lit, romantic settings…illustrator McClelland Barclay (1891–1943) created this look to promote the company’s Chesterfield brand…

…Barclay’s work recalled similar imagery used in a controversial 1926 ad for Chesterfield that sought to break the taboo placed on women smokers…

…not so controversial was Susan Willard Flint, who opened the magazine along with…

…Otto Soglow…

…and Richard Taylor…

…we turn to the cartoons starting with Whitney Darrow Jr and a canoodling couple…

…Charles Addams found some formidable bowling opponents…

…and Addams again at the races…

…Alain showed us the harder edges of marital bliss…

…while William Steig was all sweetness and light…

…Peter Arno showed us some political intrigue…

…Alan Dunn offered a new twist in hat fashions…

…and we close with Denys Wortman, and a very posh lion…

Next Time: Meet Izzy & Moe…

Safari Under Glass

Above: A group of eight East African elephants greet visitors to the American Museum of Natural History's Akeley Hall of African Mammals, which opened in 1936. The elephants are surrounded by twenty-eight habitat dioramas. (amnh.org)

One can instantly call up a photo on an iPad of every known animal on the planet, so why are people still fascinated by dead, stuffed animals displayed in glass cases?

May 2, 1936 cover by **William Cotton.**

To be accurate, most animals on display at natural history museums are not “stuffed;” they are an art form or sorts, anatomical sculptures covered with skins, posed in meticulous re-creations of their natural environments.

Ninety years after it opened to the public, the American Museum of Natural History’s Akeley Hall of African Mammals—named for the father of modern taxidermy Carl Akeley— still dazzles museum-goers with incredibly detailed dioramas (twenty-eight in all) that depict a range of African ecosystems. Writing for “A Reporter at Large” (titled “Africa Brought to Town”), Morris Markey marveled at the lifelike displays of flora and fauna, “every twig and grain of sand the very essence of Africa…”

DEATH AND LIFE(LIKE)…Clockwise, from top left, procession of elephants in the American Museum of Natural History’s Akeley Hall; the downside of dioramas—elephants slain in 1911 that now comprise “The Rear Guard” (elephants in back) of AMNH’s procession of elephants; **Carl Akeley** models a taxidermied elephant circa 1921; Akeley reclining on a bull elephant he killed in 1910 on an AMNH expedition. (uconn.edu/public domain/amnh.org)

GETTING IT RIGHT…Clockwise from top left: **Carl Akeley** with his camera, circa 1920s—Akeley contributed hundreds of specimens and images of wildlife and plants to various American museums throughout the course of his career; **James L. Clark, William R. Leigh** and Richard Radatz relax during a 1926 African expedition to document the flora and fauna (through photos, sketches and paintings) for reference in creating true-to-life dioramas; unidentified expedition worker prepares plaster to make casts of collections (tree bark, leaves, rocks etc.). (amnh.org/uconn.org)

MARRIAGE OF SCIENCE AND ART…Clockwise from top left: **William R. Leigh** landscape study; expedition artists made paintings *en plein air* as well as from specimens brought back to their tents (below). At bottom left is **Carl Akeley’s** second wife, **Mary Lee Jobe Akeley** (1886–1966), a well-known explorer and naturalist. It was her first expedition to Africa and Carl’s last—he would die of dysentery before the expedition concluded—so Mary took charge of the expedition, and was later named Carl’s successor as adviser to the American Museum of Natural History. *(Leigh landscape courtesy Gerald Peters Gallery via jamesperrywilson.wordpress.com/still images taken from a short film of AMNH’s 1926 African Hall expedition, courtesy University of Connecticut)*

Markey visited with museum director Roy Chapman, who likened the dioramas to “glimpses of Africa as they might be seen from a train window…” Since this was 1936, no one seemed too concerned about the ethical implications of hunting and killing animals for museum displays. It should be noted that most animals we see in major natural history museums today were killed during early 20th-century expeditions such as Akeley’s; animals used in new displays are often obtained from zoos or sanctuaries after dying of natural causes.

OUT OF AFRICA…Still image of giraffes taken from a short film of AMNH’s 1926 African Hall expedition; the AMNH’s “Water Hole” diorama; “Greater Koodoo” diorama; **Clarence Rosenkranz** working on the “Giant Sable” diorama. (amnh.org/uconn.org)

There is an undeniable appeal to these artificial environments. Although our digital age offers all sorts of them, there are still kids who like to build dioramas in shoeboxes. And for those of us who grew up in 1960s and 70s, there was the thrill of opening a new three-pack of View-Master reels, each slide revealing a three-dimensional, self-contained world.

And so it is with museum dioramas. They offer a moment of wonder and calm to viewers. As the noisy world collapses around them, these displays—however artificial—might inspire in some a greater appreciation of these creatures and their fragile environments.

The AMNH has posted a video on the taxidermy process, if you are interested.

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At the Movies

One can imagine film critic John Mosher rubbing his eyes as he pondered the reasons why Hollywood insists on making overly long movies (also lamented by critics today). He also reviewed four new films, with little enthusiasm.

LONG IN THE TOOTH?…Clockwise from top left: Critic **John Mosher** seemed to imply that seven-year-old **Shirley Temple** (seen here with **Buddy Ebsen** in *Captain January*) was getting too old to play the precocious little healer; **Douglas Fairbanks Jr.** and **Gordon Harker** in *The Amateur Gentleman*; **Janet Gaynor** and **Robert Taylor** made cute in *I Married a Doctor*; movie poster for *Lorenzino de ’Medici*, which Mosher felt was best suited to Italian audiences. (letterboxd.com)

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Getting Things Done

Journalist Hickman Powell filed the first part of a two-part profile of New York’s 45th Governor, Herbert Lehman (1878–1963). The first Jewish governor of New York, Lehman was a prominent liberal leader and a major philanthropist, known for implementing a “Little New Deal” that established a minimum wage, unemployment insurance, and public housing.

HMMM…**William Cotton** was a terrific caricaturist, but he seemed to miss the mark with this illustration of Gov. **Herbert Lehman** for the “Profile.” (Wikipedia)

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From Our Advertisers

The May 2 issue was crammed with ads for women’s summer fashions, which were defined by longer, leaner silhouettes…

…and by the increasing popularity of practical sports and casual clothes…

…the makers of Cadillac motorcars continued to emphasize their lower-priced LaSalle models for Depression-squeezed consumers…

…no fashion models or health claims here, just the allure of cigarette smoke courtesy Liggett and Myers…

…the distillers of Old Taylor wanted you to associate their product with the timeless work of William Shakespeare…after all, who’s going to sue them over image rights?…

…on to our cartoonists…Miguel Covarrubias, whose work was featured in The New Yorker’s first issue and was frequent in those early days, lent his talents to the theatre review section with this rendering from On Your Toes…

…something else I forgot to mention in my last post, On Your Toes also marked George Balanchine’s debut as a Broadway choreographer…

ON HIS TOES…At left, **George Balanchine** in 1942; at right, **Tamara Geva** in 1936’s Broadway production of On Your Toes. Geva, an actress, ballet dancer, and choreographer, was Balanchine’s first wife (married 1921-1926). (Wikipedia/instagram)

…we are seeing a lot of Richard Taylor in the 1936 issues, especially in providing spot illustrations such as this one…

…Charles Addams deployed some sarcasm on the domestic front…

…and Addams again, commenting on the fierce rivalry between the privately owned Interborough Rapid Transit (IRT) and the municipal subway systems…

…and we have two by Helen Hokinson, having misgivings about a greenhouse variety…

…and finding a personal commitment to a can of soup…

…Garrett Price had this man doing some wishful thinking…

…William Steig used a two-page spread to illustrate a day at the drugstore…

…another drawing from the group, appearing on the left-hand page…

…keeping it in the family, we have one by Henry Anton Steig (William Steig’s brother)…according to Michael Maslin’s indispensable Ink Spill, Henry contributed nineteen drawings to The New Yorker from 1932 to 1936 under the name Henry Anton…this one was his final contribution…

…Whitney Darrow Jr drew up this over-enthusiastic maître d’…

…Barbara Shermund went apartment hunting…

…and we close with Daniel ‘Alain’ Brustlein, and a room with a view…

Next Time: Saving the Row…

Idiot’s Delight

Above: Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne headed the cast of Idiot's Delight, a Pulitzer-Prize-winning play by Robert E. Sherwood. The anti-war play premiered at Broadway's Shubert Theatre on March 24, 1936, and ran for three hundred performances. (latimes.com)

Set against the backdrop of impending war in Europe, Robert Sherwood’s Idiot’s Delight was a timely exploration of how individuals might respond to a major upheaval. The play’s themes about the futility of war resonate as much today as they did in 1936.

April 4, 1936 cover by **Harry Brown.** Although he created some distinctive, whimsical covers for *The New Yorker* (including today’s), there is very little biographical information available on the artist. Brown created eighteen covers for the magazine from 1931 to 1937.

Presented at Shubert Theatre, the Pulitzer Prize-winning play was set at a hotel in the Italian Alps, where the guests—among them a military captain, a German scientist, a radical socialist, and a honeymooning couple—find themselves trapped by the sudden onset of world war. The cast was led by Alfred Lunt, who played a small-time American entertainer accompanied by a troupe of chorines, and Lynn Fontanne, who portrayed a mysterious Russian woman who was traveling with an arms dealer.

The Pulitzer jury called the play first-rate, full of dramatic invention and “Molierian richness.” Critic Robert Benchley heartily agreed:

FRIVOLITY AMID THE CHAOS OF WAR…Clockwise, from top left, souvenir program for Idiot’s Delight; **Alfred Lunt** and **Lynn Fontanne** in a scene from the play; playwright **Robert E. Sherwood**; Lunt with a chorus line in *Idiot’s Delight. The New York Times* critic **Brooks Atkinson** wrote that the play “demonstrates Mr. Sherwood’s taste for exuberance and jovial skulduggery.”*(eBay.com/nypl.org/imdb.com)*

Benchley concluded that the play was at once entertaining and edifying:

FORGET ABOUT IT…In Idiot’s Delight, **Sydney Greenstreet** (left) portrayed a doctor who, in the face of senseless war deaths, gives up on his life-saving research; at right, **Jean MacIntyre** (left) portrayed Mrs. Cherry, part of a young English honeymooning couple stranded at a hotel due to the sudden closing of the border. With her in the scene are Fontanne and Lunt. (radioclassics.com/Public Domain)

Sherwood adapted the play into a 1939 film of the same name, starring Norma Shearer and Clark Gable.

* * *

Earth Gazing

In his “Notes and Comment,” E.B. White mused about plans at the Hayden Planetarium for a program that would give visitors some idea of how earth would appear from a point in space. Earthlings would have to wait until 1968 to actually see a clear, color image of their planet.

THE WONDER OF IT ALL…Clockwise, from top left, the cosmosarium at the Hayden Planetarium, circa 1935; **Howard Russell Butler’s** attempt at an accurate portrayal of the earth for the American Museum of Natural History, circa 1920s; in 1966, Lunar Orbiter I sent back this image of Earth from the vicinity of the Moon; *Earthrise* is a famous photograph of Earth taken from lunar orbit by astronaut **William Anders** on December 24, 1968, during the Apollo 8 mission. *(facebook.com/pinterest.com/NASA)*

* * *

From Russia With Love

Journalist and literary critic Edmund Wilson Jr (1895–1972) traveled in Russia from May to October 1935, and later filed a couple of articles in The New Yorker detailing his travels. Writing for the column “A Reporter at Large,” Wilson described his journey by boat from London to Leningrad, finding an unexpected kinship with his Soviet cabin mates. Excerpts:

DESTINATION…Leningrad’s Nevsky Prospect 1930s; **Edmund Wilson Jr** in 1936. (pinterest.com/Wikipedia)

Wilson found that he preferred the company of the Soviets to a stuffy English couple who were his dining companions. He concluded:

It should be noted that Wilson, despite his Marxist sympathies, would soon become disillusioned with the Soviet experiment; his travels concluded just before the onset of Josef Stalin’s “Great Purge,” which featured the notorious Moscow Show Trials that sent millions of innocent Soviet citizens to labor camps or to their deaths in prisons.

DOOMED…During the Great Terror, which included the notorious show trials of Stalin’s former Bolshevik opponents in 1936-1938 and reached its peak in 1937 and 1938, millions of innocent Soviet citizens were sent off to labor camps or killed in prison. This image from 1936 shows defendants dressed in prison clothing during one of the Moscow Show Trials. (umkc.edu)

* * *

At the Movies

Film critic John Mosher observed that moviegoers mostly needed “thrills and nonsense” at the cinema. Thrills were not to be found, but Harold Lloyd provided the nonsense.

PUNCH LINES…**Harold Lloyd (**left), portrayed an unlikely middleweight boxer in *The Milky Way*. Above is a scene with **Adolphe Menjou** (center) and **Lionel Stander.** (obscurehollywood.net)

The “thriller” of the week was Moonlight Murder, which Mosher suggested audiences could “dismiss at once.”

DISMISSED…**Katharine Alexander, Leo Carrillo** and Benita Hume in *Moonlight Murder.* (rotten tomatoes.com)

Mosher also offered tepid reviews of Everybody’s Old Man and Sutter’s Gold, despite these films featuring a popular humorist and a respected character actor, respectively.

SAY SOMETHING FUNNY…**Rochelle Hudson, Irvin S. Cobb** and **Warren Hymer** in *Everybody’s Old Man.* (imdb.com)

WHO AM I?…A vague narrative left critic **John Mosher** wondering if Edward Arnold’s character was supposed to be a “hero, villain, scamp, or fool” in *Sutter’s Gold.* Above, Arnold in a scene with **Binnie Barnes**. (film booster.com)

* * *

From Our Advertisers

Arrow Shirts rolled out a colorful array of pre-shrunk sanforized shirts and neckties just in time for the Easter holiday…

…from the 1930s through the 1950s the distinctive voice of James Wallington (1907–1972) filled the airwaves on both radio and television…here he endorses those “Sanforized Shrunk” shirts…

…French costume designer and illustrator Marcel Vertès (1895–1961) provided the art for the Antoine de Paris lipstick line at Saks…Vertès created the original murals in the Carlyle Hotel’s Café Carlyle and in the Waldorf-Astoria’s Peacock Alley… he also won two Academy Awards for his work on the 1952 film Moulin Rouge…

…Hockanum Mills announced its new line of woolens for the spring racing season…

Hockanum’s Rockville mills were shut down in 1951. Today the site is being redeveloped for commercial and light industrial uses as well as the site for the New England Motorcycle Museum. (historicbuildingsct.com)

…more claims from R.J. Reynolds regarding the gastrointestinal benefits of their Camel cigarettes…

…while Liggett and Myers stuck with the pleasures of hearth and home, and a pack of Chesterfields…

…on to the cartoon section, we begin with Christina Malman…

…Richard Taylor…

…Robert Day…

…and a wonderful spot drawing by illustrator and children’s book author Helen Moore Sewell…

…who won a Caldecott Medal for her illustrations featured in Alice Dalgliesh’s The Thanksgiving Story (1954)…

…we go shopping with Helen Hokinson in the garden section…

…and in the hat department…

…Mary Petty caught up on the latest gossip…

…Perry Barlow gave us a shopkeeper in need of some marketing tips…

…William Steig continued to probe the joys of married life…

…even one’s dream world required some careful grooming, per Otto Soglow…

…James Thurber drew up a duet out of tune…

…outside of Wall Street, Leonard Dove’s titan of business was just another sugar daddy…

…and we close with Peter Arno, and strangers on a train…

Next Time: People in Glass Houses…

Star Maker

Above: Although MGM head Louis B. Mayer (right) had a strong business sense, he needed Irving Thalberg's keen ability to combine artistic quality with commercial success. During his twelve years at MGM, Thalberg supervised the production of more than four hundred films. (artsfuse.org)

Born in a Ukrainian village in 1884, Louis B. Mayer grew up poor in Canada and dropped out of school at age twelve to support his family. Nearly three decades later he co-founded Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, lured the “boy genius” Irving Thalberg from Universal, and went on to lead one Hollywood’s most prestigious filmmaking companies.

March 28, 1936 cover by **Perry Barlow.**

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Henry F. Pringle (1897–1958) looked into Mayer’s life in a two-part profile, leading with a look into the movie mogul’s ability to control his vast stable of stars (illustration by Hugo Gellert):

BOY GENIUS…Clockwise, from top left, MGM producer **Irving Thalberg** (seen here in 1929 with wife and actress **Norma Shearer**), had a knack for combining quality art with commercial appeal. Born with a weak heart, Thalberg died in September 1936 at age 37; *The Great Ziegfeld* was one of MGM’s top movies in 1936—it won three Academy Awards including Best Picture; **Louis B. Mayer** with young MGM stars Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland; **Shirley Temple** signing with MGM in 1941 with Mayer, Garland and Rooney. *(theguardian.com/Wikipedia/facebook.com)*

Mayer (1884–1957) is credited with helping to create the “star system” in Hollywood. “The idea of a star being born is bush-wah,” Mayer once said. “A star is made, created; carefully and cold-bloodedly built up from nothing, from nobody.” Mayer believed he “made” his stars, and therefore had the right to control their careers as well as their very lives. Pringle explained the predicament of actress Joan Crawford:

MAYER-MADE…**Louis B. Mayer** not only gave Joan Crawford a new name (she was born Lucille LeSueur), he was also instrumental in transforming her from a dancer to a major Hollywood star. Throughout her career at MGM Crawford pestered Mayer for better roles (until she finally left MGM in 1943). However, they remained friends until his death in 1957. Crawford once called Mayer “the best friend I ever had.” *(Wikipedia/imdb.com)*

Many stars were less forgiving than Crawford regarding Mayer’s controlling behavior. Although many male actors saw him as a father figure, women often had a very different view. A young Elizabeth Taylor called him a “monster” for his attempts to oversee her life, while Judy Garland was forced to go on diets and take amphetamines and barbiturates to meet Mayer’s punishing work schedules. Many believe this led to Garland’s lifelong addiction issues.

* * *

Water Water Everywhere

In his “Notes and Comment,” E.B. White was at a loss for words to describe the floods in the northeastern U.S. that followed a bitter winter. A combination of rain and the melting of heavy snowpack caused massive damage in the Connecticut and Merrimack River valleys as well as in the Pittsburgh area. In addition to approximately two hundred fatalities, hundreds of thousands were left homeless.

DELUGE…The flooding in Albany, NY, in 1936 (top) was part of a series of devastating floods that affected much of the northeastern United States. Below, the Holyoke Dam in Massachusetts, March 19, 1936. *(South Hadley Public Library/sungazette.com)*

White’s “Notes” also included an update on the “aesthetic restlessness” at Rockefeller Center, where the statues Youth and Maiden were removed from the Paul Manship-designed Prometheus fountain. The artist decided the two bronze figures did not fit well in the fountain, so they were moved to the roof garden of the Palazzo d’Italia.

EXILED…**Paul Manship’s** two gilded figures, *Youth* and Maiden, representing mankind receiving the fire, originally flanked *Prometheus* (top photo). In 1936 they were moved to the roof garden of the Palazzo d’Italia, but were returned to the Plaza in the 1980s. Pictured below, the six-foot statues were again moved in 2001 to the top of the Plaza staircase between the Channel Gardens and the Sunken Plaza.

*(mcny.org/Elisa.rolle/photo-opsblogspot.com)*

* * *

Pyramid Scheme

“The Talk of the Town” commented on some unusual research conducted by Dr. A.E. Strath-Gordon, in which he used measurements from the Great Pyramid to predict the end of the Depression. Excerpts:

JUST READ THE STONES…**Dr. A.E. Strath-Gordon** (1873–1952) was a spiritualist, researcher, author, and lecturer on the occult and paranormal subjects. (strathgordon.wordpress.com)

* * *

Deeper South

James Thurber had some fun with novels about the Deep South that sought to employ authentic dialogue—but not as successfully as novelist Erskine Caldwell. These excerpts are the first and last paragraphs from the piece.

CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED…**Erskine Caldwell’s** writings about poverty and racism in his native South included novels such as Tobacco Road (1932) and *God’s Little Acre* (1933). Unlike Thurber’s parody, Caldwell’s writing style has been described as spare, direct and unadorned. (Wikipedia/etsy.com)

* * *

An Introduction

I didn’t know much about the novelist Leane Zugsmith until I read her short story in the March 28, 1936 edition of The New Yorker. During the 1930s she was prominent among writers who focused on the struggles of the working class during the Great Depression. “Mr. Milliner” was the eighth short story she published in the magazine, out of a total of fifteen from 1934 to 1949. Here are the opening lines:

FED UP…Writer Leane Zugsmith (1903–1969) focused on the shortcomings of capitalism in her novels and short stories, including her 1936 novel *A Time to Remember,* which depicted a department store strike and the rise of white-collar unions. She published fifteen short stories in *The New Yorker* from 1934 to 1949. (*bolerium.com)*

* * *

Over There

In her latest dispatch from Paris, Janet Flanner noted the growing anxiety among Parisians over Germany’s arms buildup and its re-occupation of the Rhineland.

HAIRY HEADLINES…**Janet Flanner** noted the anxious crowds around newspaper kiosks (unlike the quiet image above) and the boos being issued by the market women in the Halles (at passing soldiers) as war with Germany was being seen as inevitable. (tresors-de-paris.com/mattbarrett-travel.com)

* * *

At the Movies

Lillian Hellman’s drama The Children’s Hour premiered on Broadway on Nov. 24, 1934, and ran for 691 performances—but bringing it to the screen in the era of the Motion Picture Production Code (aka Hays Code) proved a bit tricky, according to film critic John Mosher. Hellman’s play centered on a schoolgirl’s false accusation of lesbianism against two of her teachers, or as Mosher put it rather delicately, “a friendship of two young women…characterized by such emotional undercurrents as are not held seemly for screen exposition.”

Hellman rewrote the play to conform to the Code, removing any mention of lesbianism and changing the dramatic focus to a schoolteacher accused of having sex with another’s fiance. It appeared in 1936 under the title These Three.

Mosher wished the film could have included Florence McGee, who portrayed the conniving student protagonist Mary Tilford in the original play. The part in These Three went instead to Bonita Granville, who at age fourteen earned an Academy Award nomination for her performance as Mary Tilford.

TWO TAKES…**Florence McGee** (pictured at right, seated center) portrayed the conniving student protagonist Mary Tilford in the Broadway production of *The Children’s Hour.* The part of Mary Tilford in the re-written film version of the play, *These Three,* went to Bonita Granville (left), who at age fourteen earned an Academy Award nomination for her performance. (oscarchamps.com/Wikipedia)

THREE TOTALLY STRAIGHT PEOPLE…**Joel McCrea, Merle Oberon** and Miriam Hopkins starred in *These Three*, a cinematic rewrite of **Lillian Hellman’s** play The Children’s Hour. (quadcinema.com)

Mosher also reviewed Petticoat Fever, a “trifle” starring Myrna Loy and Robert Montgomery.

BABY ITS COLD OUTSIDE…**Myrna Loy** and **Robert Montgomery** in Petticoat Fever. Montgomery was the father of **Elizabeth Montgomery,** best known for her portrayal of Samantha Stephens on the TV sitcom *Bewitched.* (IMDb.com)

* * *

From Our Advertisers

The inside front cover advertisement belonged to the “House of Schenley,” which emphasized the purity of Kentucky’s “limestone waters”…

…the makers of Packard automobiles also appealed to bucolic sensibilities with this homespun image…

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…Lux Soap Flakes were featured in big, celebrity-filled ads in mid-century America, soap being one product (like whiskey and cigarettes) that proved to be mostly Depression-proof…

…a twelve-cylinder engine was usually a feature of top-of-the-line luxury automobiles, but the folks at Lincoln put one into their medium-priced Zephyr…the car succeeded in reigniting sales at Lincoln dealerships during the Depression…

…beginning in the late nineteenth century cigarette companies included coupons that could be redeemed for items ranging from cocktail sets to silk stockings (per this ad)…Brown & Williamson, the makers of Raleigh and Kool cigarettes, featured coupons on the back of every pack, and smokers could write the company for a free premium catalog…

…this Raleigh catalog from the early 1950s even featured toys…250 coupons could get you a “Teddy bear with plastic nose”…so keep on puffing…

…Luckies went with the glamour of flying, an experience only the well-heeled could afford…

…on to our cartoonists, we have Richard Taylor…

…and Barbara Shermund welcoming us into the issue…

…and a this nice spot from Christina Malman…

…Al Frueh gave us his interpretation of Saint Joan…

…W.P. Trent explored the deep seas…

…Helen Hokinson revealed a secret…

…Gluyas Williams was still examining club life…

…William Steig went for a haircut (across two pages)…

…Leonard Dove received some junk mail…

…George Price uncovered a spy…

…Garrett Price assessed the price of fame…

…William Crawford Galbraith continued to explore the world of sugar daddies and chlorines…

…and we close with Ned Hilton, and those floods…

Next Time: Idiot’s Delight…

The Harsh Glare of Fame

Above: Posters advertising The Country Doctor, a film featuring the Dionne Quintuplets as "The Wyatt Quintuplets." (Wikipedia/imdb.com)

The Dionne Quintuplets, famed as the first quintuplets known to have survived infancy, appeared in a motion picture before their second birthday—The Country Doctor—just one example of the many ways the girls were exploited by the province of Ontario, their doctor, their father, and the companies who used their images to sell everything from toys to toothpaste.

March 21, 1936 cover by **Constantin Alajalov.**

The Country Doctor was the first of three 20th Century Fox films featuring the toddlers as the “The Wyatt Quintuplets.” Actor Jean Hersholt played the country doctor (“Dr. John Luke”) in all three films, his character based on Allan Roy Dafoe, the Ontario obstetrician who successfully delivered the identical quints in 1934. It was a sign of the times that no one seemed too concerned about the children’s welfare—The New Yorker’s John Mosher was joined by his fellow critics in generally praising the film.

MARKETING MATERNITY…*The Country Doctor* was the first of three 20th Century Fox films featuring the Dionne Quintuplets. Clockwise, from top left: **Slim Summerville, Jean Hersholt**, and **John Qualen** in *The Country Doctor*; Ontario Premier Mitchell Hepburn with the quintuplets in 1934; a 1936 book based on the film; a 1937 ad for Karo Syrup, a major sponsor of the girls and Dr. Dafoe; an array of quintuplet-related toys included paper dolls and the much sought after Madame Alexander dolls. (Wikipedia/ebay.com/facebook.com/pbs.org)

The Dionne Quintuplets were used to endorse an array of products including Quaker Oats, Colgate toothpaste, Palmolive soap, and Lysol disinfectant. Dr. Dafoe became a wealthy man due to his association with the quintuplets, while the government of Ontario saw enormous tourism potential (the girls were made wards of the province ostensibly to protect them from exploitation). At the age of four months the quintuplets were moved from the farmhouse where they were born to a compound (“Quintland”) that featured an outdoor playground designed as a public observation area.

SURROUNDED BY RICHES…at left, **Allen Roy DaFoe** on a postcard with the Dionne Quintuplets; tourists consult sign for the next public showing of the “Quints.”*(roadtripusa.com/facebook.com)*

CHA-CHING…**Oliva Dionne,** the quintuplets’ father, ran this souvenir and refreshment stand at Quintland, where the public flocked to view the girls playing. *(montrealgazette.com)*

The last surviving quintuplet, Annette, died on December 24, 2025, at the age of 91. Her sister Cécile died a few months earlier, also at age of 91.

John Mosher also reviewed Mae West’s latest film, Klondike Annie. Some critics regarded it as her finest film, despite heavy censorship and the outrage of “Decency people.”

GO WEST, WEST…**Mae West** portrayed a kept woman who murders her keeper in self-defense and escapes to Nome, Alaska in *Klondike Annie*. At left, West in a scene with Son Yong; at right, with **Phillip Reed**. *(Pinterest)*

* * *

St. Katharine

Robert Benchley found Katharine Cornell’s theatrical performance in Saint Joan to be “as fine as was expected.” An excerpt:

KNOWN QUANTITIES was how **Robert Benchley** described the talents of stage actress **Katharine Cornell.** At left, Cornell as Saint Joan; at right, Cornell (1893–1974) is perhaps best known in her role as **Elizabeth Barrett** in the 1931 Broadway production of *The Barretts of Wimpole Street. (Wikipedia)*

* * *

It Begins…

On March 7, 1936, 22,000 German army troops crossed a bridge over the Rhine River and entered the Rhineland, breaking the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, which mandated a demilitarized Rhineland to ensure French safety. Despite the violation, and the fact that the German army was still weak, France and Britain took no military action. E.B. White reported:

REOCCUPATION…On March 7, 1936, German Army troops crossed a bridge over the Rhine River and entered the Rhineland for the first time since the end of World War I. The lack of response from France and Great Britain no doubt emboldened Hitler to annex Austria and occupy Czechoslovakia in 1938. (iwm.org.uk)

Howard Brubaker, in his column “Of All Things,” also noted:

* * *

Some Pretty Things

“The Talk of the Town” paid a visit to the Museum for the Arts of Decoration at the Cooper Union and found many treasures within, including a unique circular elevator.

BRIDGE TO THE PAST…The Cooper Union’s Museum for the Arts of Decoration held many treasures, including (at bottom) an Italian birdcage fashioned to resemble the Rialto Bridge; at top, rooms filled with examples from the decorative arts. *(cooperhewitt.org)*

The “Talk” visit included a ride up a circa 1850s elevator shaft designed by inventor Peter Cooper four years before safety elevators even existed. The design was based on Cooper’s belief that the circular shape was the most efficient.

ROUND AND SOUND…At left, entrance to Peter Cooper’s circa 1850s round elevator and the elevator’s shaft at the Cooper Union Foundation Building. The round shaft remains a central feature of the building today, now housing a modern round elevator designed in 1972. (Cooper Union Library)

* * *

Commie Cutlery

American non-fiction writer Carl Carmer published the first part of a two-part essay on the revolutionary Oneida Community, which Carmer dubbed “a materially successful communist experiment…”

This polyamorous Christian utopia disbanded before the end of the 19th century and reemerged as a joint-stock company, Oneida Community Limited, which focused on making silverware. This brief excerpt is from the first paragraph.

COHABITING COMRADES…Oneida commune members gather on the lawn in front of the Community Mansion House in in Madison County, New York, circa 1860s. Members of the community practiced free love, women and men had equal freedom in sexual expression and commitment, and children were raised communally. (collectorsweekly.com)

* * *

From Our Advertisers

Yes, take a doctor’s advice, and put some leaded gas in your car, and into the air you breathe…

…R.J. Reynolds presented three women who exemplified the “society model” trend of the 1930s…well-known debs and socialites who provided an air of prestige to a brand…especially cigarettes…

…Lorillard Tobacco Company, on the other hand, stuck with pin-up artist George Petty to push their Old Golds…

…General Motors took out the middle spread to tout their low-priced luxury automobile, the La Salle…

…the convertible La Salle looked handsome, if not a bit brisk with the top down…

…American luxury carmaker Packard proudly displayed their twelve-cylinder luxury model, but reminded readers they could have a lesser model, the 120, for a price “in the $1,000 field”…

…a couple of one-column ads…Don Herold helped Hale’s move mattresses, while fashion columnist Alma Archer employed class anxiety to promote her new book, The Secrets of Smartness and the Art of Allure…

SMARTNESS AUTHORITY **Alma Archer** in 1937. Archer (1898–1988) wrote a widely read column for the *New York Mirror* that was syndicated in more than a thousand newspapers.

…if you have been following this blog, you’ll recall the ads with angry duchesses fuming over tomato juice and rich old men fondly recalling their countrified youth via canned corn niblets…well here is one robber baron who needed some niblets pronto to quiet his rage…maybe a snifter or two of brandy would have also helped…

…on to our cartoonists, James Thurber kicked things off on page two…

…the “Goings On” section concluded on page four with this drawing by Charles Addams…

…a couple more spot drawings from the issue by Christina Malman (left) and Richard Taylor…

…Al Frueh offered this interpretation of the players in End of Summer…

…and we have Thurber again, with a hard-to-miss distraction…

…William Steig continued to explore the varieties of “Holy Wedlock”…

…Leonard Dove gave us a golddigger stranded at sea…

…Gardner Rea put a captain of industry in a tight spot…

…Ned Hilton encountered a hairy challenge…

…Eli Garson demonstrated some remarkable foot dexterity…

…while Robert Day showed a lack of dexterity a construction site…

…Charles Addams revealed a materialist in the brotherhood…

…Peter Arno’s charwomen let a sleeping dog lie…

…and we close Garrett Price, and one perceptive lad…

Next Time: Star Maker…

Comfort Food

Above: Sheila Hibben became The New Yorker's first food critic in 1934. She also wrote several cookbooks, including Good Food for Bad Stomachs, a book that was suggested by New Yorker founder and editor Harold Ross. Hibben was a pioneering advocate for American regional dishes, and despised food snobbery (she wanted to banish the word "gourmet" from the English language). (Wikipedia/Amazon)

Long overdue is a look at The New Yorker’s first food critic, Sheila Hibben, who wrote frankly about the dining scene in her restaurant reviews and in her column “Markets and Menus.” Decades ahead of her time, she drew attention to America’s regional dishes, persuading readers to embrace the comforts of humble, practical recipes during the lean years of the Depression and the Second World War.

Eleventh anniversary cover by **Rea Irvin**, February 22, 1936.

Born Cecile Craik, Hibben (1888–1964) detested food snobbery, and through her pioneering work “persuaded housewives to be proud of their American culinary identity, to embrace traditional regional cuisines, and to reject fancier fare for the sake of fashion,” observed Meaghan Elliott in her 2021 dissertation at the University of New Hampshire.

In addition to her “Markets and Menus” column and restaurant reviews, Hibben also wrote several books including Good Food for Bad Stomachs, which was inspired by New Yorker founder and editor Harold Ross. Plagued by ulcers and discouraged by his limited diet, Ross encouraged his gastroenterologist, Sara Murray Jordan, to write a cookbook with Hibben. Good Food for Bad Stomachs was published in 1951, with a laudatory foreword by Ross, who unfortunately did not have long to enjoy the recipes, dying of heart and lung problems that same year.

DYSPEPTIC DIETER **Harold Ross** brought together the talents of his gastroenterologist **Sara Murray Jordan,** left, with his magazine’s food critic, **Sheila Hibben**, to publish *Good Food for Bad Stomachs. (Wikipedia/The New Yorker)*

Here are excerpts from Hibben’s “Restaurants” column for the Feb. 22 issue, featuring her takes on a couple of the city’s finer dining establishments, including Theodore Titze’s restaurant on East 56th and the famed fare of Charles Scotto at the Hotel Pierre:

KNOWN AS THEODORE OF THE RITZ, the German-born **Theodore Titze** (1879–1953) was a well-known maitre d’hotel—at left, **Ralph Barton** featured Titze as one of his “Heroes of the Week” in the Dec. 12, 1925 issue of *The New Yorker*; at right, a 1933 drawing of Titze by the cartoonist Vinzento Zito—the image refers to Titze’s 1931 departure from New York to take charge of the Castle Harbor Hotel in Bermuda. He later operated other properties in Bermuda before opening Theodore’s at 4 East Fifty-sixth Street. (wikitree.com)

CAN’T MISS IT…Top, postcard image of Theodore’s Restaurant; below, ad for Theodore’s in *Stage* magazine, February 1938. (Etsy.com)

Hibben also wrote about the excellent fare at the Hotel Pierre, where Chef Charles Scotto, an early protégé of the legendary Chef Auguste Escoffier, reigned supreme.

CREAM OF THE CROP…At left, a page from the 1934 booklet *Angostura Recipes* featuring a recipe by famed Chef **Charles Scotto** (1887–1937). At right, undated image of the Hotel Pierre. (The Cary Collection/geographicguide.com)

From 1934 to 1962 Hibben wrote the “Markets and Menus” column, which appeared in rotation with several other columns that were tacked onto Lois Long’s weekly “On and Off the Avenue.” Here is an excerpt from Hibben’s Feb. 1, 1936 column:

* * *

Not Music to His Ears

In his “Notes and Comment,” E.B. White took issue with “the fascism of music” in public places including Grand Central Station and the Central Park skating pond.

SAD CATHEDRAL OVERTONES is how E.B. White described the organ music of Mary Lee Read, who played organ in Grand Central’s north gallery from 1928 until the late 1950s. On the day after Pearl Harbor was attacked she played “The Star-Spangled Banner;” activity on the concourse ground to a halt, causing commuters to miss their trains. She was forbidden from playing the song after that. She has also been credited with saving the life of a man who was planning to commit suicide until he heard her play a moving hymn. (marthahallkelly.com)

* * *

At the Movies

Paul Muni was considered one of the best actors of the 1930s, his talents so appreciated by Warner Brothers that he was allowed to choose his own roles, including the lead in The Story of Louis Pasteur. It was a good choice, as it landed him a Best Actor Oscar in 1936. New Yorker critic John Mosher had these observations:

HE’S ON TO SOMETHING…**Paul Muni** in The Story of Louis Pasteur. One of the best posters for the film was the Italian version at right, the rabid dog promising some some real drama. Muni won the Best Actor Oscar of his portrayal of Pasteur. (researchgate.net/imdb.com)

Mosher also took in The Prisoner of Shark Island, featuring Warren Baxter as a man falsely accused of complicity in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.

I DIDN’T DO IT…**Warren Baxter** and **Gloria Stuart** in *The Prisoner of Shark Island.* Moviegoers today will remember Stuart (1910–2010) in her portrayal of the aged Rose in 1997’s *Titanic.* Stuart’s film career would span more than seventy years, 1932–2004. (mubi.com/imdb.com)

Mosher found much to like in a Soviet film about the struggles and hardships of three childhood friends from Petrograd who become nurses to serve the cause of the Bolshevik Revolution.

SOVIET SISTERHOOD…At right, **Irina Zarubina, Yanina Zhejmo** and **Zoya Fyodorova** in 1936’s *Three Women*. It was released in the Soviet Union as *Girl Friends (Podrugi).*

* * *

From Our Advertisers

If you wanted to visit the land of the Soviet film, Three Women, you could have hopped onto this Reliance cruise to Russia as well as to the Summer Olympics in Berlin…in just a little over three years the Germans would invade Poland and these “wonderlands” would become a living hell for many…

…John Groth, who would contribute cartoons to The New Yorker in the 1940s, provided this illustration for a Stage magazine ad…

…the folks at Minnesota Valley Canning Company continued the theme of a rich man returning to his humble roots via canned Green Giant vegetables…here the man is brought to tears over “Niblets”…

…as you might recall, it was a wealthy “Major” who recently (Dec. 21, 1935) sought to rekindle lost youth through Green Giant Niblets…

…and what’s the deal with the Duchess trope found in so many ads?…she has been featured in a Green Giant ad for peas, as well as in ads for tomato and grapefruit juice…

…the magazine’s opening spread once again featured the odd juxtaposition of canned soup and high fashion…

…one-column ads in the back of the book featured illustrations by Peter Wells (at left), and William Steig…

…Book-of-the-Month Club enticed new members with a FREE copy of the Nobel Prize-winning trilogy Kristin Lavransdatter by Danish-Norwegian author Sigrid Undset…

…this colorful ad from the Bermuda Trade Development Board beckoned New Yorkers to trade “slush and chilly winds” for the pink sands of the British island territory…

…the back cover cycled back to Camel cigarettes with a lineup of fashionable debs enticing young women to join their ranks…as Camel smokers, at least…

…more one-column ads, featuring the latest in reading material…

…including the latest edition of The Bedroom Companion…it was one of those “For Men Only” books that compiled some previously published pieces with other contributions…

…the index of the 1935 edition included a number of New Yorker regulars…

…such as E. Simms Campbell…

…and Abner Dean…

LATE NIGHT READING…Clockwise, from top left, 1935 edition of *The Bedroom Companion*; a racy cartoon by **Abner Dean**; comic lyrics by Ogden Nash; a contribution by **Vincenzo Zito**, a well-known caricature artist who particularly favored dogs. (etsy.com)

…on to our other cartoonists, we begin with spots by Constantin Alajalov…

and Richard Taylor…

…Taylor again, a spot in the “Musical Events” section…

…and a Taylor cartoon…

…and we wonder what’s behind the curtain, with James Thurber…

…William Steig continued to probe the downsides of matrimony…

…Robert Day showed who’s in charge at the zoo…

…more club life from Gluyas Williams…

…Richard Decker was in a tight situation…

…Perry Barlow drew up two pages of scenes from Snow Trains that took thousands of skiers from Grand Central to the Berkshires and Adirondacks…

…Leonard Dove delivered a knockout punch…

…Peter Arno raised a question of initiative…

…and Gilbert Bundy sought to spice things up at Popular Mechanics…

A final note: Aside from the recurring Rea Irvin cover, this issue made no reference to the eleventh anniversary…except, on the bottom of page 57…

…a recurring column filler, “The Optimist,” appeared in Issue No. 1, and was featured in subsequent issues until Katharine Angell mercifully put an end to it.

Next Time: Führer Furor…

Modern Times

Above: A mechanic (Chester Conklin) gets caught up in his work with the help of the Tramp (Charlie Chaplin) in Modern Times. (festival-entrevues.com)

The film Modern Times was Charlie Chaplin’s last performance as “The Tramp” (or, “The Little Tramp”), a character he created more than twenty years earlier to represent a simple person’s struggle to survive in the modern world. That struggle was no more apparent than in Modern Times, a film in which the Tramp faced the dehumanizing industrial age in all its kooky complexity.

A sweet Valentine’s Day-themed cover by **William Steig,** February 15, 1936.

The film is notable for being Chaplin’s first picture to feature sound, and the first in which Chaplin’s voice is heard—singing Léo Daniderff’s comical song “Je cherche après Titine” (although Chaplin replaced the lyrics with gibberish). Modern Times was nevertheless filmed as a silent, with synchronized sound effects and a small amount of dialogue. Critic John Mosher appreciated the movie as being “of the old era,” not anticipating that it would become one of cinema’s most iconic and beloved films.

JUST A COG IN THE MACHINE…Clockwise, from top left: Repetitive assembly line work drives the Tramp **(Charlie Chaplin)** to a nervous breakdown; the steel factory is an Orwellian world where the president (**Allan Ernest Garcia)** constantly monitors his workers—even in the bathroom where the Tramp is caught taking a break; the company tries out a new lunch efficiency machine on the Tramp, with mixed results; iconic image of the Tramp at work. (medium.com/YouTube.com)

One of the film’s best stunts involved the blindfolded Tramp rollerskating on the fourth floor of an under-construction department store; Chaplin employed a matte painting, perfectly applied on a glass pane in front of a camera, to create the illusion of a sheer drop-off. Even as an illusion, Chaplin’s skating skills were remarkable.

HIGH ANXIETY…The blindfolded Tramp (**Charlie Chaplin**) skates precariously close to a sheer drop-off on the fourth floor of a department store while his companion, an orphan girl known as “The Gamin” (**Paulette Goddard**) puts on her skates, unaware of his peril. (YouTube.com)

The model below shows how the effect was achieved, filming next to a glass-mounted matte painting to create the illusion of a sheer drop off…

In his conclusion, Mosher found the film to be “secure in its rich, old-fashioned funniness.”

Chaplin gave a happy send-off to the Tramp, who at the end of earlier films walked down the road alone. Modern Times closed with the Tramp and the Gamin walking hand in hand, dreaming of a life together.

FOND FAREWALL…**Paulette Goddard** joined **Charlie Chaplin** on the road at the end of *Modern Times.* Goddard became Chaplin’s third wife in 1936. (the-cinematograph.com)

THE TRAMP RETURNS…World premiere of *Modern Times,* Feb. 5, 1936, at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City. The film was one of the top-grossing films of 1936. (Wikipedia)

A final note: The website The Twin Geeks offers an excellent synopsis and analysis of Modern Times.

* * *

Bachelor King

In his “Notes and Comment,” E.B. White wrote about the ascension to the British throne by Edward VIII following the death of his father, George V. In this excerpt, White considered a question raised by the Daily News regarding the king’s plans to marry (a question answered a few months later when Edward announced his plan to wed American divorcee Wallis Simpson, which led to a constitutional crisis and Edward’s subsequent abdication).

BUT I DON’T WANNA BE KING…The reluctant king **Edward VIII** would choose love over the crown when he abdicated the throne in December 1936 to marry **Wallis Simpson** (bottom left); **E.B. White** noted one woman’s suggestion that the king should marry actress **Greta Garbo,** since “Both have had a rough time at love.” (highland titles.com/George Eastman Museum)

* * *

By Any Other Name

“The Talk of Town” featured a profile of Arthur J. Burks, a prolific writer of pulp fiction who published everything from detective stories to science fiction under a half-dozen pseudonyms. A brief excerpt:

A CURIOUS MIND…**Arthur J. Burks** (1898–1974) and the cover of *Astounding Stories*, January 1932, which featured the first part of his two-part tale, “The Mind Master.” Burks produced around eight hundred stories for the pulps, twenty-nine of which appeared in the magazine *Weird Tales*. (findagrave.com/gutenberg.org)

* * *

A Day in the Life

From 1935 to 1962 Eleanor Roosevelt published a daily syndicated newspaper column titled “My Day”—through the column millions of Americans learned her views on politics, society, and events of the day as well as details about her private and public life. James Thurber couldn’t resist writing a parody—here’s an excerpt:

THE REAL DEAL…At left, sample of one of Eleanor Roosevelt’s syndicated “My Day” columns from 1938; photo of the First Lady from 1932. (arthurdaleheritage.org/Library of Congress)

* * *

At the Movies

Besides Modern Times, there were other movies of note that were given rather scant attention in Mosher’s column, including the film adaptation of The Petrified Forest starring Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis and Leslie Howard.

Robert E. Sherwood wrote the 1934 Broadway play of the same name, which was co-produced by Howard and featured both Howard and Bogart. When it was adapted to film, Howard insisted that Bogart appear in the movie, and it made Bogart a star (he remained grateful to Howard for the rest of his life).

DANGEROUS DINER…An odd mix of patrons at a gas station cafe are taken hostage by desparate criminals in *The Petrified Forest.* From left are **Leslie Howard, Dick Foran, Bette Davis** and **Humphrey Bogart.** Playwright Robert Sherwood based Bogart’s character, Duke Mantee, on the the real-life criminal **John Dillinger**, the FBI’s first “Public Enemy #1.” (moma.org)

Other cinema diversions included the musical Anything Goes, which included songs by Cole Porter; the comedy Soak the Rich, which featured a radical who falls in love with a rich man’s daughter; and a detective film, Muss ‘Em Up, with the usual movie gangsters.

TAKE YOUR PICK…Clockwise, from top left: **Ida Lupino** and **Arthur Treacher** in the musical *Anything Goes*; **Bing Crosby** (in disguise) and Ethel Merman in Anything Goes; **John Howard, Mary Taylor** and **Walter Connolly** in the comedy *Soak the Rich*; **Preston Foster, Maxine Jennings** and Guinn “Big Boy” Williams in the detective film *Muss ‘Em Up.* (imdb.com/torontofilmsociety.com/zeusdvds.com)

* * *

The Amazing Race

The New Yorker periodically featured “That Was New York,” which took a detailed look at significant events in the city’s history. In this installment, Donald Moffat recalled the 1908 New York to Paris automobile race, which commenced in Times Square on February 12 with six cars representing the U.S., France, Germany and Italy. It was an extraordinary event given that motorcars were a recent invention, and roads were nonexistent in many parts of the world. A brief excerpt:

ON YOUR MARK…Cars lined up in Times Square on Feb 12, 1908 for the start of what would become a 169-day race. American George Schuster was declared the winner when he arrived in Paris on July 30, 1908, after covering approximately 10,377 miles (16,700 km). (Library of Congress)

* * *

Miscellany

Another regular feature in the early New Yorker was coverage of the New York Rangers, a team founded in 1926 by Tex Rickard after he completed construction of the third incarnation of Madison Square Garden. The Rangers were one of the Original Six NHL teams before the 1967 expansion, the others being the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs.

In this excerpt, the writer “K.B.” described the rough play against rival Detroit, which would win back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1936 and 1937.

ZESTY…The excerpt above noted that the Rangers’ **Phil Watson** cuffed the Red Wings’ **Syd Howe** “with a zest richly appreciated by the balcony.” At left, team photo of the 1935-36 New York Rangers, with star and fight instigator **Phil Watson** identified with arrow; at right, **Syd Howe** won three Stanley Cups with Detroit, winning back-to-back in 1936 and 1937, and then again in 1943. (hockeygods.com)

* * *

From Our Advertisers

General Motors’ luxury car line offered three price points (and this lovely image) to weather the Depression years, ranging from the relatively affordable La Salle to the Cadillac Fleetwood…

…the Chrysler corporation took a different approach, deploying a very wordy full-page ad that referenced history (a Madame Curie analogy) and something called “Unseen Value” to move its line of autos…

…the makers of College Inn Tomato Juice Cocktail brought back the “Duchess” with this shocking scene at the opera…

…recall last summer when College Inn featured the Duchess in a series of ads that illustrated her increasing fury over plain tomato juice…one wonders what sort of sadistic torment she had in mind for her hostess, “the old WITCH”…

…on to our cartoonists, beginning with this spot by James Thurber…

…and Thurber again, with an unwanted call to solidarity…

…William Steig explored marital bliss…

…George Price gave us a Three Stooges moment…

…I do not have the identity of this cartoonist…I will keep looking, but would love suggestions in the meantime…*update*…thanks to Frank Wilhoit for identifying the cartoonist below as John Kreuttner, also confirmed through Michael Maslin’s Ink Spill…

…Charles Addams added some frills to an executive suite…

…Otto Soglow illustrated the hazards of sleepwalking…

…Alain revealed a challenge to the publishing industry…

…Peter Arno possibly craved some sauerkraut and corned beef…

…William Crawford Galbraith was in familiar sugar daddy territory…

…Whitney Darrow Jr gave a nod to some homey surrealism…

…Barbara Shermund offered some well-weathered advice…

…and we close with Garrett Price, and a visitor more suited to Charles Addams…

Next Time: Comfort Food…

Having a Ball

 Above: Beginning in 1934, the President’s Birthday Balls became annual fundraisers for polio research. The Waldorf-Astoria's 1936 event (left) featured dance bands, celebrities, and formal dress. At right, a 1934 "Toga Party" birthday with FDR's Cuff Link Gang, Washington D.C. (fdrlibrary.org)

President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s birthday was a cause for annual celebration throughout the country, where cities and towns both large and small used the occasion to raise money for polio research.

February 1, 1936 cover by Roger Duvoisin.

The Jan. 30, 1936 President’s Birthday Ball marked FDR’s 54th year, featuring celebrities, dances, and a national radio address. The Waldorf-Astoria hosted an event, as did the Central Park Casino, where E.B. White found the one-hundred-dollar price tag and the dress code a bit too rich for his tastes, but not too rich for Lucy Cotton Thomas Magraw, a Manhattan social climber who represented the “Spirit of Golden Prosperity” at the Casino event.

LIKE MOTHS TO FLAME…At left, debutantes mark FDR’s birthday fundraiser at the Waldorf-Astoria in the 1930s; at right, **Lucy Cotton Thomas Magraw** (1891–1948) was a chorus girl from Houston who appeared in several silent films, but was best known as a Manhattan social climber and for her marriages to a series of prominent men. (wwd.com/davidkfrasier.com)

FDR himself was diagnosed with polio in 1921, which left him paralyzed from the waist down. To counter the effects of the disease, Roosevelt explored the potential benefits of hydrotherapy, establishing a rehabilitation center at Warm Springs, Georgia. Proceeds from the charity balls went to Warm Springs until Roosevelt founded the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis in 1938. Funds raised by the foundation supported the development of a vaccine by the 1950s.

A NIGHT OF MERRIMENT…Celebrations in CCC camps in honor of FDR’s birthday became annual events, such as the one at left (illustrated by **Marshall Davis**) that depicted various happenings at the 1936 President’s Birthday Dance in Biloxi, Mississippi; at right, actress Jean Harlow cutting FDR’s birthday cake at the Eastbay Birthday Ball in Oakland, CA, in 1934. (newdealstories.com/facebook.com)

“The Talk of the Town” noted the role of Carl M. Byoir, a pioneering publicist, in creating the buzz around the yearly birthday balls.

CAN YOU SPARE A DIME?…Clockwise, from top left, **Carl Byoir** created and organized one of the world’s largest public relations firms in 1930, and was a force behind making the FDR Birthday Balls a major national event; **Eleanor Roosevelt** cuts the cake at a Birthday Ball, Washington, D.C., Jan. 30, 1936; **Margaret Lehand,** personal secretary to President Roosevelt, holds up one of the 30,000 dimes received on the morning of Jan. 28, 1938 for FDR’s National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, which would later become the March of Dimes. (Wikipedia)

COIN FOR A CAUSE…As we saw in the previous post, it was comedian Eddie Cantor who coined the phrase “March of Dimes” for the annual fundraiser for polio research. The phrase later became the official name of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. (Facebook)

The Roosevelt Dime went into circulation in 1946, commemorating FDR’s role in inspiring the March of Dimes.

* * *

Rap on Scrap

Poet and author Phyllis McGinley apparently had her fill of social occasions that included interminable, tedious viewings of the hosts’ scrapbooks, photo albums, and various tchotchkes.

SPARE ME YOUR VACATION SLIDES…**Phyllis McKinley** would have hated Facebook. (Wikipedia)

* * *

Wise Guy

Henry F. Pringle published the first part of a three-part profile on Elihu Root, making much of the fact that Root (1845–1937) was still kicking at ninety after a lifetime of public service including two stints as Secretary of War and serving as Secretary of State under President Theodore Roosevelt. Unofficially, he advised a number of presidents and other leaders on foreign and domestic issues, giving him the imprimatur of a political “wise man.” A brief excerpt (with caricature by William Cotton):

WAR BUDDIES…U.S. Secretary of War **Elihu Root** (right) and his successor, **William Howard Taft**, c. 1904. Taft was elected U.S. President in 1908, and in 1912 Root would receive the Nobel Peace Prize. (Wikipedia)

* * *

Devastating Irony

According to critic Robert Benchley, the adaptation of Edith Wharton’s novel Ethan Frome to the stage required a precise hand, and apparently director Max Gordon delivered when it opened at the National Theatre. Excerpt:

EDITH WHARTON WOULD HAVE BEEN PROUD, according to **Robert Benchley,** of the stage adaptation of *Ethan Frome.* The cast, from left, included **Pauline Lord, Raymond Massey**, and **Ruth Gordon**. Benchley would have been well acquainted with Gordon, who was a familiar face at the Algonquin Round Table. (Facebook)

Benchley praised the performances of the principal actors Pauline Lord, Raymond Massey, and Ruth Gordon.

IN FINE FORM…**Pauline Lord, Raymond Massey,** and Ruth Gordon in a publicity still for *Ethan Frome*. (witness2fashion.com)

* * *

At the Movies

We take to the air with Howard Hawks’ Ceiling Zero, which featured an odd mix of screwball dialogue and nerve-wracking flight scenes. Critic John Mosher found the film to be well done, even though most of its action took place on the ground.

GROUNDED…Shot a shoestring budget, Warner Brothers’ *Ceiling Zero,* directed by Howard Hawks, staged most of the action at an airline’s headquarters rather than up in the air. From left are **Pat O’Brien, James Cagney**, and **June Travis**. (Harvard Film Archive)

Mosher was also happy to welcome Myrna Loy back to the silver screen in the “agreeable” Whipsaw.

HUSTLE AND BUSTLE…**Myrna Loy** and Spencer Tracy starred in action-packed crime drama *Whipsaw.* (Letterboxd.com)

Mosher was at a loss to explain the popularity of comedian Joe Penner, whose presence in the film Collegiate inspired impatient “mobs” to crash the windows and doors of the Paramount Theatre.

INCONSEQUENTIAL was the word John Mosher used to describe *Collegiate*. Clockwise, from top left, **Frances Langford** and Jack Oakie in a scene from *Collegiate—*Oakie played a man who inherits an all-girls school from his aunt; **Betty Grable** with **Joe Penner**; Grable shows off her school spirit and her famous legs in a publicity photo. (rottentomatoes.com/imdb.com)

About Joe Penner (1904–1941): Broadcast historian Elizabeth McLeod sums up Penner’s popularity as “the ultimate Depression-era zany.” Mostly forgotten today, Penner was a national craze in the mid-1930s. “There is no deep social meaning in his comedy, no shades of subtlety,” writes McLeod, “just utter slapstick foolishness, delivered in an endearingly simpering style that’s the closest thing the 1930s had to Pee-wee Herman.”

WANNA BUY A DUCK? was Joe Penner’s catchphrase. Born József Pintér in what is now Serbia, he is shown here with his ubiquitous duck, Goo Goo. According to historian **Elizabeth McLeod,** Penner was doomed to an early decline by the sheer repetitiveness of his format. He died in his sleep, of a heart attack, at age 36. (imdb.com)

* * *

Something Completely Different

We go from Joe Penner to George Santayana, who finished the six-hundred-page The Last Puritan after laboring on the novel for fifteen years. A brief excerpt from a Clifton Fadiman review:

WHEN WRITERS MADE THE COVER…**George Santayana** on the cover of *Time,* Feb. 3, 1936. (Time.com)

* * *

From Our Advertisers

The folks at Hormel continued their ad series pairing Hormel French Style onion soup with notable historic figures…apparently Mary, Queen of Scots was honored with some onion soup when she married the Dauphin in 1558…nearly three decades later she would lose her head under the reign of Elizabeth I…

…the opening spread of the magazine sometimes offered odd juxtapositions…

…and what was this obsession with peas?…last week (and previous weeks) the makers of Green Giant canned foods featured a “Major” obsessed with fresh peas…

…in this issue, the folks at Birds Eye presented frozen peas as a fresher alternative to canned…the ad featured their own version of a “Major,” here sharing the wonderful news about frozen peas with his cronies…

…Capitol Theatre predicted that their latest feature, Rose Marie, would be even better than Naughty Marietta…

…and apparently it was…

WHEN I’M CALLING YOOOOUUUU…The Capitol Theatre’s prediction came true—*Rose Marie* was a big hit, as was the duet “Indian Love Call” (it remained a signature song for both actors); at left, **Nelson Eddy** and **Jeanette MacDonald** in Rose Marie; at right, Eddy and MacDonald in 1935’s *Naughty Marietta*. “America’s Singing Sweethearts” made eight films together. (MGM)

…only forty hours to paradise, claimed this ad on the inside back cover…

…and on the back cover, readers were greeted by a smug, almost withering look—a fashionable woman striking a pose, one that was doubtless imitated by many in the smart set who would soon realize they were hopelessly addicted to nicotine…

…on to our cartoonists, we begin with Al Frueh and his topless tribute to George White’s Scandals…

…Gregory d’Alessio drew up this trio—endomorph, mesomorph, ectomorph—for the opening pages…

…here’s a spot by Robert Day, dreaming of warmer climes…

…we join Charles Addams at the Louvre…

…and on a desert island…

…a rather strange entry by Alice Harvey, with the longest caption I’ve come across so far…

…we join William Steig’s “Small Fry” during a school day, beginning on page 24…

…and continuing onto page 25…

…here is how it originally appeared…

…In 1935, Saks Fifth Avenue installed an indoor ski slope on the men’s floor of its New York City flagship store, here illustrated by Perry Barlow…

IT WAS A THING…Ski slope inside Saks Fifth Avenue, New York, 1935. (CNN.com)

…department stores such as Macy’s often featured model homes in their household departments…Alan Dunn added a bit of color, or rather, soot, to this one…

…Helen Hokinson looked for answers at a book shop…

and Hokinson again, doing a bit of home decorating…

…it appears Morton was displaying a copy of Constantin Brancusi’s Princess X…

…Barbara Shermund engaged in some light banter at a cocktail party…

…and we close with a surprise visit from William Crawford Galbraith…

Next Time: The New Ziegfeld…