Great Headlines Speak For Themselves… death of Douglas Fairbanks…

August 14, 2014 by · Leave a Comment 

The best headlines need no commentary. Such is the case with the LOS ANGELES EXAMINER, December 12, 1939: “DOUG FAIRBANKS SR. DIESDouglas Fairbanks, Sr - Death

The Traveler… the beginning of war…

August 4, 2014 by · Leave a Comment 

Blog-8-4-1914-WWIToday I traveled back to August 5, 1914 by the way of The Omaha Daily Bee Extra. There I found the banner headline announcing “Great Britain and Germany to War”. For the past few months, things have been unsettled in Europe, however in just the past few days it had now escalated after Germany had invaded the neutral countries of Belgium and Luxembourg as they were advancing towards France causing Great Britain to join in. Still at this point, “Neutrality of the United States in the great European war was formally proclaimed today by President Wilson…”. However we know that did not hold true as we joined the war in 1917.

~The Traveler

Great Headlines Speak For Themselves… Doolittle raid…

July 25, 2014 by · Leave a Comment 

The best headlines need no commentary. Such is the case with the HERALD EXPRESS–EXTRA, Los Angeles, May 19, 1942: “DOOLITTLE DOOD IT”Doolittle Raid - WW2

Great Headlines Speak For Themselves… But In This Case…???

July 11, 2014 by · Leave a Comment 

The best headlines need no commentary – they speak for themselves. However, sometimes they communicate the wrong message. Let’s hope the LOS ANGELES TIMES – EXTRA for November 22, 1963 was such an instance and not wishful thinking: “ASSASSINATE KENNEDYAssassinate Kennedy

The Traveler… books for all… daring wears…

July 7, 2014 by · Leave a Comment 

Blog-7-7-2014-Modest-SwimwearToday I traveled to Atlanta, Georgia, by way of The Atlanta Constitution dated July 7, 1914. There I found that Andrew Carnegie was being extremely generous… “Carnegie Willing To Endow Library In Every County”. He was going to be donating between $75,000.000 and $100,000,000 to establish libraries in country districts. “…He is determined to give his money away and die poor, and here is an opportunity. Seventy per cent of the people of the United States still are without access to good libraries…”.

The front page also has a headline “Young Swimmer, Who Wore One-Piece Suit at Piedmont, Dares Dangerous Hell Gate”. This shows includes a photo of Miss Nora Leahy in a sleeveless, skin-tight garment… which the year prior men were not even permitted to wear suits with sleeves less than an inch in length. My how far we’ve come! Is modesty based purely on cultural norms and/or expectations, or are there certain absolutes – 3rd world regions aside?

~The Traveler

Great Headlines Speak For Themselves… death of Fatty Arbuckle…

June 27, 2014 by · Leave a Comment 

The best headlines need no commentary. Such is the case with the LOS ANGELES TIMES, June 29, 1933: “‘FATTY’ ARBUCKLE DIESFatty Arbuckle Death

Remember these names from the “golden era”?

June 23, 2014 by · Leave a Comment 

One of our more recent purchases was a sizable collection of  newspapers from the West Coast which included many 20th century issues covering the deaths of famous movie stars or Jean Harlow Death Reportentertainers. Not surprisingly, Los Angeles newspaper gave much coverage to the passing of some of the more iconic names of stardom from the “golden era”. Those of a certain age well remember many of famous names of the 1930’s-1950’s (totally unknown to the millennial generation) and I count myself among them, so it was with a certain amount of nostalgia that I read the reports as I was writing up the newspapers for future catalogs.

If I had any common reaction to the reports I read it was to the age of many when they died. When I think of such stars I always presumed they were in their late 60’s or late 70’s when they were still acting & much older when they died. But that was when I was in my teens and 20’s, and anyone who had been “around for awhile” seemed like they were much older than they actually were. I was struck by the ages of many when they died, and perhaps you might be as well. Here is a sampling:

Clark Gable Death ReportTyrone Power 45

Humphrey Bogart 57

Rudolph Valentino 31

George Gershwin 38

Nat “King” Cole 45

Clark Gable 59

Jean Harlow 26

Cary Cooper 60

Mario Lanza 38

Jayne Mansfield 34

Steve McQueen 50

Judy Garland 47

The Traveler… the largest single arrest of Rabbis in American history…

June 16, 2014 by · Leave a Comment 

Rabbis ArrestedToday I traveled to New York City by the way of The New York Times dated June 19, 1964. There I found a photo on the front page entitled “16 Rabbis Arrested as Pool Dive-In Sets Off St. Augustine Rights Clash”. The photo shows a policeman jumping into the pool at the Monson Motor Lodge to arrest the rabbis. The rabbis were there in response to a letter asking for assistance written by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s letter that he sent while being imprisoned in St. Augustine due to the civil rights unrest, due to that area not following the segregation policies. This became the largest arrest of rabbis in American history.

~The Traveler

Great Headlines Speak For Themselves… Lionel Barrymore death…

June 13, 2014 by · Leave a Comment 

The best headlines need no commentary. Such is the case with the DAILY NEWS, Los Angeles, November 16, 1954: “LIONEL BARRYMORE, STAGE GREAT, DIESLionel Barrymore Death Report

“Wrongway” Corrigan is honored with a backwards headline…

June 9, 2014 by · Leave a Comment 

The Los Angeles “Herald Expressnewspaper of August 5, 1938 honored the interesting exploits of Douglas Corrigan with a rarity in the newspaper world: a headline printed backwards.

This was one of the fascinating tidbits of aviation history. Corrigan flew from Long Beach, California to New York & wanted to fly to Ireland but was denied. So he filed his flight plan to return to Long Beach but flew instead to Ireland, stating “navigational errors” due to heavy cloud cover, etc. (see hyperlink for details). He was given a ticker tape parade in New York City with the banner headline reporting: “N.Y. Millions In Bedlam of Noise and Tons of Confetti Greet L.A. Air Hero” with subheads and a large photo of the parade.But the fascinating part of this item is the banner headline at the very top of the ftpg: ” ! NAGIRROC YAW GNORW OT LIAH” and with a small note below it stating: “If You Don’t Know, Read this the Way Corrigan Flew–Backwards!"Wrong Way" Corrigan

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