In late 2010 this beautiful Parisian apartment saw the first rays on sunshine in over 70 years. Once its window shutters had been opened, a 70-year old, cog-webbed time capsule unveiled a magical place where time literally have stood still. Under a thick layer of dusk lay a treasure trove of turn-of-the-century objects. The owner of the apartment, Mrs. De Florian left Paris around the same time...
I remember as a child, the huge propeller driven airliners starting up at the Cleveland Airport. In the dark blue December twilight, clouds of fire and smoke bellowed from those huge radial engines as they cranked over. Machines as living creatures. Angry tethered dragons. With names like Douglas, Constellation, Viscount and Convair. These were the brothers of the thundering machines that had rained bombs on Hitler’s Germany...
Christmas is around the corner and to celebrate this magical holiday we are featuring a few samples of holiday related advertisements and imagery from 1946 and 1964, courtesy of Roger Wilkerson’s collection. To me, the hand drawn illustrations and images in mid-century advertisements are the epitome of style and warmth. They really show-off how talented advertising America were some 50-60 years ago. That fine attention to design and pseudo-realism really grabs...
What were they thinking? These planners of a future, that was so futuristic, it was even ‘beyond’ tomorrow? Were these marvels of a better world to come? Or did they drink too much of their beloved Seagram’s whiskey before they sat down at their drawing boards? To be sure; many of the marvels forecast in Seagram’s 1940’s series of magazine advertisements have come true. Cell...
Sometimes, the city in which a movie is set plays a role more important than that of the main characters and, over the years, New York and Paris and London have provided lively settings for many popular films. But what of Berlin? With its combination of old world glitzy decadence and the stark deprivation of modernity, Berlin captured the imagination of many filmmakers throughout the...
No modern technology has ever had such a schizophrenic and complicated identity as Atomic Energy. It is often presented in mystical terms. A Pandora’s Box of knowledge that cannot be unlearned. The magical Genie that can do both help or harm but cannot be returned to his bottle. Nuclear Power is the ultimate parable of modern science. With the use of atomic bombs at the...
Count Basie had been performing different jazz styles from the early 30’s to the late 70’s. There were many performances that included vocalists during the early 60’s to gain more attraction. But it was in the late 60’s when Basie returned to a more standard jazz format. After 30 years, he created two great recording sessions that were at the top of the charts –...