Book Research with a Side of City Life
15 November 1926: Much like we are this week, Americans, although gearing up for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, already had one eye gazing longingly towards Christmas. Newspapers were bursting with enticing ads for seasonal sales and festive activities. True crime dominated the headlines of New York City-area newspapers, but the current salacious obsession was anything … Continue reading 15 November 1926: O Wedded Bliss!
"There is no real ending. It's just the place where you stop the story." I feel as if this applies to biography as well as fiction. It is something that is always at the back of my mind, even if I am still in the early stages (after almost two years!) of research.
1920 was momentous for J...she left her teen years, met her future husband, AND made her professional debut in a tour of De Koven's Robin Hood. In honor of that special time in J's life, I've compiled this 1920-themed gallery. BONUS LINK: A delicious decade: The food of 1910-1920 (The Seattle Times)
One hundred years ago today, J was appearing in a production of the John Philip Sousa operetta El Capitan at Fontaine Ferry Park in Louisville, Kentucky. She performed the role of Estrelda (Cazarro's Daughter). The original debuted in Boston in 1896, before transferring to Broadway for 112 performances. It starred De Wolf Hopper (future father … Continue reading J on This Day: 27 June 1922
My long-time creative collaborator and I have been working on a cool video for my Ko-Fi page! I cannot wait to share it here. Look for it sometime in July. It's definitely going to be an
This snapshot of J and her little family is the only one I have of all four of them together. There is no date scrawled on the back, but going by the age of the baby this pic was captured during the summer of 1936. I have no context for the image. R, TODDLER DAVID, … Continue reading FAMILY ALBUM: SUMMER OF ’36
I finally got around to cataloging J's kindergarten scrapbook yesterday! She started it in 1906! I put off doing this project for so long because the paper is quite delicate in places. These are the oldest things in my collection. I thought I would share a few of the pieces with you! Scrapbook Cover First … Continue reading Cataloging J’s Kindergarten Scrapbook
I love vintage ads. They're hard to ignore, especially when combing through online newspaper archives. Staying focused is key, but reading shoe ads from 1919 remains ever-tempting. Don't get me started on period movie advertisements. Sigh. I recently found these gems during a long research session. They are from the years 1916 to 1920. Enjoy!
Biography research is often serious and intense work. Sometimes it is nice to let loose, as I did here using my favorite photo of J as a starting point.
“For she had a great variety of selves to call upon, far more than we have been able to find room for, since a biography is considered complete if it merely accounts for six or seven selves, whereas a person may have many thousand…and these selves of which we are built up, one on top … Continue reading Virginia Woolf on A Great Variety of Selves
Alternative Muses 