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.
On this fine day in 1933, J was preparing to appear in Victor Herbert's "Naughty Marietta" to be presented the following week at the Overton Park Amphitheatre in her hometown of Memphis, TN, for a run of six days. The operetta was, of course, produced by her husband R. She assisted as well as starred. … Continue reading J on This Day: 20 July 1933
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
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.
Here is a blurb from a newspaper review of The Student Prince. The date was 11-17-25. The place: Pennsylvania. "J, as Kathie, was a winsom (sic) miss with her charming manner and her fine soprano voice. Concert stars have often failed to measure up to the standard that she set last night." Without any extant … Continue reading A Winsome Miss
Today is a milestone! This is a bigger deal than my first wedding anniversary because book research is trickier than marriage. I'm using today to appreciate all I've accomplished instead of focusing on all there is left to do. Yay!
Why does having a project-specific business card design add gravitas to my research? I've no idea, but it does. Never mind that I have accumulated a year's worth of weighty, highly detailed information about J. Somehow, having a stack of 3.5" x 2" printed paper at my disposal makes everything feel real-real. I suppose this … Continue reading Business Cards
Alternative Muses 