Sometimes, the Jazz Age becomes Archaeology
This artifact, likely a brooch, depicts a 1920s-era flapper, cloche hat and all. It was found at an archaeological site in Jersey City, New Jersey. This and the many other…
The Archaeologist on the River Kwai
Cyler Conrad writes about Dutch archaeologist Hendrik Robert van Heekeren, who after being captured by the Japanese during World War II, managed to collect prehistoric artifacts while a prisoner-of-war forced…
Dinosaur and Mosasaur Art from 1930s New Jersey: Alfred Poledo
I just posted about WPA-era posters created for the U.S. National Parks. One of the great successes of the Depression-era New Deal was how it provided jobs for all Americans,…
The Ranger Doug Who Saves Vintage National Park Posters
There’s a new New York Times article on “Ranger Doug” Leen (not to be confused with the other Ranger Doug), a dentist and former park ranger, who rediscovered, preserved, and…
Lazy Christmas Morning in your Hotel Suite…
…after getting shot in the tabloids on Christmas Eve.
One-Take Woody: Behind the Scenes Photos of Classic Movies
Director W.S. Van Dyke had a reputation for getting things right the first time. Two movies he directed in the 1920s were shot on location in Tahiti. For Trader Horn…
Archaeology at Petra 1929
The site of Petra in Jordan had been a tourist destination for almost a century when two British archaeologists, George Horsfield and Agnes Conway, arrived in what was then called…
“Tall, Dark, and Tweedy”: Jazz Age Artist John Held Jr. was also an archaeological illustrator – and a World War I spy
In the 1920s, John Held, Jr., became famous for his drawings in Life, Vanity Fair, and other magazines that enshrined the iconic flapper image: lean and leggy, with beaded necklace…
T’aint No Sin, to Take off Your Skin, and Dance Around in Your Bones
One more for Halloween, from Jazz Age singer Lee Morse and the Blue Grass Boys: