Tag Archives: 1930s

ISSUE FIVE-[R]evolving Research: A Flurry of Reading

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Some weeks involve direct research about J or her family; other weeks are devoted to general history reading. I’m currently in a flurry of the latter activity. I learn a lot during these times, just not about J. It’s all necessary and enjoyable work. Time well spent.

After I’ve finished my current book (see below) the pendulum will likely swing back the other way. I love history, but I might just love J even more. That is saying something.

RESEARCH NOTES WEEK 7:

  • VICTORY: Waking up every day and doing the thing regardless of what the days threw at me.
  • HAPPY DISCOVERY: None. I’m okay with that because I learned tremendous amounts of historical information.
  • FRUSTRATION: Also none. That’s a win.
  • CURRENTLY READING: A Square Meal: A Culinary History of the Great Depression by Jane Ziegelman and Andrew Coe
  • HOURS SPENT ON RESEARCH: 7

Until next time!

[Alternative Muses] Writerly Style: Ngaio Marsh

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“Elegance is elimination.”–Balenciaga

Ngaio Marsh by Henry Herbert Clifford (1935).

This 85-year-old photograph of New Zealand writer Ngaio Marsh proves that elegance, coziness, and individuality can be as stylish as anything out of the pages of a 21st-century fashion magazine.

Embellishments are minimal: an eccentric shoulder, a few buttons, an indifferently tilted hat, a bit of pattern and texture here or there. 

Clean lines. Confidence. 

She is, more than anything, mysterious.

How appropriate.

A Bookstore is Gone, Long Live the Books! Part 8-The Film Till Now

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A local used bookstore recently closed after 25 years. They had a fantastic going-out-of-business sale. While part of me feels “guilty” for taking advantage of their sad circumstances, the rest (and logical) part of me knows that they needed to sell as many books as possible. Through these books, a bit of their entrepreneurial and intellectual spirit will live on. With that idea in mind, I’m doing a limited-run series where I’ll spotlight each of the volumes I “adopted” from this sweet little shop. Shine on, you bookish gems!

Today’s selection? The Film Till Now by Paul Rotha.

The Film Till Now

DETAILS:

  • TITLE: THE FILM TILL NOW
  • AUTHOR: PAUL ROTHA
  • REPRINTED IN 1931/FIRST PUBLISHED 1930
  • PUBLISHED BY: JONATHAN CAPE & HARRISON SMITH

Stylish endpapers

WHY I BOUGHT IT:

The Film Till Now has been on my TBR list for more years than I care to count. My laziness in never actively looking for a copy truly paid off, as this edition dates to just a year after the book was first published. It is in wonderful shape for its age (87 years!).

Thanks for reading! I hope you’re enjoying the series. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

[Alternative Muses] Birthday Mashup: Edmond de Goncourt/Dorothea Lange

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“History is a novel that has been lived, a novel is history that could have been.”-Writer Edmond de Goncourt (born 26 May 1822)

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All photos taken by Dorothea Lange (born 26 May 1895) during The Great Depression