The Big Pond This postcard, printed in Germany, is captioned, in translation, “Friend and Enemy at the Big Pond.” The image shows children representative of the nations soon to be at war at the edge of a pond on which toy boats are being sailed. The card was issued before the war broke out, but […]
“Civilization—To Your Health! [A Great War-Era Postcard Featuring an Image by the Dutch Artist, Louis Raemaekers] World War One—the “Great War”—certainly counts as one of the major events in modern human history. Its effects were felt for decades after the guns fell silent—and in important respects (not least, the political borders of the […]
As was recounted in previous posts in this series, the societies about to embark on the Great War, in 1914, were enthralled by a comprehensive set of delusions regarding the nature of that war and the course it would take. Famously, it was believed in the capitals of the principal belligerents that the […]
As of this writing, the COVID-19 pandemic has claimed the lives of 160,000 of our friends and relations. It is a measure of the tragedy that large numbers of bits and bytes would be consumed by the mere listing of their names. Remembering even a small fraction of those dead in any meaningful way would […]
Propaganda Postcards and the German Invasion of Belgium “The first casualty when war comes is truth,” observed United States Senator Hiram Johnson in a 1918 speech. Coincidentally, his subject was the Great War—America’s involvement in which Johnson had opposed. “Truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of […]
I will not live long enough to see any particular lump of coal become a diamond. But I have lived long enough to see a love song written by one of my contemporaries mischaracterized as “traditional”—the song being thereby attributed to that prolific genius of yore, Anonymous. Such attribution cuts the song loose […]
The images on picture postcards sent to and from soldiers on the First World War’s western front captured, in “real time,” the passions and prejudices (etc.) of the men who fought the war, and of the societies that sent them into the trenches. The postcards were rolled off the presses quickly, to serve needs of […]
Pictured is JudgmentsHere in the middle of a Speed Scrabble match against the family dog. Such contests previously were casual and occasional; but they have become more frequent, and more heated, since the emergence of the pandemic, and the issuance of shelter-in-place recommendations. Another sign of the times, to be sure. Although formal records have […]
Daddy found the boys in the upstairs part of McDonald’s. They had found seats at a little counter that faced a window, through which you could see people walking on Third Avenue. Nathan had taken one chair, and Lewis had taken another. They had put their backpacks on the chair between their chairs, to […]
Albert Einstein was of the view, famously, that “matter can neither be created nor destroyed.” The Professor surely was a first-rate physicist, and made many real contributions. He was unaware, however, of my historic work with broken appliances and children’s toys. The fact is, I can create two tricycles out of one tricycle. And I […]
