Monthly Archives: October 2011

Found on EBay – Oviatt’s

Posted on October 31, 2011 by lmharnisch

This remarkably dazzling tie from Oviatt’s has been listed on EBay. Oviatt’s was one of the leading menswear stores in Los Angeles and is the subject of the 2008 documentary  “The Oviatt Building” by Marc Chevalier and Seth Shulman. Bidding starts … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on October 31, 2011 by lmharnisch

[Update: This is Sandra Storme. Please congratulate Mike Hawks for identifying her.] Here’s today’s mystery gal, courtesy of Steven Bibb!

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

Posted on October 31, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: 1993 Cadillac Hearse for sale on EBay, listed as Buy It Now for $4,700. Queen of the Dead—dateline October 31, 2011 •  105-year-old British stage actress Norrie Woodhall died on Oct. 25. She was the last surviving member of … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Eve Golden, Film, Found on EBay, Hollywood, Obituaries, Queen of the Dead, Stage | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Found on EBay – ‘The Gold Rush’

Posted on October 30, 2011 by lmharnisch

A program from the 1925 showing of “The Gold Rush” at Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre has been listed on EBay. This item has been removed from a scrapbook and frankly we have mixed feelings about that. Antique dealers who cannibalize mementos … Continue reading →

Posted in 1925, Film, Found on EBay, Hollywood, Theaters | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Monsters of the Silver Screen Commemorative Bills

Posted on October 30, 2011 by lmharnisch

OK, it’s only the Onion. But it’s cool. And just in time for Halloween.

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L.A. Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on October 30, 2011 by lmharnisch

Well? Any ideas? This is the floor of the Bradbury Building.  I took a picture of it during an art class given Saturday by Marion Eisenmann, known to Daily Mirror readers through the Artist’s Notebook. Marion asked me to make … Continue reading →

Posted in 1893, Architecture, Art & Artists, Interior Design, Marion Eisenmann, Mystery Photo, Photography | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Coming Attractions: This Week on the Daily Mirror

Posted on October 30, 2011 by lmharnisch

On Monday, Eve Golden will have her roundup of unusual obituaries in Queen of the Dead, and in Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory will take a look at Photoplayers – mechanical instruments that smaller theaters used to accompany silent films. Other … Continue reading →

Posted in Coming Attractions, Eve Golden, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Obituaries, Queen of the Dead | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Paul McCartney Rescues Motown Museum’s Steinway

Posted on October 30, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: Stone chopping tool from Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Credit: “A History of the World in 100 Objects.” Last year, BBC4 aired a program that tried to compress the history of the world into the stories of 100 artifacts from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Museums, Music | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

An Essay on Peace From 1970

Posted on October 29, 2011 by lmharnisch

I recently received a shipment of several issues of Haldeman-Julius Monthly wrapped in some pages torn from an old Look magazine. (Young persons: Look was a competitor with Life and was one of those big weekly magazines we had around … Continue reading →

Posted in 1970, Art & Artists, Vietnam | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated +]

Posted on October 28, 2011 by lmharnisch

[Update 2: This is Charles Dingle (d. 1956). He appeared in the 1941 stage and film versions of Lillian Hellman’s “The Little Foxes.”] Here’s another photo, courtesy of Steven Bibb.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

L.A.’s Traffic Nightmare Threatens Downtown’s Future! Oct. 28, 1941

Posted on October 28, 2011 by lmharnisch

Oct. 28, 1941: Lee Shippey writes about Los Angeles’ congested streets (no, traffic is not a new problem – it’s a very old one that we are still trying to solve). Notice that Shippey says streetcars and automobiles do not … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Freeways, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Obituaries, Streetcars, Tom Treanor, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on October 27, 2011 by lmharnisch

Here’s another mystery photo, courtesy of Steven Bibb. [Update: After fifteen years, Esther Ralston, former Paramount star, stages a reunion with Adolph Zukor, chairman of the board of directors of Paramount Productions, the man who discovered her and put her … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

The Chinese Massacre: Oct. 24, 1871 — Part 4

Posted on October 27, 2011 by lmharnisch

The New York Daily Tribune of Nov. 11, 1871, also carried an account of the massacre. Chinese Massacre Part 1 | Part 2| Part 3   Wong Chin, a merchant, was the first victim of the hanging. He was led … Continue reading →

Posted in 1871, Chinese Massacre, Crime and Courts, Homicide | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Found on EBay – Herald Examiner

Posted on October 26, 2011 by lmharnisch

This 1969 news rack card from the  Los Angeles Herald Examiner (d. 1989) has been listed on EBay. These cards were placed on vending machines to improve street sales. This card is a bit of a surprise, because the Herald’s … Continue reading →

Posted in 1969, Found on EBay | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on October 26, 2011 by lmharnisch

[Update: This is Lina Basquette] Here’s a mystery gal with a mystery companion, courtesy of Steven Bibb.

Posted in Animals, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

The Case of the Writer’s Suitcase

Posted on October 26, 2011 by lmharnisch

A suitcase from J.W. Robinson’s has been listed on EBay and the vendor says it belonged to popular mystery writer Erle Stanley Gardner (note the E.S.G. monogram). Bidding starts at $55.

Posted in Books and Authors, Found on EBay | Tagged , | 2 Comments

The Chinese Massacre: Oct. 24, 1871 — Part 3

Posted on October 26, 2011 by lmharnisch

The San Francisco Bulletin’s Oct. 26, 1871, account of the lynching was published in the New York Times. Los Angeles, although boasting of being the City of the Queen of the Angels, is cursed with such another hotbed of crime … Continue reading →

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Found on EBay – Louis Adamic on Los Angeles

Posted on October 25, 2011 by lmharnisch

A copy of Little Blue Book No. 752 has been listed on EBay. The Haldeman-Julius publication “Facts You Should Know About California” contains Louis Adamic’s “The Bright Side of Los Angeles” and “Paganism in Los Angeles,” plus Walter Watrous’ “Behind … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on October 25, 2011 by lmharnisch

[Update: I’m tempted to give half credit to Cold in Phoenix, who guessed that this is Lupe Velez. It’s actually her sister Reina.] Here’s today’s mystery lady, courtesy of Steven Bibb.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

The Shrinking U.S. Newspaper: 1964 – 2011

Posted on October 25, 2011 by lmharnisch

Most people know that newspapers have reduced the size of their pages (or what we used to mean when we talked about “the web”) to save newsprint, but unless you have a lot of old papers lying around the house … Continue reading →

Posted in Front Pages, History | Tagged , | 14 Comments