Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

For Font Freaks

Posted on July 21, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: IBM Selectric commemorative stamp. Credit: U.S. Postal Service Today’s post on the IBM Selectric got me to thinking about the variety of interchangeable typeballs that were used for fonts. The most memorable was ORATOR, which looked like this:

Posted in 1961, Art & Artists | Tagged | 10 Comments

#history, #museum, 7|21|2011

Posted on July 21, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: IBM Selectric stamp. Credit: U.S. Postal Service SPOTLIGHT Chicago Tribune cultural critic Julia Keller reflects on the 50th anniversary of the IBM Selectric typewriter, which is being honored with a commemorative stamp. [Does anyone remember the ORATOR font?] She … Continue reading →

Posted in 1961, Architecture, History, Museums | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Marion Eisenmann: Artist’s Notebook

Posted on July 21, 2011 by lmharnisch

Olvera Street by Marion Eisenmann, Aug. 8, 2009 Note: I’m reposting artwork that Marion Eisenmann did for the Daily Mirror when it was with the L.A. Times. To visit the old Plaza is to stand at the crossroads of the … Continue reading →

Posted in 2009, Art & Artists, Artist's Notebook, Downtown, Marion Eisenmann | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Marion Eisenmann: Artist’s Notebook

Found on EBay – Nudes by Witzel

Posted on July 20, 2011 by lmharnisch

A set of five nude photos (this is the tamest one) by the Witzel studio has been listed on EBay. Witzel was one of the leading portrait studios in Los Angeles and did many early publicity photos for the theater … Continue reading →

Posted in 1911, Found on EBay, Photography, Witzel | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Found on EBay – Biscailuz Badge

Posted on July 20, 2011 by lmharnisch

An example of what is sometimes known as a “Biscailuz badge” has been listed on EBay. These are presentation badges that weren’t intended for deputies, but were only given to celebrities and other notables by Los Angeles County Sheriff Eugene … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Courts, Found on EBay, LAPD | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Found on EBay – Biscailuz Badge

Time Traveling With the L.A. Daily Mirror [Updated]

Posted on July 20, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: Pier Angeli and friend with a reminder on Daylight Saving Time, 1958 I decided to import my old lmharnisch blog, devoted mainly to dissecting “The Black Dahlia Files” by Donald “Fake Document” Wolfe. Now there are posts going back … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 2008, 2009, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Donald Wolfe, Film, History, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Photography | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Found on EBay – Mt. Lowe Railway

Posted on July 20, 2011 by lmharnisch

Postcards and photos of the railway trip to Mt. Lowe, with its hairpin turns around the mountains, are quite common – but a brass model of the car in HO gauge? That’s a new one on me. This intriguing item, … Continue reading →

Posted in Found on EBay, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged , | 10 Comments

Coming Tomorrow: Marion Eisenmann

Posted on July 20, 2011 by lmharnisch

City Hall, July 3, 2009, by Marion Eisenmann I’m going to be reposting the artwork Marion Eisenmann did for the Daily Mirror when it was with the L.A. Times. Tomorrow’s sketch will feature Olvera Street. You can contact Marion here.

Posted in 2009, Art & Artists, Artist's Notebook, City Hall, Marion Eisenmann | Tagged , | Comments Off on Coming Tomorrow: Marion Eisenmann

paper.li: Not Ready for Primetime

Posted on July 20, 2011 by lmharnisch

The bots at paper.li that automatically assemble “newspapers”  from Twitter feeds had an attack of the vapors,  so after two days of nothing I deleted the paper and started over. If you have bookmarked it, replace it with this one.

Posted in History, Museums | Comments Off on paper.li: Not Ready for Primetime

James Curtis: L.A. Voices

Posted on July 20, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: Dick Lane and Helen Wallace in “Sioux City Sue,” 1946. In 1975, while still in college, I did a short series of interviews. There was no real purpose to these, other than they were with people who interested me … Continue reading →

Posted in 1975, Books and Authors, Film, Found on EBay, History, Hollywood, James Curtis, L.A. Voices, New York, Stage, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Found on EBay – Florentine Gardens

Posted on July 19, 2011 by lmharnisch

Items from the Florentine Gardens – souvenir photos, matchbooks, menus, cocktail napkins, etc. – aren’t particularly rare, but this item is unusual. According to the vendor, this menu is autographed by Errol Flynn and Sophie Tucker (no, they weren’t an … Continue reading →

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

How to Dress and Undress a Victorian Lady

Posted on July 19, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: The Wall Street Journal’s slide show on “How to Dress a Victorian Lady.” Credit: Wall Street Journal. To make sure their bodices are correctly ripped (it’s harder than it looks),  the annual convention of the Romance Writers of America … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Fashion | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Bill James’ ‘Popular Crime’: Another Good Story Ruined

Posted on July 19, 2011 by lmharnisch

I have procrastinated about looking at Bill James’ “Popular Crime” because, as curious as it may seem, I don’t care much for “true” crime books. Even when they are well done (which is almost never) the subject matter is depressing … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Donald Wolfe, History, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Found on EBay – C.C. Pierce

Posted on July 18, 2011 by lmharnisch

Would you pay for $46.95 for a page cut from a magazine? Here’s a vendor who thinks someone will. We’re always looking for photographs by the studio of C.C. Pierce and spotted this item on EBay. But, hullo, what’s this? … Continue reading →

Posted in Found on EBay, Photography | Tagged , | Comments Off on Found on EBay – C.C. Pierce

Coming Attractions: L.A. Voices by James Curtis

Posted on July 18, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: Dick Lane and Helen Wallace in “Sioux City Sue,” 1946. Coming up Wednesday: Biographer James Curtis shares his interviews in L.A. Voices, beginning with Part 1 of a 1975 Q&A with actor Dick Lane.

Posted in 1946, Books and Authors, Brain Trust, Coming Attractions, Film, Hollywood, Television | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated ++++]

Posted on July 18, 2011 by lmharnisch

“Rope” opens in Los Angeles, Sept. 24, 1948. Credit: Los Angeles Times [Update: This is a 1949 photo of Joan Chandler (d. 1979), who appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rope.”] Here’s our mystery gal! There’s another photo on the jump!

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | Tagged , , , | 28 Comments

Slash and Burn History: Mike Davis on Gen. Otis

Posted on July 18, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: Times President Gen. Harrison Gray Otis. Credit: Press Reference Library, 1912 Gen. Harrison Gray Otis, the favorite pinata of Los Angeles historians, is the subject of a new biography by Mike “City of Quartz” Davis, now being serialized in … Continue reading →

Posted in Another Good Story Ruined, Books and Authors, Downtown, History, Libraries | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

Posted on July 18, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: New, horse-drawn hearse for sale on EBay, $9,500. Credit: Justin Carriage Works Queen of the Dead—dateline July 18, 2011   • All the silent movie stars are long-gone, now we are down to memorializing their children. Rex Bell, Jr., … Continue reading →

Posted in Brain Trust, Eve Golden, Film, Hollywood, Obituaries, Politics, Queen of the Dead, Television | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Leesa Jo Shaner – Update

Posted on July 18, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: Leesa Jo Shaner An attempt to resolve one of the nation’s most baffling unsolved crimes is quietly unfolding in federal court in Tucson: The mystery of Leesa Jo Shaner, who vanished May 29, 1973,  on her way to the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1973, Cold Cases, Homicide | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Found on EBay – Oviatt’s

Posted on July 17, 2011 by lmharnisch

We’ve been rambling about “navy blue ghosts” and otherwise reciting “Facade” at the Daily Mirror HQ after finding this cocktail shaker from Oviatt’s on EBay. Bidding starts at $99.99.

Posted in Food and Drink, Found on EBay, Retro | Tagged , | Comments Off on Found on EBay – Oviatt’s