Category Archives: Books and Authors

Black Dahlia Book Club–Coming Next Week

Posted on January 13, 2026 by lmharnisch

Three quick reminders: The anniversary of Elizabeth Short’s murder is Thursday — be respectful. The Black Dahlia case is not solved, regardless of what you may hear elsewhere. And the Black Dahlia Book Club begins a week from today at YouTube.com/LMHarnisch Continue reading →

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January 9, 1907: The Floods

Posted on January 9, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 9-10, 1907: The worst storm in 23 years blows across Southern California with the force of a gale, dumping more than an inch of rain in Pasadena, killing an Orange County rancher, washing out railroad tracks and collapsing tunnels, and leaving nearly every small ship in Santa Barbara sunk, driven ashore or pounded to pieces. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Downtown, LAPD, Pasadena, San Fernando Valley, Streetcars, Transportation | Leave a comment

January 8, 1907: A Cold Dose of Reality

Posted on January 8, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 8, 1907: Los Angeles is dealing with a severe coal shortage. Coal was rationed to five sacks per customer and the buyers had pick them up at the coal yard. “The only place that hasn’t complained for the lack of coal is hell.” Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Food and Drink, LAPD, Pasadena, Photography, Streetcars | Leave a comment

January 7, 1907: TLC

Posted on January 7, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 7, 1907: Elizabeth Mahler is one of the bright spots at Long Beach Hospital. Though she was engaged, she was courted by a patient’s business partner. The engagement was broken and wedding bells chimed…. Nine years later, divorce court. Continue reading →

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January 5, 1907: A Fatal Can of Beans

Posted on January 5, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 5, 1907: Food poisoning from aged cans of pork and beans kills three people staying at a mountain cabin. Continue reading →

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January 4, 1907: The Mayor Departs From His Prepared Remarks

Posted on January 4, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 4, 1907: Mayor-elect Arthur C. Harper lays aside his prepared speech and tells an audience that he would look at every department in city government and that he had complete faith in the Owens River project. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, City Hall, LAPD, Streetcars | Leave a comment

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide: A Brief History of the Tom and Jerry

Posted on December 26, 2025 by lmharnisch

Retro Drinking Guide: A brief history of the Tom and Jerry, and no, the drink came before the cartoon characters. Continue reading →

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December 25, 1947: The Times Christmas Poem

Posted on December 25, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 25, 1947: The Los Angeles Times publishes a front-page poem for Christmas by James Warnack, who called himself “a theoretical Christian but a practical pagan.” Continue reading →

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Al Martinez, a Dying Boy and Some Peaches — A (Non) Christmas Story

Posted on December 24, 2025 by lmharnisch

The history of a Al Martinez’s (non) Christmas story about a dying boy who wanted some peaches. Continue reading →

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December 20, 1947: Pulp Author Rob Eden Dies | Author of ‘Short Skirts: A Story of Modern Youth’

Posted on December 20, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 20, 1947: Pulp writer Robert F. Burkhardt dies at the age of 55. Writing as Rob Eden, Burkhardt and his wife, Eve, produced dozens of novels and countless short stories. Continue reading →

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Deccember 17, 1947: Frightening Food From the 1940s — ‘Unusual’ Fruitcake

Posted on December 17, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 17, 1947: A recipe for an “unusual” fruitcake. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholds a $2,500 fine against Hollywood book dealer Marcell Rodd for selling the obscene book “Call House Madam.” The book, by Serge G. Wolsey, is now available at the Los Angeles Public Library. Continue reading →

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Holiday Gift Suggestion – ‘California Against the Sea’

Posted on December 16, 2025 by lmharnisch

California Against the Sea: Visions for our Vanishing Coastline, by my former Los Angeles Times colleague Rosanna Xia, has won a number of awards since it was published in 2023, and would make an excellent gift for anyone seeking to … Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 15, 2025 by lmharnisch

Retro Shopping Guide: “The Los Angeles Book” (1950) featuring wonderful photographs by Max Yavno, who was responsible for so many iconic shots of L.A. Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Shopping Guide

Posted on December 14, 2025 by lmharnisch

Another of my favorite books on Los Angeles is Leo Politi’s “Bunker Hill Los Angeles: Reminiscences of Bygone Days.” Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 12, 2025 by lmharnisch

Another standard gift suggestion is Glen Creason’s “Los Angeles in Maps,” a great resource for seeing the way depictions of Los Angeles have changed over the years. Continue reading →

Posted in 2010, Books and Authors, Libraries | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 11, 2025 by lmharnisch

Today’s retro holiday shopping suggestion in Don Normark’s excellent book “Chavez Ravine, 1949.” Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 10, 2025 by lmharnisch

One of my favorite books on Los Angeles is the 1940 Nuestro Pueblo, collected from pieces in the Los Angeles Times, with artwork by Charles Owens and text by Joseph Seewerker. Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Film Books for the Holidays

Posted on December 8, 2025 by lmharnisch

Mary Mallory has suggestions for holiday books for film fans. Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

December 4, 1911: Man Arrested for ‘Masquerading in Female Attire’

Posted on December 4, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 4, 1911: Clarence Westfall, 22, is arrested for masquerading in female attire when the boat from San Diego docks in San Pedro. Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Shopping Guide

Posted on December 2, 2025 by lmharnisch

A Daily Mirror gift suggestion: Mary Mallory’s latest: First Women of Hollywood. Continue reading →

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