I thought it might be fun to allow some off-topic posts mid-week. Not wildly off topic! But I know Marcia, for example, has a home filled with interesting old things not related directly to books. I’m thinking things you have or come across that you think The Old Books Blog folk would appreciate. Since you can’t yet put images in comments, you may have to post separately.
My contribution is from an old book, and I suppose since there’s a column labeled “Novels” isn’t all that off topic. But it’s not exactly on topic either! From Horizon Vol. II No. 3 (January 1960), the lead article, “The Culture Class War.” Gosh. I see it quotes Mencken. I’ll quote more below. But let’s start with this.
I do love that martini pitcher. And I have no quibble with putting Peyton Place in the Masses row. But the butterfly chair is just silly. It’s impossible to get in and out of those unless you are 15. Whoa. Wait just one minute. The Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh is Pretensions to Class? I beg to differ.
Your thoughts? And by the way there are now six symphony orchestras in Mississippi.
You can have all the chairs, I’ll take a nice old leather armchair with footstool. Obviously Disney has fallen from grace. Side note, don’t tell anyone, but I’m older than Disneyland, so a friend likes to remind me. I could see the Matterhorn from my house as a kid. Gotta admit the M. Monroe hot water bottle is funny. And, yes that Stueben is a beauty.
I love the concept of this chart. I don’t know if it would be fun or depressing to try and re-create this for our modern era.
Probably depressing. I can’t imagine the folk who consider themselves to be in the upper echelon these days as being particularly classy. Or gracious. Or, come to think of it, virtuous in any way.
I can confirm that such an example is few and far between.