JB's Warehouse & Curio Emporium

   Pasadena Evening Post,  December 31, 1920. Some newspapers end a year with reflections on the previous 12 months. Other express their hopes for the next 12. As 1920 gave way to 1921, the  Pasadena Evening Post  decided what would really cheer readers up (and keep advertisers happy) was to publish in its New Year's Eve edition a ton of ads and photos depicting grinning members of the paper's staff and the local business community. While some of those depicted look relaxed and friendly to talk shop with, others have strange expressions generally associated with membership in cults. Originally this post was going to be a long image dump, but I couldn't resist digging deeper, finding out more about the gentlemen featured in these ads. Newspapers.com has a decent selection of Pasadena papers, which to led to a two-day research adventure which yielded some interesting stories. I'll admit that I've developed a soft spot for Pasadena (and neighbouring Altadena) in re...

This post offers supplementary material for a Torontoist post I recently wrote , which you should dive into before reading any further.  If you're interested in sampling Kit Coleman's writing, the best compilation is Ted Ferguson's Kit Coleman: Queen of Hearts , published in 1978. Ferguson organizes excerpts from Kit's columns by theme, generally choosing her funniest bits. One major drawback of this book: no footnotes indicating which editions of the Mail or Mail and Empire the pieces were drawn from. The last chapter offers a series of "words of wisdom" from Kit. Some of her advice seems quaint, some reveals her distrust of others, some only require slight tweaking to remain relevant: The arrogance of youth would be unbearable if it were not so amusing. Candor is a virtue for which women pay most dearly. It is no use attempting to converse with cranks. As soon as you discover their crankism, fly. Was there ever a friendship between...

  The journalism school that Toronto's morning conservative paper barely conceals its disdain for evolved into the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism (though I agree that one doesn't have to sit in a classroom to learn the essentials of reporting). Seventy-nine budding scribes made up the opening class on September 30, 1912. Within five years, the school handed out its first Pulitzer Prize, which makes me wonder if the Mail and Empire later pooh-poohed the concept of journalism awards. Source: the Mail and Empire , April 19, 1912.