A Gallery of 51 Wonderful Christmas Covers of The New Yorker Magazine During the 1920s and 1930s

The New Yorker is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for The New York Times. Since the magazine’s founding, its holiday covers have evolved alongside societal changes while maintaining their distinctive artistic integrity.

In the 1920s and 1930s, their Christmas covers primarily featured traditional, often whimsical, illustrations that captured classic holiday scenes and the bustle of New York City life. The style of the era, including elements of Art Deco, was prominent, and artists like Rea Irvin, Helen E. Hokinson, and Ilonka Karasz were frequent contributors. 

The covers during this period balanced the charm of holiday traditions with observations on modern urban life. Santa was a frequent subject, depicted not just in the North Pole, but engaging in typical New Yorker activities. He was shown in various everyday scenarios, such as terrorizing a sleeping father (Rea Irvin, 1931) or even punching a time clock for a long shift (Constantin Alajalov, 1937).

Many covers illustrated the rituals of the season, including home-made Christmas wreaths, carolers in the streets, and the rush of shoppers in department stores. Especially in the wake of the 1929 stock market crash, the covers sometimes featured more restrained, classic, and elegant designs, perhaps offering readers stability through traditional forms and ideas (as with a cover from December 1930).

The covers often reflected the shift from Christmas to New Year’s, featuring Father Time as a common character, sometimes in a dreamy or elegant depiction.

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Rare Photos of Frank Sinatra as a Kid From the 1910s and 1920s

Frank Sinatra was born into a working-class, Italian-American family in Hoboken, New Jersey, and his childhood was marked by a difficult birth, a resilient mother, and an early passion for music that led him to drop out of high school to pursue a singing career.

Born on December 12, 1915, Sinatra was an overdue, 13.5-pound (6.1 kg) baby delivered with forceps, which caused permanent scarring to his left cheek, neck, and ear, as well as a punctured eardrum. He was initially thought to be stillborn until his grandmother resuscitated him. He was an only child, often thin and small, which he later joked about.

His father, Marty Sinatra, was a former bantamweight boxer who worked as a firefighter. His mother, Dolly Sinatra, was a strong-willed midwife and local political figure who doted on her son but could also be physically abusive. The family was able to afford Sinatra expensive clothes and gave him his own bedroom, leading some neighbors to call him the “best-dressed kid on the block.”

Sinatra showed little interest in academics and was known for being rowdy. He dropped out of A. J. Demarest High School after just 47 days, reportedly expelled for general misbehavior. He briefly attended business school to please his mother but left to pursue his true ambition: singing.

His passion for music was ignited by listening to big band and jazz radio broadcasts, especially idolizing Bing Crosby. His maternal uncle gave him a ukulele for his 15th birthday, and he began performing at family gatherings and on street corners for spare change.

To support his dreams, his mother helped him secure early jobs, including as a newspaper delivery boy and a shipyard riveter. He began performing in local social clubs and eventually joined a group called the Hoboken Four, which won a spot on the national radio show Major Bowes Amateur Hour in 1935, a pivotal moment that launched his career.

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Nastassja Kinski: A European Icon with Hollywood Reach

Nastassja Kinski is a German actress and former model who achieved international prominence in the late 1970s and ’80s. Born in 1961, she began her career as a model before making her film debut at a young age with German New Wave director Wim Wenders in The Wrong Move (1975). Her worldwide breakthrough came with her starring role in Roman Polanski’s Tess (1979), an adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s novel, for which she earned a Golden Globe Award.

Kinski swiftly became a fixture in both European and American cinema, known for her ethereal on-screen presence and versatility. Her other notable films include Francis Ford Coppola’s One from the Heart (1981), the fantasy horror Cat People (1982), and her acclaimed reunion with Wim Wenders in the road movie classic, Paris, Texas (1984).

Kinski’s striking beauty and intense performances solidified her status as one of the most recognizable actresses of her generation.

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Portrait of Florrie Holmes, a Member of the Forty Elephants

Among the seventy known members of London’s most infamous all-female criminal gang, Florrie Holmes stood out as a bold figure in a world where women were rarely seen as outlaws. The Forty Elephants, operating from South London between 1873 and the 1950s, were unlike anything the city’s underworld had seen before, stylish, stealthy, and shockingly effective.

Florrie didn’t start as a thief. She was first the girlfriend of a gangster, but it wasn’t long before she was drawn into the gang’s audacious world of crime. The Forty Elephants became legendary for their expertly coordinated shoplifting raids, especially in London’s high-end West End. Armed with tailor-made clothing lined with hidden pockets and voluminous knickers, they stole everything from jewelry and designer fashions to furs, leather goods, and lingerie – often in plain sight, undetected.

What set the Forty Elephants apart wasn’t just their technique, it was their sisterhood. They ran their own operations, supported each other, and used their illicit gains not just for personal luxury, but to support struggling women in their communities. When they weren’t stealing from the rich, they were throwing lavish parties, indulging in the very opulence society denied them.

In a time when organized crime was ruled by men, Florrie Holmes and her sisters defied every expectation. They were strategists, leaders, and rebels who built an empire from within the shadows, proving that women could run the streets on their own terms. Their legacy lives on as a fascinating, gritty, and empowering chapter in British criminal history.

Beautiful Photos of the 1935 Bugatti Type 57 ‘Grand Raid’ Roadster

The 1935 Bugatti Type 57 ‘Grand Raid’ Roadster stands as an exquisite example of automotive artistry and high performance from the pre-war era. Designed by Jean Bugatti, son of founder Ettore, the Type 57 chassis was already a masterpiece of engineering.

The ‘Grand Raid’ was a particularly striking version, defined by its aerodynamic bodywork and a distinctive, aggressively raked windshield, giving it a powerful, streamlined profile indicative of its racing aspirations. It featured a supercharged 3.3-liter straight-eight engine, offering exceptional speed and luxury. The Roadster body, often custom-built, was characterized by elegant flowing lines and a low-slung stance.

This model is considered one of the rarest and most beautiful variations of the Type 57 line, perfectly blending Bugatti’s tradition of superior mechanical performance with unmatched bespoke elegance.

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20 Portraits of a Young Teri Garr in the 1970s

Terry Ann Garr (December 11, 1944 – October 29, 2024), known as Teri Garr, was an American actress, comedian and dancer. Early in her career, she was credited as Terry Garr. She later recalled changing her first name to “Teri” on the advice of a numerologist, who said she would be unsuccessful if she had repeating letters in her first and last names. Her movie debut was as an extra in A Swingin’ Affair (1963). During her senior year, she auditioned for the cast of the Los Angeles road company production of West Side Story, where she met one of the most important people in her early career, David Winters, who became her friend, dance teacher, and mentor. Winters cast her in many of his early movies and projects.

Garr began as a background go-go dancer in uncredited roles in youth-oriented films and TV shows choreographed by Winters. She often appeared on television during this time, performing as a go-go dancer on several musical variety shows, along with friend Toni Basil. Her first speaking role in a motion picture was a brief appearance as a damsel in distress in The Monkees’ film Head (1968), written by Jack Nicholson; Garr got the role after meeting Nicholson in an acting class.

Garr’s career made a significant leap in the 1970s, establishing her as a recognizable actress in both comedy and drama. She was a regular cast member on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour (1971–1974), where she performed as a dancer and acted in comedy sketches, playing various characters including Countess Legustav. She later reunited with Cher on her show Cher (1975–1976). She also had recurring roles on McCloud from 1970–1975.

Her big shift came with Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation (1974). Though her role was small, critics noticed her dramatic potential. It marked the first time audiences saw Teri Garr as more than a dancer, she could handle nuanced, subtle acting. The real explosion came the same year in Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein. As Inga, she delivered impeccable comic timing; the iconic “Roll, roll, roll in ze hay!” scene; a lovable, goofy, modern twist on the classic ingénue. This film made her a comedy star almost overnight.

By the late 1970s, Garr was a sought-after comedic actress. She co-starred as the wife of John Denver’s character in Oh, God! (1977). She appeared in Steven Spielberg’s science-fiction film Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) as Ronnie Neary, the wife of Richard Dreyfuss’s character. She played a dramatic role as the mother of the boy protagonist in The Black Stallion (1979).

Teri Garr was known for her unique brand of “offbeat” comedy and charm, often playing characters who were “refreshingly intelligent” rather than merely “ditzy.” Her style was quintessential 1970s, characterized by her blonde hair and expressive face.

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Y Bwthyn Bach: Queen Elizabeth II’s Childhood Playhouse in Windsor Great Park, England

Queen Elizabeth II’s childhood playhouse in Windsor Great Park is one of the most charming and intimate artifacts of the royal family’s early life, a tiny pastel cottage known as Y Bwthyn Bach, or “The Little House.”

The playhouse was built in 1932 as a sixth-birthday present for Princess Elizabeth (the future Queen Elizabeth II). The idea came from the people of Wales, who wanted to offer a unique and heartfelt gift to the young princess.

Designed by architect Edmund Willmott, it is a two-thirds scale, thatched cottage built in the style of a traditional Welsh cottage. It was built using materials left over from the redevelopment of Llandough Hospital. It is 24 feet (7.3 meters) long, 8 feet deep (2.4 meters), with a ceiling height of only 5 feet (1.5 meters).

The most remarkable thing about Y Bwthyn Bach is that it was a fully functional home, just scaled down for a child. It features four main rooms: a living room, a kitchen, a bedroom, and a bathroom. It was equipped with the modern conveniences of the time, including hot and cold running water, electricity, a working gas cooker, a small fridge, and even a heated towel rail. The furniture and fittings, such as a tiny telephone, miniature Beatrix Potter books, and a blue and gold china set, were all made to scale.

Both Elizabeth and her younger sister Princess Margaret adored the cottage. They played house, cleaned it themselves, arranged the furniture, and even answered letters delivered to the tiny mailbox. Family visitors often recalled that Elizabeth loved tidying and organizing the cottage, treating it like her own little kingdom; Margaret preferred the dramatic play—songs, dances, and imaginary adventures. The playhouse became a small oasis of normal childhood within the formality of royal life.

Over the decades, the cottage weathered the elements. During Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, it was restored several times, including a major renovation in 2012 for her Diamond Jubilee.

Today, Y Bwthyn Bach still sits within the private grounds of Windsor Great Park, near the Royal Lodge. It is not open to the public, but remains in use by royal children, continuing the charming tradition begun in the 1930s.

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