A reader suggested that I might enjoy the writings of Lucius Beebe, one of the twentieth century's great newspaper columnists. The man knows what I'll like.
The Provocative Pen of Lucius Beebe is an edited collection of Beebe's columns for the San Francisco Chronicle in the 1960's. Beebe was a gourmand, boulevardier and dandy of note whose tastes are reflected in his writing. He loved London and was a regular customer of John Lobb. His clothes were by Henry Poole, "tailored of sixteen- and eighteen-ounce hard worsteds and sharkskins."
Writing of his first trip across the Atlantic, he relates some of the facts of life that he learned on the voyage: "gentlemen wear shawl collar dinner jackets, peaked lapels are for musicians; only show-offs drink more than one bottle of champagne for breakfast." On land, he travelled by train (he wrote a dozen or more books on railroading), in a private railcar.
Highly recommended. I was able to find two other books of Beebe's columns on Alibris and they are both on order.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Book Review: The Provocative Pen of Lucius Beebe
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11 comments:
That's a great looking venue he is in - wherever it may be.
Not directly related, but I came across a new book this past weekend while browsing at Rizzoli Bookstore. For those who enjoy collecting pictures of the Duke of Windsor, there are some in Tartan -Romancing the Plaid. But, really, all of the pictures are enjoyable.
You might also find Beebe's "The Big Spenders," a history of the lost world of America's extremely rich, interesting as well. Much discussion of men's and women's fashion, and the extremes of expense to which they were sometimes taken. And while I like Beebe's columns, I think his writing really takes off at book-length.
"There are men in Texas who could buy and sell J.P. Morgan, Jim Hill, and Jay Gould all rolled in none, but they are poltroons to a man, scared beyond measure of having fun. Instead of fancy-dress balls of revolting dimensions at the Waldorf-Astoria, they are a pushover for family foundations."
Great quotation. I have trouble with more than one bottle of champagne at lunch..... Thanks for the chuckle.
Is it just me or are his boutonnuiere and pocket square on the wrong side? Perhaps, I am mistaken and there is no right or wrong side.
The image is reversed for some reason. On the book cover it's correct.
Good show, Will. Let us know what you find out about the provocative Lucius Beebe. That photo makes him look quite formidable.
Him and his partner--I guess he was one of Nature's Bachelors--used to have a very luxurious railway car that was used to travel domestically.
I shouldn't imagine many newspaper columnist having a personal railcar these days.
You might want to bracket your Zerbe acquisitions with books written by his boyfriend, the photographer Jerome Zerbe (Yale 1928), a dashingly well-dressed figure from blueblood Cleveland, who was the official photographer of El Morocco for a while. Beebe's devotion to Zerbe was once ribbed by Walter Winchell, who noted Beebe's newspaper mentions of Zerbe (who also served in the US Navy and was awarded a Bronze Star) were so frequent that the columns might as well end with, "And Jerome never looked lovelier." Beebe wrote the introduction to Zerbe's first book, "The El Morocco Family Album" (1937). His other books are "Happy Times," "The Art of Social Climbing," and "The Pavilions of Europe."
I meant bracket your Beebe acquisitions ... typing too fast here ...
I have this book and love it, too!
M2
Lucius Beebe was photographed in the Palm Court of the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, to answer the question of venue. It looked pretty much the same when I first had lunch there, but has likely been remodeled. Cole Porter's song for Ethel Merman:
When I give a Tea
Lucius Beebe ain't there.
But I've still got my health
So what do I care?
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