ON POLITICAL BRILLIANCE
WHAT WITH this being Election Day, and indeed one of the more important elections in our nation’s history, I offer thoughts from three Americans of unalloyed brilliance: Mark Twain, Will … Continue reading
CHARLES FLETCHER LUMMIS—NOT A STEREOTYPICAL LIBRARIAN PART 2
YESTERDAY, IN SimanaitisSays, Charles Fletcher Lummis left Harvard early, married his first Mrs. Lummis, walked across the U.S. in knickers and tomato-red knee socks to a job with the fledgling … Continue reading
CHARLES FLETCHER LUMMIS—NOT A STEREOTYPICAL LIBRARIAN PART 1
I REMEMBER HAVING a crush on my junior high school librarian. She was tall, lithe, and wore glasses and a shirtwaist dress. Alas, or maybe fortunately, the affair came to … Continue reading
TINTYPES—MAKE THE AMERICAN MUSICAL GREAT AGAIN
IF EVER THERE was a Broadway musical revue that’s ripe for revival these days, it’s Tintypes. The Tintypes revue was originally produced by the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. It … Continue reading
1940 AUTO AVIO COSTRUZIONI TIPO 815
THE FIRST FERRARI wasn’t called a Ferrari. Yet it is quite an automobile with a tale to tell. What’s more, Jim Donick, editor of Vintage Sports Car, the quarterly magazine … Continue reading
HURRAH FOR TILLY SHILLING—ENGINEER, RACER, AND MORE PART 2
WE LEFT Beatrice “Tilly” Shilling yesterday at SimanaitisSays in her new position as a researcher at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, the R&D arm of the RAF. It was 1936. She … Continue reading
HURRAH FOR TILLY SHILLING—ENGINEER, RACER, AND MORE PART 1
I LEARNED ABOUT Beatrice “Tilly” Shilling while researching yesterday’s SimanaitisSays on the Rolls-Royce Merlin aircraft engine. This engine played a major role in Britain’s and the Allies’ defeat of the … Continue reading
THE ROLLS-ROYCE MERLIN—REFINEMENTS REWARDED
ENGINEERING IS a process, not a result. An excellent example of this is development of the Rolls-Royce Merlin aircraft engine, renowned for powering the Avro Lancaster, de Havilland Mosquito, Hawker … Continue reading
THE ATLAS OBSCURA EXPLORER’S GUIDE
THIS BOOK IS subtitled “For the World’s Most Adventurous Kid,” and it is a fine addition to my collection of guidebooks, Baedeker’s and all. “For ages 9 and up,” it … Continue reading
THE MURPHY-BODIED, R&T-FEATURED, KATHARINE HEPBURN-DRIVEN BUGATTI TYPE 38
INTERESTING CARS OFTEN have fascinating histories. I was inspired to write about the Murphy-bodied Bugatti Type 38 when I rediscovered its Salon article in the March 1956 issue of R&T. … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 