2Neat Magazines - Vintage Magazines are FUN

06/15/2026

How neat is this?!! One of my great 2NEAT customers just alerted me to another use of this Life logo (pictured below).

The Ninety-First Aero Squadron of the Third Army in Europe used a slightly modified version of the logo on their airplanes during The Great War (WWI). It was a very fitting logo with a knight chasing away the devil. *** SEE SAMPLES IN FIRST TWO COMMENTS BELOW POST.

(From Wikipedia) : "The 91st was one of the first five American flying squadrons to reach France, arriving in November of 1917. It was assigned as an Army Observation Squadron, performing long-range, strategic reconnaissance over the entire length of the United States First Army sector of the Western Front in France. After the 1918 Armistice with Germany, the squadron was assigned to the United States Third Army as part of the Occupation of the Rhineland in Germany.

The squadron returned to the United States in June 1919 and became part of the permanent United States Army Air Service in 1921, being re-designated as the 91st Squadron. The current United States Air Force unit which holds its lineage and history is the 91st Cyberspace Operations Squadron, assigned to the 67th Cyberspace Wing, Kelly Field Annex, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas." My 2NEAT customer is a current member of it!

This logo appeared in Life magazine as a header for the editor's column for decades, starting in a small format and expanding to a larger version (pictured below) in 1913. It was drawn by John Ames Mitchell, one of the co-founders of Life and also its publisher until his death in 1918.

Initially, the logo was simply copied by the 91st from the pages of Life. However, in 1919, Lieutenant Guilbert of the squadron wrote a nice letter to Life explaining the use of the device as the insignia on their planes. He said that acknowledgement should have been made long ago and that the squadron wanted to express their indebtedness to Life.

Life replied in print, "Life's editorial devil and pursuing knight have been put to an illustrious use by the 91st Aero Squadron ... The obligation to which the Lieutenant refers is on Life and not on the Squadron. To have participated, even in a figurative way, in the creditable record of the 91st Squadron is regarded by Life as an honor ... " *** The letter in full appeared in the May 8, 1919 issue of Life.

Neat, huh?!!

06/03/2026

'Tis the season ... graduates are flooding out of school and into the real world. Congratulations to each one of you!! Has this happy event touched your family this year?

From 101 years ago, we see that little has changed :-) The graduation ceremony itself is important, but so is looking good for it! Artist Wallace Morgan captured "The Final Examination" perfectly for the cover of Life magazine June 4, 1925. Check out some of the other issues featuring Graduation : https://2neat.com/?s=graduation&post_type=product

The editors of Life magazine were clearly in favor of both education and equality for women. It is so nice to see such wise ideas being supported in public. All it takes is a quick look around the world to see that countries which support both education and equality of the sexes are doing much better than those countries which suppress them.

05/27/2026

Ha - I'm sure I've never looked that cute in a rain storm!! How about you? See the first comment for a photo of me trying to be cute in the rain. :-)

These three charming (if damp) young ladies have been caught in the rain with only a single tiny parasol to shelter them. I'm sure a horde of gentlemen are unfurling their umbrellas at a run while they rush to save them! The amazing artist John La Gatta created this image for the cover of Life magazine July 8, 1915. Life magazine was lucky to be able to showcase a number of LaGatta artworks over the years : https://2neat.com/?s=LaGatta&post_type=product

This image caught my eye today because much of the very dry American west is getting rain (or sleet, snow and hail) this week including in 2Neat territory. Boy do we all need it! The state of the rivers and reservoirs out here is shocking. The summer wildfire season has started early and is sure to be intense.

04/04/2026

Sometimes you just HAVE TO judge a book by its cover!! :-) I saw this one in a Little Free Library and instantly recognized the cover art. Indeed, it is an exact copy of the art on the cover of Life magazine March 27, 1924 by J. Grenard. The only things Lynn Buckley changed when she designed the cover were to delete the title "Life" and change the background color from green to blue.

At first I was taken aback that such a blatant use (an outright copy) of the art was made. Then I remembered that art that old is usually no longer covered by copyright. Additionally, the publisher did credit the original artist, Life magazine (with date) and the source of their copy (Mary Evan Picture Library). So, I guess all is well. :-)

The book, by the way, is GOOD! It is set in the English countryside and features a heart-warming older gentleman and his attempt to befriend some of the immigrants who have settled there (new and old). The author does a masterful job of describing the often humorous pitfalls when different cultures and traditions meet. Let me know if you read it and what you think of it.

It is only fitting that this cover art is titled "April Fool" and we have all just survived this year's April Fools Day. https://2neat.com/product/life-magazine-march-27-1924-2160/

01/24/2026

The judicial system in the USA as it is today (shown in artwork from Life magazine February 8, 1917). https://2neat.com/product/life-magazine-february-8-1917-1789-rea-irvin/

In this artwork by Rea Irvin, we see Fat Lady Justice (who is clearly living high on the spoils of her position) peeking around her blind-fold and holding the scales of justice unbalanced by a pay-off. There is an inattentive jury behind her and fighting lawyers in front of her. The wise owls are carefully not looking at her.

It is heartbreaking that the upper levels of our legal system have fallen like this. No longer is the rule of law applied equally, lawlessness is being overlooked when committed by one party, and political revenge is being granted a place in the legal process. SHAME on the Judicial branch of Government and the Supreme Court.

The caption at the bottom "Fiat justitia ruat caelum" is a Latin legal maxim meaning "Let justice be done, though the heavens fall". It signifies that justice should be upheld regardless of the consequences, disruption, or consequences involved. The phrase is often used to emphasize the importance of impartial, rigorous law enforcement.

Yup, that's really NOT happening anymore!

12/21/2025

Just for fun ... a non-holiday post. Read the caption of the artwork and grin. 😀😀

This is a detail of the cover art of the Life magazine issue from October 22, 1896, art by Ellen Gertrude Emmet. https://2neat.com/product-category/life-magazine-1883-1936/life-1896/

12/08/2025

Have a BIG birthday coming up in 2026? Beat the crowd and get your fun 1926 issue of LIFE now! I just lowered all the 1926 prices and the savings are amazing!

LIFE 1926 - Original LIFE Magazines (1883-1936) for sale. Vintage magazines with wonderful illustrations and timely historical articles.

12/01/2025

Vintage paper is fun in all forms! Here is a darling antique postcard a friend sent to me for Christmas. You can see the original address : Miss Clara Thompson, Martinsdale, Montana. Can you even imagine something being delivered with so little address today? ! Of course, the current (2020) population of Martinsdale was only 43, so I'm guessing it was never a metropolis.

I did a little detective work to figure out the age of the postcard and the answer is probably 1907-1914. The cost of postcard postage at 1 cent, the divided back, the lack of a white border, and the fact that the postcard was printed in Germany all point to those dates. See below for some information from the USPS website.

Deltiology: The Study and Collection of Postcards

The time periods are generally defined as shown below.
"Private Mailing Card" Era, 1898-1901 The Act of May 19, 1898, authorizing a special postage rate for postcards, required that the words "Private Mailing Card" appear on the address side.

"Post Card" Era, 1902-1907 On December 24, 1901, the Postmaster General ordered that "Post Card" be printed on postcards in lieu of "Private Mailing Card," although previously-issued cards bearing the earlier phrase could still be mailed.

Divided Back Era, 1907-1914 Until March 1, 1907, postal regulations prohibited written messages on the address side of postcards. The period before 1907 is sometimes called the "undivided back" era.

White Border Era, 1915-1930 During this period, printers often left a white border around the entire postcard image.

Linen Era, 1930-1944 Postcards were often printed with colorful ink, with or without a border, on paper with a linen-like texture.
Photochrome Era, 1945-to date Photochrome postcards have a shiny finish and photographic images.

Happy Holidays to all of you who love vintage paper!