Today we’re looking at two classic American magazines: TIME and LIFE. Published weekly for most of the 20th century, these sister periodicals offer complementary perspectives on the biggest stories of the era, with LIFE’s vivid photojournalism bringing immediacy and emotional resonance to TIME’s in-depth reporting. They’ve always been popular items at the shop, but while past collectors sought out issues that commemorated special events or milestone dates from their own lives, a younger generation of readers are embracing these magazines for the design language they helped define—as archives of iconic mid-century modern fashion, architecture, typography, and consumer goods. Explore the way that objects slip from personal nostalgia into cultural history as time and life march irrevocably forward on this new-for-now #brattlecast.
Brattlecast #55 - Casey at the Bat
From baseball tragedy to book shop treasure, we’re taking a look at the journey of Casey at the Bat. The poem, first printed in the San Francisco Examiner in 1888, was popularized in vaudeville, and, in 1901, published in the very valuable first edition here in the studio with us today. It has since been reprinted hundreds of times, and remains enduringly popular with collectors of both literature and baseball memorabilia. Ken talks about this and a variety of other home-run hits of baseball literature.
Brattlecast #16 - The Spy Behind Home Plate
Batter up! Red Sox catcher Moe Berg was tasked with intercepting much more than fastballs as a spy inflitrating Nazi Germany. Ken shares intimate stories about Moe's life, including numerous visits to the Brattle Book Shop in this privileged look at the enigmatic ballplayer.