Subscribe
Editors’ Picks:
Read the Latest Issue
Crime and Scandal
Modern Times
Cartoons
The Morning Meeting Podcast
April 29, 2023
The Best
of
The
News
from
Abroad
No. 198
Weekend
Edition
Saturdays

at 6:00 AM
In This Week’s Issue
WAILING TOWN

From Nantucket, Clara Molot reports on the housing crisis that has seen tiny fishermen’s cabins selling for millions of dollars on the tony island, and the murky forces at play behind the scenes …

FRENEMY OF THE STATE

From Buckingham Palace, Lois Rogers reveals how Wallis Simpson coldly betrayed her childhood best friend in her insatiable quest to become Queen of England …

ABOVE THE GLASS CEILING

From the first-class lounge, Rich Cohen charts the unashamedly sexist history of the Executive, the men-only flight that offered free cigars and unlimited cocktails in the Mad Men era …

RETURN TO SENDER

From Mar-a-Lago, Stuart Heritage is flabbergasted by Letters to Trump, a book of hastily jotted notes, Post-Its, and boilerplate cover letters from such luminaries as Vladimir Putin, Rudy Giuliani, and Kim Jong Un …

HEART OF FLINT

From Kansas, Jeffrey Toobin shows how the toxic isolation of the Flint Hills pushed Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber, into becoming a blueprint for far-right, incel extremism …

ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF FORTITUDE

From New York, Derek Blasberg reflects on the enduring impact of the photographer Richard Avedon, on his centennial …

Cad About Town

From London, Hilary Rose peeks at the Queen Consort’s first husband, the still spry Andrew Parker Bowles, and discovers his serially unfaithful ways, his lusty disposition, and the “electric indifference” of his marriage to Camilla …

BUT, WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

The punk and pomp of Lady Amanda Harlech, Karl Lagerfeld’s “extra pair of eyes” … media maven Ben Smith answers our Eight Questions … cutting through the towers of coronation tat … Roy Lichtenstein, comic-book villain? … Badminton Horse Trials isn’t just for toffs … John Lahr salutes Barry Humphries … Last Tango in Paris, revisited … Kate Mara likes her children imperfect and her champagne ice-cold … Plus: cast your vote in our Attention-Whore Index Poll!

But First …
Issue No. 198

The View from Here Mugs, trays, tins, tea cozies—it’s a golden moment for collectors of coronation tat. And, yes, you need some

By Daisy Dawnay
Read On
The Other Other Woman

My Best Fiend’s Wedding Wallis Simpson was prepared to do anything to become Queen of England—even if it meant backstabbing her best friend

By Lois Rogers
Read On
Barry Blitt’s Sketchbook
An Island Divided

Nightmare on Main Street An exclusive look inside Nantucket’s real-estate crisis reveals the lengths to which private developers have gone to build on the tony island—at the expense of its lower-income residents

By Clara Molot
Read On
Queen’s Gambit

Sloane Alone Turns out there’s no etiquette guide on how to behave when your wife leaves you to become the Queen of England

By Hilary Rose
Read On
Junk Mail

Trumpie Dearest Despite containing more than 150 letters, including his correspondence with Kim Jong Un, Oprah Winfrey, and Jair Bolsonaro, Letters to Trump barely qualifies as a book

By Stuart Heritage
Photographs by Nat The Knife
Read On
Air Supply

Mom’s the Word

Whether you opt for a tiny token of appreciation or an heirloom-worthy indulgence this Mother’s Day, AIR SUPPLY has all of your gift-giving needs covered. Just don’t forget a card
Shop
Photo: Richard Swift/WWD/Penske Media/Getty Images (Bacall and Bogart)
Guest Edit

My Favorite Things Fashion illustrator and Chloé accessories designer Benjamin Seidler shares his favorite sartorial finds—for both his closet and his kids’

By Benjamin Seidler
Shop
Photo: Holly Falconer (Seidler)
T.G.I.S.

The Attention-Whore Index Trump, Musk, Carlson—the names trip off the tongue like a list of medical complaints, but which one will get your vote? Plus, all the latest cat-killing and baby-frightening news from around the world

Read On
Landing Gear

Sound Engineering Tuck into ChatGPT! Listen up for the sweet sounds of Japan! Can you say domo arigato, Mr. Roboto? And more

By Jonathan Margolis
Read On
The Last Picture Show

One Hundred Years of Avedon Ahead of Richard Avedon’s centennial exhibition, Derek Blasberg reflects on the man who revolutionized fashion photography, and the mark he left on the genre as a whole

By Derek Blasberg
Read On
Small Talk
“I regret believing in reincarnation.”
“I regret believing in reincarnation.”
Air Males

Sexist Pigs Might Fly For a brief moment in the mid–20th century, men-only flights—with complimentary cocktails and cigars—took to the skies

By Rich Cohen
Read On
Elements of Style

Life After Lagerfeld Lady Amanda Harlech spent decades working alongside fashion’s most obsessive fixture. So what’s next?

By Vassi Chamberlain
Read On
Eight Questions

Going Viral Ben Smith, the former BuzzFeed editor and New York Times columnist, discusses Fox’s firing of Tucker Carlson, the Gawker–Hulk Hogan scandal, and his new book on the age of disinformation, Traffic

By Jim Kelly
Read On
The Imitation Game

Rip-Off A new documentary reveals how Pop-art founder Roy Lichtenstein made millions, while the comics artists he copied remained penniless. Was he a genius or a thief?

By Dalya Alberge
Read On
Past is Prologue

Birth of an Abomination Although Timothy McVeigh will forever be linked to Oklahoma City, his virulent outlook was forged in the desolate Flint Hills of Kansas

By Jeffrey Toobin
Read On
Small Talk
“Honestly, I don’t know how I cooked all those years before I got the husband gate.”
“Honestly, I don’t know how I cooked all those years before I got the husband gate.”
Best
Read The Language of Trees The word “book,” Ross Gay tells us in the introduction to The Language of Trees, is derived from the word… Read About Borromini Art critic Jed Perl and artist Deborah Rosenthal spent the spring of 2005 at the American Academy in Rome, immersed in the architecture… Watch Broken Theater Following in the grand tradition of cultural exportation from Paris to New York (or, let’s be honest, to Brooklyn), many masters have cut… Treat Morgenstern’s Bananas In 2018, Nick Morgenstern and his 88 flavors outgrew the Lower East Side location of Morgenstern’s Finest… Wear Heirlome Designer Stephanie Suberville has seen a lot. Originally from Monterrey, Mexico, she has spent the past 15 years working in fashion… Carry Au Départ Au Départ was founded in Paris in 1834, which has given this leather-goods house a long runway (so to speak) to perfect the art of handbag… Read The Language of Trees The word “book,” Ross Gay tells us in the introduction to The Language of Trees, is derived from the word… Read About Borromini Art critic Jed Perl and artist Deborah Rosenthal spent the spring of 2005 at the American Academy in Rome, immersed in the architecture… Watch Broken Theater Following in the grand tradition of cultural exportation from Paris to New York (or, let’s be honest, to Brooklyn), many masters have cut… Treat Morgenstern’s Bananas In 2018, Nick Morgenstern and his 88 flavors outgrew the Lower East Side location of Morgenstern’s Finest… Wear Heirlome Designer Stephanie Suberville has seen a lot. Originally from Monterrey, Mexico, she has spent the past 15 years working in fashion… Carry Au Départ Au Départ was founded in Paris in 1834, which has given this leather-goods house a long runway (so to speak) to perfect the art of handbag…
Best in Show

The Mane Event Formerly the preserve of debs and toffs, Badminton Horse Trials has gotten a lot more egalitarian—but no less dangerous

By Eleanore Kelly
Read On
Listen

Why Did United Airlines Launch Men-Only Flights? On this week’s podcast, Rich Cohen has the story of what could have been the official airline of Don Draper

Read On

Click here to visit

Don’t Miss
New York

Do the Twist: Lionel Bart’s musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist gets its first New York revival in nearly 40 years …

São Paulo

Like no other: MASP takes a critical look at the idea of the “other” and self-image in the work of Paul Gauguin …

New York

One hundred years of Avedon: to celebrate the photographer’s centenary, Gagosian is asking 150 artists, designers, musicians, and members of the fashion world to select their favorite Richard Avedon work …

Wolverhampton, England

Back to Blk: Wolverhampton Art Gallery celebrates the work of members of the Blk Art Group, formed by young artists in 1979 to question the existing Black art—and its future …

Online

Ringing in the new: Richard Wagner’s Das Rheingold, the opening salvo of Atlanta’s eagerly awaited “Ring” cycle, premieres live online …

Food and Drink

America, à la Carte An exhibition of vintage menus at New York’s Grolier Club celebrates the first 100 years of dining out in America

16
The cover of a 1924 menu for the Fountain Room at the Hotel Pennsylvania, in New York, the largest hotel in the world when it opened across the street from Penn Station in 1919. When Prohibition went into effect the following year, its bar, and many others across the country, were turned into soda fountains.
A menu card from an event catered by Louis Sherry in New York in 1884, a few months after he opened his confectionery-and-catering business. Sherry opened his first restaurant in a refurbished mansion in 1889, before relocating to a Stanford White–designed building across from rival Delmonico’s.
The cover of a 1933 menu for the Blackhawk, which opened in the Chicago Loop in 1920. Six years later, the sedate 600-seat restaurant replaced its string quartet with a dance orchestra, and soon a program called Live! From the Blackhawk! was broadcast, first on local radio and then nationwide.
The cover of a 1930 menu for the Boston News Bureau’s Dinner & Dance event at Hugo’s Log Cabin. Crabmeat cocktail, clam chowder, steamed clams, baked stuffed lobster, combination salad, and fresh blueberry pie were served.
The cover of a 1917 menu for Maxim’s, a New York cabaret known as a “lobster palace” and designed in the Louis XIV style. Before becoming a silent-film star, Rudolph Valentino worked at Maxim’s as a “taxi dancer”—a paid dance partner for single women.
A menu card for an 1852 Hasty Pudding Club dinner at Winthrop House, in Boston, featuring seven varieties of game bird.
The cover of a 1926 menu for the Cathay Tea Garden, in Philadelphia, which had a large dance floor and hosted a regular radio program.
The cover of an 1882 menu for the West Brighton Beach Hotel, in Coney Island. Prices range from 30 cents for a serving of raw oysters to $1.50 for a whole broiled chicken or a large Porterhouse steak for two.
An 1854 menu for La Pierre House, in Philadelphia, celebrating the 172nd anniversary of the landing of William Penn in America.
The cover of an 1881 menu for the Great Western Railway’s Niagara Falls Route. The fixed price for breakfast is 75 cents, and the beverage list offers more than three dozen champagnes, clarets, and ales.
The cover of a 1938 menu for Steinberg’s Dairy Restaurant, in New York. Opened in 1931, Steinberg’s was one of several beloved dairy restaurants on the Upper West Side, serving Eastern European Jewish foods including salmon, borscht, vegetarian (mock) chopped liver, chopped herring, cabbage soup, potato latkes, cheese blintzes, and kreplach.
The cover of a circa-1917 menu for Rector’s, a lobster palace in New York. Earl Fuller’s Famous Jazz Band played at Rector’s in 1916.
The menu for Mark Twain’s 70th-birthday celebration at Delmonico’s, in New York, in 1905, hosted by George Harvey, the owner and editor of Harper’s Weekly. The menu features sketches by the cartoonist Leon Barritt.
The cover of a circa-1913 menu for Gem, which operated variously as a coffeehouse, a saloon, an oyster house, a café, and a restaurant on New Orleans’s Royal Street.
The cover of a 1919 menu for a 165th U.S. Infantry Victory Dinner at the Commodore Hotel, in New York, illustrated by James Montgomery Flagg. The 165th Infantry Regiment, originally the 69th New York Infantry in the Civil War, was still called the “Fighting Sixty-Ninth” at its welcome-home banquet.
The cover of a menu (circa 1861–62) for Taylor’s Saloon, the foremost women’s restaurant in midcentury New York. This 56-page menu is one of only two known copies from the saloon’s early location in the International Hotel, on Broadway at Franklin Street.
Film

Amy Taubin’s “Carte Blanche” The golden-age Village Voice critic and actress recalls the days of Warhol’s Factory and SoHo before tourists, as her film program debuts at New York’s MoMA

By Nicolas Rapold
Read On
Small Talk
“This is where they’re getting in.”
“This is where they’re getting in.”
Theater

Time in a Bottle Brian d’Arcy James channels Jack Lemmon in the new musical Days of Wine and Roses

By Matthew Gurewitsch
Read On
Books
Patricia Zohn On

My Cousin Maria Schneider

by Vanessa Schneider,
translated by Molly Ringwald
Read On
David Yaffe On

Don’t Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You

by Lucinda Williams
Read On
Small Talk
“O.K., O.K., people—we’re not workshopping these. They’re already set in stone.”
“O.K., O.K., people—we’re not workshopping these. They’re already set in stone.”
Great Lives

Barry Humphries John Lahr remembers the vivacious comedian whose profound observations about life both shocked and delighted audiences for almost seven decades

By John Lahr
Read On
View With a Room

We’ll Always Have Capri With the buzzy reopening of two hotels, the island is once again having its moment in the sun

By Alexander Lobrano
Read On
The Perfect Ending

Kate Mara

The star of Class of ’09 answers 33 of life’s most pressing questions
Read On
Danielle Kosann’s Sketchbook
This is a pre-sketch I made in preparation for a four-wall powder-room mural I painted of Monaco, Monte Carlo, and the Grand Prix. I wanted to create a world filled with the glamour of a Fitzgerald novel, encapsulating a place that still feels frozen in time.
Is Edited By

Graydon Carter and Alessandra Stanley

Creative Director

Angela Panichi

Deputy Editors

Ashley Baker Ash Carter Chris Garrett Nathan King Julia Vitale

Chief Technology Officer

John Tornow

Editor at Large

George Pendle

Books Editor

Jim Kelly

Arts Intel Report Editor

Laura Jacobs

Senior Editor

Elena Clavarino

Junior Editor

Jensen Davis

Photo Director

Ann Schneider

Copy Editor

Adam Nadler

Research & Legal Editor

Matt Kapp

Production Editor

H. Scott Jolley

Associate Editors

Carolina de Armas Clara Molot Paulina Prosnitz

Art Director

Paloma Huerre

International Editor

Isabelle Harvie-Watt

London Editor

Bridget Arsenault

Communications Director

Harrison Vail

Columnists

Cazzie David Lisa Henricksson Walter Isaacson
Pico Iyer Rachel Johnson John Lahr
Jonathan Margolis Linda Wells James Wolcott

Writers at Large

Lili Anolik Johanna Berkman Joseph Bullmore Vassi Chamberlain William D. Cohan Rich Cohen Michael Hainey Stuart Heritage George Kalogerakis Sam Kashner James Kirchick Alexander Lobrano Alexandra Marshall

Contributing Artists

Monica Ahanonu Barry Blitt André Carrilho Paul Davis David Downton Andrea Ferolla Josh Gosfield Cathy Graham Eric Hanson Angelica Hicks Pip Johnson Hilary Knight Danielle Kosann Michael Lindsay-Hogg Ross MacDonald Joe McKendry James McMullan Donald Robertson Charles Dare Scheips Grant Shaffer Ed Sorel Ralph Steadman

Contributing Photographers

Jonathan Becker Justin Bishop Alex Board James Emmerman Marcos Fecchino Daniel Paik Art Streiber Sharon Suh Justin Weiner

Architectural Consultant

Basil Walter

Head of Audience Development

Rachel LeSage

Cartoon Editor

Bob Mankoff

Music Supervisor

Randall Poster

Photo Editor

Emine Gozde Sevim

Designer

Zoé Gillette

Technology

Brooks Oakley Justin Rubaloff Sade Singleton

Intern

Gasper Tringale-White

OUR CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AND CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER ARE

Bill Keenan and Emily Davis

Air Supply General Manager and Brand Partnerships

Anjali Lewis

Advertising Director

Michael Pescuma

European Sales Director

Selim Mataraci

Financial & Business Operations

Marc Leyer

Chief Strategy Adviser

Adam Mendelsohn

Chief Merchant

Jennifer Noyes

Shop Editor

Zoe Ruffner

E-Commerce Manager

Isaac Metlitsky

E-Commerce Associates

Coco Paul-Henriot Roxy Solis

In Memoriam

Peter Bogdanovich Duncan Hannah Douglas McGrath Richard David Story André Leon Talley

Issue No. 198
April 29, 2023
Loading issue contents …
Issue No. 198
April 29, 2023
View the Archives
Every editorial product is independently selected. If you buy something through
our links, AIR MAIL may earn an affiliate commission.