New YorkerestThe essential reads from every New Yorker issue
Best of The New Yorker

Best New Yorker Articles of 1933

Explore 52 featured picks from The New Yorker's 1933 issues.

52 picks · 52 issues · Top author: Alva Johnston (12)

Most featured section: Profiles

Featured Picks

Sunday services
Myra M. Waterman · Fiction · January 7

Conversation between Mr. and Mrs. Bates in church. He keeps asking her about the various furs he sees on other woman's coats. She classifies them …

PROFILE Glorifier of the Alphabet
Milton MacKaye · Profiles · January 14

Profile of Frederic William Goudy who is consider one of the greatest type-designers in the world, and all those who take joy in beautiful books are deeply…

Home Talent
Robert A. Simon · Profiles · January 21
Coquette
George Milburn · Fiction · January 28

Tells of a little girl who is lost in the subway station. She is twelve years old and very conscious of her age. A minister comes along and asks her where …

A REPORTER AT LARGE Municipal Lodging House
Emily Hahn · A Reporter at Large · February 4

Visit to the Municipal Lodging House at Twenty-Fifth Street where a bed is given to the homeless who have no money. T Gives the impressions of a woman who …

Blumey - II
Alva Johnston · Profiles · February 11
REPORTER AT LARGE End of the Tether
Morris Markey · A Reporter at Large · February 18

Typical day of an investigator sent by the Emergency Work Bureau to the homes of poor people who applied or were recommended for relief. The Emergency …

PROFILES The Long Road to Roxy's
Gilbert Seldes · Profiles · February 25

PROFILE of Donald Deskey, a modern-day artist who is in charge of the artists who are painting murals for the Radio City Music Hall. Tells of his hard …

Mr. Preble Gets Rid of His Wife
James Thurber · Fiction · March 4

Fanciful story about a man who was in love with his secretary and decided to get rid of his wife in order to marry the secretary. Comes home and tells his …

PROFILE Mr. Chairman
Geoffrey T. Hellman · Profiles · March 11

Whenever the sponsors of a worthy cause are about to form a committee, one of the first names they think of is George Gordan Battle. Possibly they feel …

A REPORTER AT LARGE Washington Weekend
Morris Markey · A Reporter at Large · March 18

Tells of the presidential inauguration at Washington of the new president, Mr. Roosevelt. The crowds, although optimistic in general, were somewhat …

El Cartero
Theodore Pratt · Fiction · March 25

I knew what I had to face when mailing a package in my S Spanish village's one-room, one-man post office. El cartero besides not being able to read …

The Corpse on The Speakeasy Floor
Edmund Pearson · A Reporter at Large · April 1

Tells of the trial of Sophie May Burns and Dillis, alias Shakespeare. Amos Peters who ran a speakeasy in Harlem was the state's witness in the case …

Cauliflower King-I
Alva Johnston · Profiles · April 8

Tells of Stillmans Gymnasium on Fifty-seventh Street and Eighth Avenue which has been established for eighteen year and has helped to develop more than …

Cauliflower King-II
Alva Johnston · Profiles · April 15

Tells about Lou Stillman's gymn on Fifty-Seventh and Eighth Avenue. Trains prizefighters there and develops them for the ring. Their indoor sports also…

Legends of Lizzie
Edmund Pearson · Of All Things · April 22

Edmund Pearson on Lizzie Borden, who was tried for and acquitted of murdering her father and stepmother with a hatchet blade, in Fall River, Massachusetts, in 1892.

HAIR SCIENTIST
Geoffrey T. Hellman · Profiles · April 29

PROFILE of Charles Nessler, inventor of the Permanent Wave which he brought to this country in 1915. He uses the name of Nestle in business. He also …

Boss of The Circus-I PROFILE
Alva Johnston · Profiles · May 6

Tells of the new director of the greatest show on earth, Samuel W. Gumpertz who has been in the amusement business for more than half a century. The …

Boss of the Top - II
Alva Johnston · Profiles · May 13

Profile of Samuel W. Gumpertz, circus man who in the course of thirty-one freak-hunting expeditions abroad, visited Asia five times, Java once, the …

Enfant Terrible
Geoffrey T. Hellman · Profiles · May 20
In That State of Life
Geoffrey T. Hellman · Profiles · May 27

PROFILE of Joseph P. Day, the world's crack-real-estate auctioneer. He has sold a billion and a quarter dollars worth of property in the first three …

Neanderthal
Dwight Macdonald · Profiles · June 3

Profile of Leonor F. Loree, president of the Delaware and Hudson Railroad. He is Harriman's private heir as a manipulator of railroad systems. …

Czar and the Elder-I
Alva Johnston · Profiles · June 10

Profile of Will H. Hays, the czar of the film industry. Tells of his various moves to consolidate the growing industry, and in 1927, the federal regulation…

LITTLE ACORN-GREAT OAKS
Frank Curtis · A Reporter at Large · June 17

REPORTER AT LARGE about the newly organized Civilian Conservation Corps which has been appointed by Congress andwhich now is temporarily at Mitchel Field …

PROFILE Six, Two and Even
Niven Busch, Jr. · Profiles · June 24

Composite profile of the richest bookie in the country, and some facts about his business. Tells how percentage works for him, and is smarter than he is. …

The Scholar in Politics
Alva Johnston · Profiles · July 1
My Life and Hard Times—I
James Thurber · Fiction · July 8

Tells about the night that his father went to sleep in an old iron bed in the attic. He slept with his cousin who had a fear that he was going to be …

PROFILE Bolshevik Businessman
William C. White · Profiles · July 15

The leading Bolshevik and the highest Soviet official in this country is the chairman of the Amtorg Trading Corporation, Peter Alexyevitch Bogdanov. He …

The last tear
Louise Bogan · Fiction · July 22

Thoughts of Mrs. Read about her daughter, Claire who is a well-brought up young woman who has learned to know and do all the proper things a young lady …

EGYPTOLOGIST
Geoffrey T. Hellman · Profiles · July 29

PROFILE of Herbert E. Winlock, director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, who had made Egyptian expeditions for the Museum before he became its director …

A Reporter At Large The Sick Man of Politics
Alva Johnston · A Reporter at Large · August 5

Tells of the Republican Party, and some of the reasons for its mental, moral and social breakdown. One faction of Republicans believe that the party will …

My Life and Hard Times-IV: The night the Ghost Got in.
James Thurber · Fiction · August 12

The ghost that got into our house on the night of November 17, 1915, raised such a hullabaloo of misunderstandings that I am sorry that I just didn't …

PROFILE Last of the Prosecutors
Alva Johnston · Profiles · August 19

Profile of George Z. Medalie, current United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and some of the reforms that he has brought about since …

A REPORTER AT LARGE The Costellos Clean the Boiler
Edmund Pearson · A Reporter at Large · August 26

Tells of the case of Jessie Costello who was accused of poisoning her husband with cyanide of potassium which she said she had bought to clean the kitchen …

Madame Secretary-I PROFILE
Russell Lord · Profiles · September 2

Tells of Frances Perkins, recently appointed as Secretary of Labor by President Roosevelt. There was much political discussion about the appointment, …

A REPORTER AT LARGE Who Won the Repeal
Alva Johnston · A Reporter at Large · September 9

Tells of the people who are responsible for winning the repeal, among which are men of action like Al Smith, Raskob, and Butler. Dr. Butler's ceaseless…

PROFILE Orrible Woman
Joseph Bryan · Profiles · September 16

Tells of Rosa Lewis, hotel proprietress of Hotel Cavendish and former cook to the Prince of Wales. The Cavendish was originall Louis Philippe's house …

MOLLOY THE MIGHTY.
Edmund Pearson · A Reporter at Large · September 23

REPORTER AT LARGE. Tells of the "Murder Trust" that collected in Tony Marino speakeasy at 3804 Third Avenue. They picked out Michael Malloy, an old …

A REPORTER AT LARGE Manifestation
Morris Markey · A Reporter at Large · September 30

Tells of Aime Semple MacPherson, the Evangelist and her appearances before the public. At the first luncheon she was introduced by Major Bowes, she arose …

The Gentleman in Politics
Geoffrey T. Hellman · Profiles · October 7

Profile of Hamilton Fish, Jr.

A REPORTER AT LARGE Sentimental Journey
Morris Markey · A Reporter at Large · October 14

Visit to the boat belonging to Seth Parker, nee Phillips Lord, the philosophical New England radio performer worth a million dollars. It has been his …

The Price of Liquor.
Edward Angly · A Reporter at Large · October 21

REPORTER AT LARGE. Gives some of the prices that will be standard on liquors that will be back with repeal. Computes that the cost of Scotch, rye, and …

NEWS OUTSIDE THE DOOR.
E. B. White · A Reporter at Large · October 28

REPORTER AT LARGE. Visit and hike with the Yosian Brotherhood, a walking club which was organized by J. Otis Swift, an emintently practical and …

A Reporter at Large Marconi Started It
Morris Markey · A Reporter at Large · November 4

Visit to the headquarters of the National Broadcasting Company located in the Radio City Building. It is an eleven-story building adjoining the Central …

REPORTER AT LARGE They Got Married in Elkton
Joseph Mitchell · A Reporter at Large · November 11

Visit to Elkton, Md., where runaway people wishing to get married in a hurry go. It became famous as a marriage center in 1920, one year after the arrival …

Temple Modern Style
Morris Markey · A Reporter at Large · November 18

REPORTER AT LARGE tells of visit to U.S. Assay office located at South Street, and some facts about the new temple where gold is stored as security for …

Come as Somebody Else
Janet Flanner · Profiles · November 25

Profile of Elsa Maxwell.

Albert Einstein, Scientist and Mob Idol
Alva Johnston · Profiles · December 2

Alva Johnston on how the theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate Albert Einstein—who, before publishing his theory of relativity, had been almost a recluse—came to tolerate his popularity.

Scientist and Mob Idol—II
Alva Johnston · Profiles · December 9

The second part of Alva Johnston’s two-part Profile of Albert Einstein, from 1933.

A REPORTER AT LARGE Test Tubes and Turbines
Morris Markey · A Reporter at Large · December 16

Visit to the Grand Central Palace where the biennial Exposition of Chemical Industries held their exposition. There were more machines on view than …

PROFILE The Innocents Abroad
Geoffrey T. Hellman · Profiles · December 23

Tells of the Hammer collection, appraised originally at over $1,000,000 which has been enthusiastically written up in the art sections of most …

"Reporter At Large"
Morris Markey · A Reporter at Large · December 30

A visit to the New York Foundling Hospital, located between Lexington Avenue and Third on Sixty-eighth Street. Abandoned children, and those of unwed …

Get the weekly pick in your inbox

Best Of·Leaderboard·Authors·Sections·Years·About
Back to latest issue

© 2026 New Yorkerest

Not affiliated with Condé Nast or The New Yorker Magazine. Made with respect and admiration for their exceptional editorial work.