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

Best New Yorker Articles of 1941

Explore 52 featured picks from The New Yorker's 1941 issues.

52 picks · 52 issues · Top author: Robert Lewis Taylor (6)

Most featured section: Profiles

Featured Picks

KING OF ST. DAVID'S.
William Maxwell · A Reporter at Large · January 4

REPORTER AT LARGE about the land leased in Bermuda by U.S. to be used for establishing naval & air bases. A number of American will have to abandon their …

The Candor Kid--II
Margaret Case Harriman · Profiles · January 11

PROFILE of Clare Boothe Luce. In 1932 her interests shifted to politics when Conde Nast deciding that Vanity Fair was too frivolous, engaged John Franklin …

THE MEDICI ON WASHINGTON SQUARE
Geoffrey T. Hellman · Profiles · January 18

PROFILE of Albert Eugene Gallatin. In 1907, when motoring was still a pioneering sport, he managed to combine all three interests, Society, travel, and …

FIFTY PER CENT
Russell Maloney · Profiles · January 25

PROFILE of W. Colston Leigh, of the Leigh Bureau of Lectures & Entertainments. Of the half-dozen or so competitors in the field of nationwide …

Over the Waves
Clifford Orr · Fiction · February 1

Congressman George Holden Tinkhan is being sketched by a newspaper artist. He tells the young lady to be sure to put a great many extra ripples in his …

ST THOMAS'S TAKES FOUR.
Mollie Panter-Downes · A Reporter at Large · February 8

REPORTER AT LARGE: St. Thomas Hospital. The hospital has had a number of crises to face up to since it started off as part of a priory at Southwark in the …

KOPFWASCHEN AT THE ADLON
William Bayles · A Reporter at Large · February 15

REPORTER AT LARGE About lunching with Dr. Schmidt, of the German Propaganda Ministry. The Germans put a correspondent on his honor and tell him he can send…

Design for a Living--III
Geoffrey T. Hellman · Profiles · February 22

PROFILE of Norman Bel Geddes. In 1927, Geddes persuaded Franklin Simon to let him do one of their windoes, which he decorated with a metal bust wearing a …

The Raffle
Sally Benson · Fiction · March 1

Millie Osborn receives an invitation to spend a week with her cousin Margaret, who is well to do. The invitation is a godsend. It arrived just when she is …

Reporter at Large
E. J. Kahn · A Reporter at Large · March 8

Rabbit hunting with the Buckram, Beagles, an organization which has kennels at Brookville, L.I. It costs about forty five hundred a year to maintain the …

PRODUCTION MAN--II
Matthew Josephson · Profiles · March 15

Profile of William S. Khudsen. In addition to Knudsen and Stettinius the commissioners were: in charge of labor, Sidney Hillman; transportation Ralph Budd,…

PRODUCTION MAN--III
Matthew Josephson · Profiles · March 22

PROFILE of William S. Knudsen, chief of the Office of Production Management. The members of the OPM, the supreme defense council supplementing the Advisory…

CONCHIES.
Nora Hoult · A Reporter at Large · March 29

REPORTER AT LARGE about conscientious objectors. Great Britain is the only country now at war which allows military exemption to men who conscientiously …

Man With a Thumb
Robert Lewis Taylor · Profiles · April 5

PROFILE of Joe Falcaro, bowling champion. In the past 36 years, Falcaro has rolled fifty-two perfect games on the highest number of points it is possible …

THE HEAD-HUNTERS OF THE QUITO HILLS
Ludwig Bemelmans · A Reporter at Large · April 12

REPORTER AT LARGE about Ecuador where visitors are offered to buy shrunken heads at every turn. A day in Guayanquil, luncheon with the head of the …

ACTIVE SPARKER
Geoffrey T. Hellman · Profiles · April 19

PROFILE of Mrs. Wales Latham, founder and president of Bundles for Britain. Mrs. Latham spotted an empty street-front store at 484 Park Avenue, found that …

THE JOLLITY BUILDING
A. J. Liebling · Profiles · April 26

PROFILE of the Jollity Building, on Broadway, and its tenants.

MR. COLBORNE'S PROFANITY-EXTERMINATORS
Joseph Mitchell · Profiles · May 3

PROFILE of Mr. A. S. Colborne, founder and president of the Anti-Profanity League. In 1908 he founded and Safe and Sane Fourth of July Movement. He used to…

Midshipmen's Country.
E. J. Kahn · A Reporter at Large · May 10

Reporter at Large about the naval training ship moored at 135th St. and the Hudson River. Until recently the battleship was known as the U.S.S. Illinois; a…

Voices.
Barbara Heggie · Profiles · May 17

PROFILE of George Robert Vincent who has the largest private collection of voice recordings in the world. His collection or "Vocarium", now numbers more …

V—Giants at the Bar
H. L. Mencken · Days of Innocence · May 24

H. L. Mencken on reporters and alcoholism.

Goodbye Folks!
Eugene Kinkead · A Reporter at Large · May 31

REPORTER AT LARGE about winding up and demolition of World's Fair. Tells what happened to buildings, exhibits, etc. Most of the Futurama destroyed …

BLITZ BY PARTNERSHIP.
Janet Flanner · A Reporter at Large · June 7

REPORTER AT LARGE about the situation in France. The Nazis have moved in as French business partners. Local fortunes have also been taken over by Germany, …

Fru Gunderson
Katherine Lyon · Fiction · June 14

Olav Sinding tells what has happened to Fru Gunderson who used to run a small tourist hotel where he had been in charge of entertainment. Fru Gunderson is …

SO YOU'RE GOING TO PARIS!
Janet Flanner · A Reporter at Large · June 21

REPORTER AT LARGE about life in France; what they eat, read, amusements in Paris. For many who haven't money, the short-wave radio is the only …

Scrub me, Daddy, eight to the bar
S. J. Perelman · Fiction · June 28

"How to take a bath" is a canvass made by the Harper's Bazaar of seven distinguished ladies-Maureen Orcott, Ina Claire, Doro thy Draper, Cornelia Otis …

AUCTION IN GEORGIA
Walter Bernstein · A Reporter at Large · July 5

REPORTER AT LARGE from Fort Benning, where the Eight Infantry Regiment is now stationed. History of the Regiment which is one of the oldest and most …

Borough Defender--I
Robert Lewis Taylor · Profiles · July 12

PROFILE of Larry MacPhail, president of the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Dodgers are owned by the estates of the Ebbets & McKeeber families of Brooklyn. Each …

Borough Defender--II
Robert Lewis Taylor · Profiles · July 19

Profile of Larry MacPhail, president of the Brooklyn Dodgers Tells about the loyalty of the Brooklyn fans. One day during the 1940 season a group of …

Big Geographer
E. J. Kahn · Profiles · July 26

PROFILE of John Kirtland Wright, director of the American Geographical Society. Tells about its Millionth Map, with the scale of 1:,000,000, or 15.78 miles…

Publisher: I--The Boy in the Pistachio Shirt
A. J. Liebling · Profiles · August 2

Profile of Roy Wilson Howard. Howard and William W. Hawkins made their way up in the newspaper world with the United Press, which the elder Scripps …

THE BOY IN THE PISTACHIO SHIRT: II--The Pax Howardiensis
A. J. Liebling · Profiles · August 9

PROFILE of Roy Wilson Howard, publisher of the World-Telegram.

Trolls on Randalla Island
Mark Murphy · A Reporter at Large · August 16

REPORTER AT LARGE about the Library's Story-Telling Hours conducted at Branch Libraries during the fall, winter, & spring, as well as at playgrounds & …

Furlough
Mark Murphy · A Reporter at Large · August 23

Reporter at Large. Recounts the ramblings of a young U.S. Marine on furlough. He was broke and had planned to sleep on a park bench that night. He had been…

Pilgrimage
Angelica Gibbs · Fiction · August 30

A mother takes her seventeen-year-old daughter to the home of her great-great-grandfather, now turned into a Museum by the Historical Society. The girl …

Editors Note.
· Profiles · September 6

In an article on Roy W. Howard which recently appeared in ourPROFILES department, the statement was made that William Philip Simms is foreign editor of the…

Central Park I-- Grass on Manhattan
Eugene Kinkead · Profiles · September 13

Near the Bowling Green stands a little cottage now used by the Union News Company, which operates a candy and ice cream concession in the Park. This …

BUT THERE IS NO SOUND
Joseph Mitchell · A Reporter at Large · September 20

REPORTER AT LARGE about the Union League of the Deaf, a society club exclusively for deafmutes. It was founded in 1886 and has 400 members. The address is …

Central Park--III What a Nice Municipal Park
Russell Maloney · Profiles · September 27

Profile of Central Park. The Cafeteria in the Park is operated at the Zoo by a man named John Kelly, who is also licenced to operate refreshment stands, …

Everything is Mobile
Geoffrey T. Hellman · Profiles · October 4

PROFILE of Alexander Calder. Mr. Calder had a miniature circus with which he used to entertain his friends. His circus was not always a success. Ten or …

SOME FUN WITH THE F. B. I.
St. Clair McKelway · A Reporter at Large · October 11

REPORTER AT LARGE Harry Bridges tells what fun he had giving the FBI agents, who were supposed to shadow him, the run-around. Two of them occupied an …

KLONDIKE STEF--I
Robert Lewis Taylor · Profiles · October 18

PROFILE of Wilhjalmur Stefansson, artic explorer, author & lecturer. He has written several books, the first one called "The Northward Course of Empire;" …

KLONDIKE STEF--II
Robert Lewis Taylor · Profiles · October 25

PROFILE of Vilhjalmur Stefansson and his experiment of living on meat alone for a year. Through the year Stefansoon and Karsten Andersen reported back …

THE TOOTH
Joseph Mitchell · Profiles · November 1

PROFILE of Commodore Dutch who mas made a living for the last forty years by giving an annual ball for the benefit of himself. On big showcards, which he …

DOING A THING OR TWO ABOUT IT.
John Bainbridge · A Reporter at Large · November 8

REPORTER AT LARGE About the Civilian Technical Corps. In response to a speech made by Lord Beaverbrook, Britain's Minister of Supply, addressed to …

The Notorious Madam Restell
Robert Sneddon · That Was New York · November 15

The story of a New York matron who made a fortune over forty years by providing abortions in a downtown apartment—and eventually her own luxurious Fifth Avenue town house—in the decades following the Civil War.

The Sound and the Fury
Robert Lewis Taylor · Profiles · November 22

PROFILE of Ernest Henry Peabody, founder of the League for Less Noise. Mr. Peabody is also president of the Peabody Engineering Corporation, & the …

NOTHING UP HIS SLEEVE
E. J. Kahn · Profiles · November 29

PROFILE of Joseph Dunninger, magician & determined foe of spiritualistic mediums. One time Dunninger distracted the N. Y. General Assembly of Spiritualists…

Paddy of the R.A.F.
A. J. Liebling · Profiles · December 6

Profile of Flight Lieutenant Brendan Finucane of the R.A.F.

WHEREVER THE MONEY IS
David Lardner · A Reporter at Large · December 13

REPORTER AT LARGE about the National Maritime Union headquarters at 346 West 17th Street. The offices of the union's president, Joseph Curran, and the …

Comment
Wolcott Gibbs · Comment · December 20

Comment on how people in N. Y. felt during the first days of war. There was some indignation, too; some things we were ashamed of: an heiress anxious to …

Americans are Builders
William Bayles · A Reporter at Large · December 27

Reporter at Large about American workmen and technicians at work on air-bases in Ireland. This what the British call Uncle Sam Lease-Lend-Army, consists of…

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.