Archive » FLAIR Annual 1953.

Embossed Cloth Hardcover (metallic ink & diecut window)
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Fleur Cowles, the creator of one of the most extravagant and innovative print magazines ever published, died last month (June 2009) at the age of 101 (?). FLAIR, her short-lived publication designed for the elite, had a lifespan of only 12 issues from February 1950 to January 1951. It was simply too costly to produce with its incorporation of diecuts, fold-outs, pop-ups, removable reproductions of artworks and variety of paper stocks.

A few years ago an artist friend gifted me with a copy of the original hardcover FLAIR Annual 1953 which was published in 1952. This 230 page, oversized annual (10″ x 13.5″) was designed to showcase the best of FLAIR with a selection of its most popular articles on fashion, decor, travel, art, literature and other enthusiasms of Ms. Cowles’ in addition to new features. According to her editor’s note at the beginning of the book, Ms. Cowles hoped to see the FLAIR Annual become a yearly publication. Unfortunately, that did not happen and this 1953 Annual was the first and last one published making it highly collectible just like the original magazines.

Interior Cover
Flair for Americana, Flair for Art, Flair for Winter, Flair for Travel,
Flair for Communication, Flair for Sentiment.
Illustration: Federico Pallavicini
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The complexity of this book is very difficult to convey in photographs. I tried my best to capture a few of my favorite elements but it still falls quite short. I wish there was a magical manner in which you could virtually hold this work of art in your hands and feel the many different paper stocks while unfolding and folding the scored pages, pulling out the pop-ups, flipping through the layered diecuts and more. This book is insanely beautiful.

The Annual itself was the personal labor of only 3 people, Ms. Cowles plus 2 assistants unlike the original magazines which were the product of a very large staff. Assisting were Robert Offergeld, who contributed his writing talents, and art director Federico Pallavicini, who designed the pages as well as contributing many of the “highly imaginative drawings” like the interior cover above, drawings which Ms. Cowles described as “some sly and witty, others strangely beautiful.”

SALVADOR DALI’S MIMICRY IN NATURE (multiple diecut pages)
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This seven page Salvador Dali feature was very popular with readers. The article includes multiple diecut page layers of Dali’s eery surreal imagery complete with his 1950 and 1952 signatures.

GIRLS IN THE WATER (foldout)
Illustration: Saul Steinberg / Photography: International News Source & Percy C. Byron
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This article includes a humorous poke at the history of our Miss America contest including a photo you can see at the top of our very first lady of honor in 1921, Miss Jean Gorman, who is clad with our flag.

LONDON PAST & PRESENT (foldout)
Illustration: Leonard Rosoman
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Above is a cropping of a full page illustration spread from this “London May 1, 1851 vs. London May 3, 1951″ feature. Illustrator Leonard Rosoman was at that time an art teacher at Edinburgh University. He added illustrations of characteristic city sights to his own, personally annotated map of London.

NEW YORK CITY 1952/1900
Photography: Harold Rhodenbaugh / Illustration: Saul Steinberg
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A stark contrast of the Big Apple in a mere 52 year span. The pages that follow include more fantastic illustrations plus early 1900 NYC photos.

Interior Back Cover
COWLES Magazines, LOOK, FLAIR Annual
Illustration: Federico Pallavicini
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To learn more about colorful Ms. Cowles, read her 2009 obit in the New York Times. And for a bit of a more “dishy” read, check out Ms. Cowles obit in The Telegraph.

A gentler excerpt from The Telegraph:

Dressed in large dark-rimmed glasses, well-tailored suits (always adorned with a rose), and a ring (one inch square of rough-cut jade), she numbered princes and Popes among her friends. She spun a fable out of her own life, destroying evidence of her unfashionable upbringing and claiming to be the Queen Mother’s “best friend”. But the significance of her achievements and friendships were undeniable, not least as editor of the magazine Flair in the 1950s.

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Editor’s note:

This post was originally published in July of 2009 and has been updated in part. As AQ-V has been fortunate to receive a huge leap in visitors this past year, I have decided to pull favorite bits here and there from the archives to present to hopefully new eyes.

Thank you always for your readership!
–Amy

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