Just recently, I was updating the history of the Louise Brooks Society. The ABOUT page on the Louise Brooks Society website contains the story behind its launch in 1995, how I chose its name, its mission statement, and some of the things the LBS has achieved over the years. I was doing so because there are people on the interweb who suggest the Louise Brooks Society doesn't really exist, and that I am not its founding Director. Sounds ridiculous, I know. (BTW, I call myself its director because "director" is a movie term. It's not a grandiose moniker, and certainly more fitting than anything else I could come up with.)
While working on what I could remember of the history of the LBS, I was going through some old clippings about or mentioning my website. The Louise Brooks Society website was launched in August, 1995. The first media mention and its earliest print reference dates to May 23, 1996, when it was named a USA Today “Hot Site” and mentioned in the newspaper’s syndicated “Net: New and notable” column. Sam Vincent Meddis wrote in USA Today, "Silent-film buffs can get a taste of how a fan club from yesteryear plays on the Web. The Louise Brooks Society site includes interview, trivia and photos. It also draws an international audience."
Some of the other early mentions appeared in the Noe Valley Voice (September 1997), Wired magazine (April 10, 1998), Melbourne Age (April 16, 1998), San Francisco Chronicle (May 3, 1998), and Atlanta Journal-Constitution (May 5, 1998). I have print or digital copies of each.
One of the other early clippings appeared in the February - March 1999 issue of bLink, a magazine published by EarthLink. I knew this piece existed, because I had been contacted by the person who wrote it for a quote. However, I never got a copy of the magazine, and more or less forgot about it. Time passed.... until recently, when I was going through some old clippings about or mentioning my website. I wondered what ever happened to that magazine, and if they had an archive online. They don't. But my search turned up an eBay listing for the very copy I needed. Wowza. I put in a bid, and won!
And so, after 24 years, I am glad to have this nifty clipping, which appears on page 20 of this issue. Like the Wired magazine and San Francisco Chronicle pieces, it acknowledges the role the LBS played in inspiring TCM to go ahead with the Emmy-nominated documentary, Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu. But more importantly, this clipping is another bit of proof that the Louise Brooks Society does in fact exist (and did so in 1999), and that I am its founding Director.
It was cool to see this piece, especially since it includes a screen grab of the old look of the Louise Brooks Society website.
BTW, for the record, the earliest Wayback Machine capture of the Louise Brooks Society at it’s current domain, www.pandorasbox.com, dates to April 11, 1997. But before that, the earliest archived newsgroup post mentioning the LBS, from October 27, 1995, announces the website. Another, a query from the LBS asking about a screening of Pandora’s Box in Poland, dates to January 29, 1996. Another, from December 31, 1996, announces the move to its new domain at pandorasbox.com, where it has resided since. Each of these posts are part of the Google groups / Usenet Archive.
THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2023. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
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