Merry Christmas from the Louise Brooks Society

Merry Christmas from the Louise Brooks Society . . . .

Louise Brooks Society is on Twitter

The Louise Brooks Society is on Twitter @LB_Society. As of now, the LBS is followed by more than 2,160 followers. Are you one of them? Why not join the conversation? Be sure and visit the LBS
Twitter profile, and check out the more than 2,760 LBS tweets so far!

Louise Brooks is trending in 2013! The LBS twitter stream can also be 

found in the right hand column.

Best film books of 2013

I have a new piece on the Huffington Post, my selection of the "Best Film Books of 2013". It includes more than a few titles of interest to fans of Louise Brooks and silent film.

Check it out at  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thomas-gladysz/best-film-books-of-2013_b_4491272.html

By the way, my selection of the book of the year is ..... A Life of Barbara Stanwyck: Steel-True 1907-1940 by Victoria Wilson (Simon & Schuster). I explain why I think it the best book in my article. This richly detailed biography has a number of references to Louise Brooks, some of which relate to Stanwyck's one time husband, Frank Fay, the star of the 1931 Louise Brooks' film, God's Gift to Women. Check it out.

The Vanity, by Robert Murillo, on display at Orinda Books

Check it out - The Vanity, by Robert Murillo, on display at Orinda Books in Orinda, California.

Louise Brooks / Guido Crepax inspired Valentina furniture

Italian comic artist Guido Crepax (1933 - 2003) is best known for his iconic heroine Valentina, which was inspired by the silent film star Louise Brooks.

Valentina was one of the most recognized graphic novel characters of the 1960s and 1970s, especially in Europe. The character, a young photographer, is identified by her signature bob haircut and voluptuous body, presenting readers with erotic storylines of suspense and surreality.

Italian designers Andrea Radice and Folco Orlandini have developed the Valentina line of furniture in order to pay hommage to character and her creator. Produced by Brazilian manufacturer Schuster, the collection features a room divider, mobile bar, bookcase, side table, and other pieces, all depicting live size imagery of the comic book vixen at work and at play. Here are a few examples:

This Valentina furniture seems to be widely available in design shops. A Google image search will reveal other pieces as well.

Louise Brooks crossword puzzle

In honor of the 100th anniversary of the first crossword puzzle, the Louise Brooks Society presents this Louise Brooks-themed puzzle. (Download the puzzle to see a bigger image.)

Across 

2.  Rolled
4.  Valentina author
6.  Miss Europe
9.  First name
14. Pandora's Box playwright
15. Male star of gangster film
16. Dance Company
19. Avian murder case
21. Murdered by Jack the Ripper
24. Attended his funeral in 1926
25. It pays to ______
26. Canine star of Street of Forgotten Men
29. Author Margarete _____
30. City in France, biographer
31. Said there is no Garbo, there is no Dietrich, there is only Louise Brooks
32. Authored The Chaperone
33. German director
34. Miss America 1925
36. Lulu or Windy
38. Sunflower state
39. Almost won Pulitzer for The Show Off
40. Birthplace

Down 

1.  Directed A Girl in Every Port
3.  Hobo author
5.  Home in upstate New York
7.  One time lover, founder of CBS
8.  Italian born French director
10. English theater critic, wrote for the New Yorker
11. Gun Moll named Joy
12. Sophisticated two-time co-star
13. God's Gift to Women
17. Lost Girl
18. Dance team, Brooks & _____
20. Played Philo Vance
22. Nicknamed "American Venus"
23. Dear _____, collection of letters
26. Brooks one-time voice double
27. Two-time co-star, future Oscar winner
28. Follies
35. Magazine, or name for movies
37. American director, first Oscar winner