Debbie Reynolds and the NY Philharmonic: a Look at LIFE Photography

Beautiful photography from Life magazine.

I was a little kid when Look and Life were regular staples in magazine aisles. Both were periodicals devoted to photojournalism. Among the great photographers that worked for these magazines was famed director Stanley Kubrick – a staff photographer for Look for about 5 years.

Look magazine was the first to go under in 1971, and Life ceased its publication in 1972. While Look has pretty much fallen into obscurity, Life has kept its brand name and a web site under the huge Time-Life corporate umbrella.

Google (in partnership with Time-Life) has stepped up once again and made another great resource available – the entire Life archive, both published and unpublished photographs from 1750 to today. It is an impressive resource that I spent a great deal of time browsing through.

Under horn-related items, I found some interesting picks:

• Entertainer Debbie Reynolds (Carrie Fisher‘s mother)
  The caption reads that she likes to relax by playing her French horn. At first I wondered if this was a staged shot and that she might be faking, but judging by her nicely formed embouchure it looks valid. A great photograph – I want a full-sized copy to hang on my wall.
• Boxer Archie Moore
  Playing a “toy” French horn…whatever that is…
• The 1938 New York Philharmonic Horns
  A nice photo – not sure who is pictured here, but this would have been the section shortly after conductor Arturo Toscanini left the Philharmonic for the NBC Orchestra. I am guessing that there is a Berv brother (or two) in there.
• A tenor horn or Wagner tuba
  Being tossed on a pile during wartime (the caption erroneously calls it a French horn)
• A beat-up hunting horn
  Given as a gift from France to the U.S.
• 6000 Brass Players
  A gathering in 1956 in Germany for “Evangelical Trombone Day.” (another pic). Imagine the sound that made!

*Excerpted image used without permission under the auspices of fair use.