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Article: It Was a Wonderful Life: A farewell to the magazine that chronicled the American Century in pictures, from the beaches of Normandy to the hills of Hollywood.(MEDIA)(Arts and Entertainment)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Newsweek
- Article date:
- March 27, 2000
- Author:
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During World War II, in the darkest days of the London blitz when fire engines waged a desperate battle against blazes started by German bombs, the British government appealed to Londoners to take shallow baths, in order to save water for the firemen's hoses. Spotting a photo opportunity, the editors of Life fired off an order to the magazine's London bureau, which read something like this: NEED SOONEST PICTURE KING GEORGE VI IN BUCKINGHAM PALACE BATHTUB.
That was one of the few pictures Life didn't get. Everything seemed possible for the magazine in its glory days: its photographers peeked into the human womb to show fetuses, and they were there on the beaches ...