1920s Campaign Resources

Topics for the Lecture and Slice of Life series.
Discussion about historical events, people, items, etc. that can add to the flavor to any historical game setting.
Discussion and sharing of links and resources.
Thomas R. Knutsson
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Re: 1920s Campaign Resources

Post by Thomas R. Knutsson » Wed Aug 28, 2013 6:00 pm

RobH wrote:[*snip*]brochures produced by the shipping lines[*snip*]
So cool it is awesome! :bow: :prop:
In the morning, mist comes up from the sea by the cliffs beyond Kingsport. White and feathery it comes from the deep to its brothers the clouds, full of dreams of dank pastures and caves of leviathan.
-"The Strange High House in the Mist" by HPL

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RobH
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Re: 1920s Campaign Resources

Post by RobH » Thu Aug 29, 2013 10:24 am

What would the 1920s be without hucksters, shysters and quack doctors? Step forward J R Brinkley, possibly the age's finest example of what entrepreneurial zeal combined with a lack of medical education and ethics could achieve.

Armed with a certificate bought from the splendidly named Kansas City Eclectic Medical University diploma mill, Brinkley noticed that scientific advances in the field of hormones and glands were making headlines, so hit on the idea of implanting goat testicles into men in order to cure "lack of sexual vigor", and any other ill:
Brinkley began promoting goat glands as a cure for 27 ailments, ranging from dementia to emphysema to flatulence. He started a direct mail blitz and hired an advertising agent, who helped Brinkley portray his treatments as turning hapless men into "the ram that am with every lamb". His burst of publicity—and his stratospheric claims—attracted the attention of the American Medical Association, which sent an agent to the clinic to investigate undercover. The agent found a woman hobbling around Brinkley's clinic who had been given goat ovaries as a cure for a spinal cord tumor.
I'll just let that sink in.

Not only did his clinic do a brisk trade (patients even got a modest discount if they brought their own goat), but he set up a radio station interspersing popular music with avuncular chats in which "Dr" Brinkley answered listeners' letters about their medical problems. Strangely, all of these medical problems had a surefire solution in one of Brinkley's many patent remedies available from drugstores or by mail order. He made a huge fortune while leaving a trail of gangrenous and dead patients behind him from botched surgery, but could always assemble a small army of supporters to testify that he'd worked wonders for them.

The book 'Charlatan' by Pope Brock has plenty about Brinkley and his dogged pursuit by Morris Fishbein of the American Medical Association, intent on stopping him.

Brinkley and Fishbein, or equivalents, might make for interesting NPCs or background.

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RobH
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Re: 1920s Campaign Resources

Post by RobH » Thu Aug 29, 2013 10:45 am

Deck plans and layout of a tramp steamer of the period are available here. It's the sort of ship that would chug along doing the mundane business of moving cargo and a few passengers from, say, Boston to Halifax Novia Scotia via every port in between (unless the captain can think of a good excuse to avoid calling at Innsmouth), or could be found shuttling between the many islands around Singapore, Sumatra and Borneo.

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Re: 1920s Campaign Resources

Post by KeeperMurph » Fri Aug 30, 2013 12:52 am

RobH wrote:Deck plans and layout of a tramp steamer of the period are available here. It's the sort of ship that would chug along doing the mundane business of moving cargo and a few passengers from, say, Boston to Halifax Novia Scotia via every port in between (unless the captain can think of a good excuse to avoid calling at Innsmouth), or could be found shuttling between the many islands around Singapore, Sumatra and Borneo.
That is a great find man!

Sent from my Rezound on TRON using Tapatalk 4
Image

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Re: 1920s Campaign Resources

Post by Citysliker » Sat Aug 31, 2013 12:31 pm

Hey Guys,

Its only a few pictures but I felt they gave a great 'feel' to a London based game.

http://www.vintag.es/2012/09/old-photog ... -1933.html

Also plenty of pics from all decades and countries so a good resource.

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Re: 1920s Campaign Resources

Post by Keeper Dan » Sat Aug 31, 2013 1:32 pm

That's a great site. I love those images. Thanks Citysliker!
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Re: 1920s Campaign Resources

Post by Koakai » Wed Sep 04, 2013 8:23 pm

PH.D candidate -M.U. Western Annex

Scott Dorward
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Re: 1920s Campaign Resources

Post by Scott Dorward » Fri Sep 13, 2013 3:32 pm

There's an interesting discussion on Reddit about how "roaring" the Roaring Twenties really were.

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Re: 1920s Campaign Resources

Post by EddyPo » Mon Sep 30, 2013 2:50 pm

Here's a website with a bunch of 20's slang. I think these would be fun to slip into some of our 1920's games while your investigator sits down to a gasper and a glass of giggle water. Later Bubs.

http://thoughtcatalog.com/2013/59-quick ... ing-again/
Not a hack!

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Shannon Mac
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Re: 1920s Campaign Resources

Post by Shannon Mac » Tue Oct 01, 2013 2:19 am

My gaming blog with pretty pictures: http://www.storytellersjem.blogspot.com/

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