![SHARPER VISION](/images/headline/3495.png) Focus on both the writing and the art. ![](/images/postimg/sharper_vision.jpg)
Focus was Arthur Miller's first novel, written in 1945, with this Ace Books edition appearing in 1960. If you haven't read it, basically it tells the story of a man who buys a new pair of glasses that alter his appearance to the extent that he is constantly mistaken for being Jewish. From harboring the same prejudices as others, he is suddenly cast as an enemy, as the hatreds around him are revealed. It's a very good, very earnest book. We've actually shared this, though, because the cover was painted by the Italian artist Sandro Symeoni, and it's the first time we've found his work on a paperback. It was originally used on his poster for the 1957 Michelangelo Antonioni film Il Grido, and appears here slightly cropped but pretty much identical in all other respects. It's a very nice piece.
![SEASONS OF VERUSCHKA](/images/headline/2203.png) Perfectly dressed for both the season ending and the season coming. ![](/images/postimg/seasons_of_veruschka_01.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/seasons_of_veruschka_02.jpg)
Veruschka von Lehndorff, aka Vera Gräfin von Lehndorff-Steinort was born in Königsberg, East Prussia, a place that is now part of Russia and called Kalingrad. Today she’s a countess of Lehndorff-Steinort, which was once part of Germany but is now inside Poland. When she gained fame as a model in the 1960s she became known merely as Veruschka. She once shot an iconic set of photos in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil, and once posed for Salvador Dali. She was six feet tall and could fold herself like a pretzel so that her ankles were behind her head. She branched out from modeling and acted in a dozen films, including Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1966 classic Blow Up, and 2006’s Bond reboot Casino Royale. She is a woman with range, and so we’ve selected two photos to exemplify that—shots from Vogue magazine that show her in both a summer and winter milieu. These are from 1968.
![THOSE LIPS, THOSE EYES](/images/headline/722.png) Bizarre futuristic fashion fades by comparison. ![](/images/postimg/those_lips_those_eyes_05.jpg)
Above: Italian actress Monica Vitti, star of several great Michelangelo Antonioni films, as well as one critically slammed English language film, the camp spy thriller Modesty Blaise, shown here in 1966 in a promo photo made for the latter film. It was published in the Italian magazine Triunfo in 1967.
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The headlines that mattered yesteryear.
2003—Hope Dies
Film legend Bob Hope dies of pneumonia two months after celebrating his 100th birthday. 1945—Churchill Given the Sack
In spite of admiring Winston Churchill as a great wartime leader, Britons elect
Clement Attlee the nation's new prime minister in a sweeping victory for the Labour Party over the Conservatives. 1952—Evita Peron Dies
Eva Duarte de Peron, aka Evita, wife of the president of the Argentine Republic, dies from cancer at age 33. Evita had brought the working classes into a position of political power never witnessed before, but was hated by the nation's powerful military class. She is lain to rest in Milan, Italy in a secret grave under a nun's name, but is eventually returned to Argentina for reburial beside her husband in 1974. 1943—Mussolini Calls It Quits
Italian dictator Benito Mussolini steps down as head of the armed forces and the government. It soon becomes clear that Il Duce did not relinquish power voluntarily, but was forced to resign after former Fascist colleagues turned against him. He is later installed by Germany as leader of the Italian Social Republic in the north of the country, but is killed by partisans in 1945.
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