Mary Hamman
Encyclopedia
Mary Hamman was an American
writer
and editor
. She was an editor for Pictorial Review
, Good Housekeeping
, Mademoiselle
, the modern living editor for LIFE
, editor in chief for Bride & Home.
She was born in Baltimore, Maryland a daughter of Johns Hopkins
clinician Dr. Louis Hamman
. Her move to Manhattan
was during prohibition
which fueled many stories.
She was one of a "trio of formidable and colorful women" the other two being: Mary Letherbee, movie editor; and Sally Kirkland
, fashion editor. Together they led the "back of the book" at LIFE and were given free rein by Ed Thompson
as managing editor and later editor in chief. When Thompson went on to found the Smithsonian Magazine
she would often write the humor page inside the back cover.
Jack Coggins
a friend from the days of LIFE and later a neighbor said:
Sho Sho (Mrs Colin MacLeod
) was a childhood friend from Baltimore who with her husband were neighbors in Manhattan
and Bucks County
remembered a trip returning from New Hampshire
:
Hamman as her father liked nothing better than a good prank or joke. There are many stories similar to this one from her surgeon brother Louis Hamman, Jr.:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
. She was an editor for Pictorial Review
Pictorial Review
Pictorial Review is a magazine which first appeared in September, 1899. The magazine was originally designed to showcase dress patterns of William Paul Ahnelt's American Fashion Company. By the late 1920s it was one of the largest of the "women's magazines"....
, Good Housekeeping
Good Housekeeping
Good Housekeeping is a women's magazine owned by the Hearst Corporation, featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, health as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good Housekeeping Seal," popularly known as the...
, Mademoiselle
Mademoiselle (magazine)
Mademoiselle was an influential women's magazine first published in 1935 by Street and Smith and later acquired by Condé Nast Publications....
, the modern living editor for LIFE
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
, editor in chief for Bride & Home.
She was born in Baltimore, Maryland a daughter of Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
clinician Dr. Louis Hamman
Louis Hamman
Louis Virgil Hamman, M.D. was recognized as one of the great clinicians in his time.He was graduated M.D...
. Her move to Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
was during prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
which fueled many stories.
She was one of a "trio of formidable and colorful women" the other two being: Mary Letherbee, movie editor; and Sally Kirkland
Sally Kirkland (editor)
Sally Kirkland was a manager at Lord & Taylor, a fashion editor at Vogue and the only fashion editor at Life for 25 years....
, fashion editor. Together they led the "back of the book" at LIFE and were given free rein by Ed Thompson
Edward K. Thompson
Edward Kramer Thompson was an American writer and editor. The Smithsonian Magazine called him "one of the great editors of the last half [of the 20th] century." He was the editor of LIFE from its early days as a weekly and was the founding editor of Smithsonian Magazine.-Biography:Thompson was...
as managing editor and later editor in chief. When Thompson went on to found the Smithsonian Magazine
Smithsonian (magazine)
Smithsonian is the official journal published by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The first issue was published in 1970.-History:...
she would often write the humor page inside the back cover.
Jack Coggins
Jack Coggins
Jack Banham Coggins was an artist, author, and illustrator. He is known in the United States for his oil paintings, which focused predominantly on marine subjects. He is also known for his books on space travel, which were both authored and illustrated by Coggins...
a friend from the days of LIFE and later a neighbor said:
- I've never laughed more than at some of Mary's stories — they came out visually like comic strips. You could see her father's Christmas turkey from a grateful patient, safely anaesthetized, plucked and put over-night in the ice-box — until it leaped out at the first early riser and ran naked and squawking through the startled house...
Sho Sho (Mrs Colin MacLeod
Colin MacLeod
Colin Munro MacLeod was a Canadian-American geneticist.- Biography :Born in Port Hastings, Nova Scotia, Canada MacLeod entered McGill University at the age of 16 , and completed his medical studies by age 23.In his early years as a research scientist, MacLeod, together with Oswald Avery and...
) was a childhood friend from Baltimore who with her husband were neighbors in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
and Bucks County
Bucks County, Pennsylvania
- Industry and commerce :The boroughs of Bristol and Morrisville were prominent industrial centers along the Northeast Corridor during World War II. Suburban development accelerated in Lower Bucks in the 1950s with the opening of Levittown, Pennsylvania, the second such "Levittown" designed by...
remembered a trip returning from New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
:
- Mess loved her 1941 BuickBuickBuick is a premium brand of General Motors . Buick models are sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Taiwan, and Israel, with China being its largest market. Buick holds the distinction as the oldest active American make...
— she kept it well into the 1960s. One summer she and I bought a flock of antiques in New Hampshire — so many that we had to buy an old trailer to get them to Bucks county. On the road down we were stopped twice by troopers and at every toll booth. "No trailers allowed, lady!" Each time she'd bat her eyes and smile, "But sir, this isn't a trailer — it's a furniture van."Either the rules didn't mention furniture vans or her smile was irresistible, because we made it to the farm by 3:00 a.m.
Hamman as her father liked nothing better than a good prank or joke. There are many stories similar to this one from her surgeon brother Louis Hamman, Jr.:
- Years ago, I did a number of breast enhancement operations on go-go dancers (to help pay my daughter's tuition bills, I explained). Later, I received a letter from a Lydia Thomas of Philadelphia complaining that her breasts had continued to grow to their present monstrous size (photo enclosed, showing unbelievable mammaries) and that I had to do something to stop it. I wrote back, telling her to come in for an antidote shot, warning her not to smoke pot because it reacts with the Silastic to form an unusual growth hormone. The letter came back, "No such address." The photo, I later discovered, was cleverly mounted to look like a PolaroidInstant filmInstant film is a type of photographic film first introduced by Polaroid that is designed to be used in an instant camera...
, but actually was a ckip from a skin magazine. Mess said later that she felt I'd eventually smell a rat but concocting the letter had been such fun.
Books edited
- The Mademoiselle Hankbook: for the Girl With a Job and a Future, Hamman, Mary And The Editors Of Mademoiselle. Whittlesey House., New York, 1946.
- Picture Cookbook by The Editors of LIFE published first in 1958 with second and third editions in 1959 and 1960.