Mary Hamman (August 2, 1907 – November 18, 1984) was an American

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

and

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

. She was an editor for ''

Pictorial Review The ''Pictorial Review'' was an American women's magazine published from 1899 to 1939. Based in New York, the ''Pictorial Review'' was first published in September 1899. The magazine was originally designed to showcase dress patterns of German i ...

'', ''

Good Housekeeping ''Good Housekeeping'' is an American women's magazine featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, and health, as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good House ...

'', '' Mademoiselle'', as well as the modern living editor for ''

LIFE Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

'' and editor-in-chief for ''Bride & Home''.

Biography

She was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, a daughter of

Johns Hopkins Johns Hopkins (May 19, 1795 – December 24, 1873) was an American merchant, investor, and philanthropist. Born on a plantation, he left his home to start a career at the age of 17, and settled in Baltimore, Maryland where he remained for most ...

clinician A clinician is a health care professional typically employed at a skilled nursing facility or clinic. Clinicians work directly with patients rather than in a laboratory or as a researcher. A clinician may diagnose, treat, and otherwise care for pa ...

, Dr.

Louis Hamman Louis Virgil Hamman (December 21, 1877 – April 28, 1946) was recognized as one of the great clinicians in his time. Early life Louis Virgil Hamman was born on December 21, 1877, in Baltimore, Maryland, to Agatha (née Haseneyer) and John A. Ha ...

. Her move to

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

was during

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

, 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 (born October 31, 1941) is an American film, television and stage actress and producer. A former member of Andy Warhol's The Factory and an active member in 1960s New York avant-garde theater, she has appeared in more than 250 fi ...

, fashion editor. Together they led the "back of the book" at ''LIFE'' and were given free rein by

Ed Thompson Edward Thompson or variants may refer to: Politicians * Edward Thompson (of Sheriff Hutton) (c. 1639–1701), English landowner and politician * Edward Thompson (1697–1742), British MP and Lord of the Admiralty * Edward Thompson (FDNY Commissi ...

as managing editor and later editor in chief. When Thompson went on to found the ''

Smithsonian Magazine ''Smithsonian'' is the official journal published by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The first issue was published in 1970. History The history of ''Smithsonian'' began when Edward K. Thompson, the retired editor of ''Life'' maga ...

'' Hamman would often write the humor page inside the back cover.

Jack Coggins Jack Banham Coggins (July 10, 1911 – January 30, 2006) 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 tra ...

, 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...Brill, Franklin and Lucy Thomas, editors: ''We remember MARY HAMMAN'', New York: Private Printing, 1985. Sho Sho (Mrs Colin MacLeod), a childhood friend from Baltimore, who with her husband was a neighbor in

and

Bucks County Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the English ...

, remembered a trip returning from

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

: :Mess loved her 1941

Buick Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...

— 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 liked nothing better than a good prank or joke, as did her father. There are many stories similar to this one from her brother Louis Hamman, Jr., a surgeon: :Years ago, I did a number of breast enhancement operations on

go-go dancers Go-go dancers are dancers who are employed to entertain crowds at nightclubs or other venues where music is played. Go-go dancing originated in the early 1960s at the French bar Whisky a Gogo located in Juan-les-Pins. The bar's name was taken ...

(to help pay my daughter's tuition bills, I explained). Later, I received a letter from a Lydia Thomas of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

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

Polaroid Polaroid may refer to: * Polaroid Corporation, an American company known for its instant film and cameras * Polaroid camera, a brand of instant camera formerly produced by Polaroid Corporation * Polaroid film, instant film, and photographs * Polar ...

, 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 Handbook: 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'', first published 1958, with second and third editions in 1959 and 1960.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamman, Mary American humorists American magazine editors Writers from New York City Writers from Baltimore 1907 births 1984 deaths Women humorists 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers American women non-fiction writers Women magazine editors