George S. Chappell

George Shepard Chappell, AIA (January 2, 1877 – November 25, 1946) was an American architect, parodist, journalist (with the magazine Vanity Fair) and author. He is known as the author of numerous books, including a travel series parody published under the pseudonym Walter E. Traprock.

Biography

Chappell was born on January 2, 1877, in New London, Connecticut. After attending private schools, he studied at Yale University, where he contributed to campus humor magazine The Yale Record. After graduating in 1899, he went to Paris to train in architecture at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts. The school then promoted classical and European medieval styles.

After getting started in architecture, Chappell also wrote articles for Vanity Fair. Encouraged by friends, he wrote several humorous books during the 1920s and early 1930s. These included a series of travel parodies under the pseudonym of Walter E. Traprock.

He died on November 25, 1946, in Bantam, Connecticut.

Bibliography

Books authored or coauthored by Chappell include:

1918 – An Architectural Monograph on Colonial Architecture in Vermont. White Pine Bureau. (With Russell Fenimore.)

1920 – High Society: Hints on How to Attain, Relish, and Survive It. G. P. Putnam: New York. (With Dorothy Parker, illustrated by Fish.)

1921 – The Cruise of the Kawa: Wanderings in the South Seas. Putnam: New York. (As Walter E. Traprock.)

1922 – My Northern Exposure: the Kawa at the Pole. Putnam: New York. (As Walter E. Traprock.)

1922 – Rollo in Society: a Guide for Youth. Putnam: New York. (Illustrated by Rockwell Kent as “William Hogarth Jr”.)