Life, 1888-11-29 · page 6 of 14
Life — November 29, 1888 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 302 This page contains two distinct elements: **Upper section**: A book review column titled "Bookshelf" discussing recent literary works, including Henry James stories and their artistic merit. The accompanying sketch shows two figures in conversation, likely representing literary discussion. **Lower section**: A humorous engraving labeled "From Our Collection of Old Prints" depicting chaotic street chaos with a horse-drawn carriage (marked "XXIII") surrounded by scattered figures and pedestrians. The caption indicates it's "Supposed to Represent the Advantages of the Boatail Car"—appearing to be satire comparing modern automobiles to historical horse-drawn transportation, highlighting the traffic and social disruption caused by early motor vehicles. The juxtaposition suggests Life magazine's dual focus on highbrow literary criticism and satirizing contemporary technological change and urban chaos.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
SOME RECENT BOOKS AND CRITICISMS. ‘€-T-HE ASPERN PAPERS” give the title to a volume made of three recent magazine stories by Henry James, the two others being ‘Louisa Pallant’ and “A Modern Warning.” Each is the unemotional study of a disagreeable phase of character. If worth doing at all, they could hardly be done with more skill. Any one sensitive to fine literary form will find in them pleasure enough to counterbalance the unsympathetic qualities. It is akin to the exhil- aration one feels when watching a daring and graceful skater. The swing is regular, sinuous, rhythmic; the unexpected and brilliant variations of it are exhibitions of agility; the steel rings clear and musical, and flashes now and then in the sunlight among the minute crystals of splintered ice. The spectator may be chilled, but never bored. As “The Reverberator" was a satire on the violation of the finer feelings by a type of modern journalist, so “The Aspern Papers” is a satire on the inhuman quality of one phase of literary industry. The delicate force of this study lies in the skill with which the reader is entrapped into a keen interest in the hunt for the love- letters of the poet Asfern, When the indelicacy and even cruelty of A THANKSGIVING CORNER. the whole plot are suddenly flashed upon you, you feel something of the shame and humility which at last overtook the literary ghoul. May THEIR Wishes BE GRANTED! You are to a degree particeps crimini's, and understand the weak FROM OUR COLLECTION OF OLD PRINTS. SUPPOSED TO REPRESENT THE ADVANTAGES OF THE Bontait Car. comicbooks.com