Life, 1897-08-05 · page 7 of 26
Life — August 5, 1897 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 107 The top illustration titled "Pearls of Etiquette" depicts a social scene where a man in dark formal wear stands among elaborately dressed women, appearing to entertain them. The caption advises that if you know "some one clever, talented, or a 'lion,'" you may make your hostess grateful by bringing them to an afternoon gathering. This satirizes upper-class social climbing and the practice of using notable or famous individuals as social props to elevate a hostess's standing. The exaggerated dress of the women and the central male figure's prominent positioning mock Victorian-era social pretension and the commodification of celebrity or talent for entertainment purposes. The page also contains humorous short pieces about literature and Irish servants, typical of Life's satirical content from this era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
PEARLS OF ETIQUETTE. IF YOU HAPPEN TO KNOW SOME ONE CLEVER, TALENTED, OR A ‘“‘LION," YOU MAY MAKE YOUR HOSTESS REALLY GRATEFUL BY TAKING HD OR HER TO ONE OF HER AFTERNOONS, stakes, fiction becomes a game of consider- able importance. What a subject a novetist of grasp and insight would find in Blaine or Conkling, and the men who surrounded them! The bald suggestion of it seems journalistic and com- moonplace, but the right man with an eye to see would do fine things with it. The history of this country abounds in men who have accomplished huge results with crude implements. That is the very essence of romance. Life is full of it, and it ought to creep into our fiction. Drock. Safe. “s AY I kiss you, Miss Ten- spot?” asked young Mr. Huggins, ‘Have you ever kissed a girl be- fore?” asked the young lady. “Neve asseverated the young man, “Then you may kiss me. I draw the line at men who kiss and tell.” "Ts invasion of Spain by the ‘New Journalism" is officially announced with becoming solemnity by Senor Canovas del Castillo, the premier. According to a cable dispatch, he ‘‘has notified the Madrid reporters that he will not give them any news hereafter, on the ground that they publish it in a form calculated to influence the stock ex- change.” If the Madrid reporters are gen- uine new journalists, they will never allow themselves to be ‘‘queered” bya little thing like that, They will simply make their own news, and “‘ publish it in a form" even more “calculated to influence the stock exchange”’ than the straight tips from Senor Canovas del Castillo, which they have been apparently twisting. Ballade of Wares Literary. YEZ! Oyez! Oyez! Draw near, ye scribbling crew! Ye poets in distress, Whose verses are taboo ! Ye maids who shriek and shrew! Ye youths who fleer and flop! Come, give your orders to The Literary Shop ! Now here's a Cheap Success, A bargain—entre nous— Detailing the duress Of girls who Don’t and Do; And here’s a Lucky Coup— A dialectic slop! (We mix the Kail-yard brew— The Literary Shop.) Here's Gossip—Bookishness— The How! The Why! The Who! (You buy a pound or less, And stick it on with glue ) Log-rolling done for you! Your name made while you.stop ! Pray step inside and view The Literary Shop. Envot. Scribes! without more ado Your futile fancies drop, And reach Parnassus through The Literary Shop. Hilda Johnson. E sure you're right and then go ahead—and see if you are. Acquainted, ATTERSON: I see that six hun- dred Irish servants recently landed in this country. HATTERSON: Yes, I've met most of them.