Life, 1898-02-03 · page 19 of 20
Life — February 3, 1898 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page combines a medical advertisement with a puzzle game. The left column advertises the Woodbury Dermatological Institute's services for correcting facial "irregularities"—crooked noses, blemishes, unwanted hair, and other cosmetic concerns. It emphasizes their pioneering work and success. The right side features a "cut-and-paste" puzzle: readers must assemble scattered paper pieces to form a portrait of "a well-known man," which supposedly reveals how to obtain "a reward for everybody." The puzzle pieces are deliberately jumbled and fragmented. The satire appears to be **self-directed mockery** by Life magazine—the puzzle's hidden message likely jokes about the contradiction between the ad's promises and reality, or satirizes the desperation of people seeking cosmetic "fixes." By fragmenting the face and making assembly difficult, the cartoonist suggests that facial perfection itself is an illusion or that reconstructing one's appearance is fundamentally absurd. The "reward" is likely humorous or ironic rather than literal.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
FEATURAL..... wwvval RREGULARITIES FACIAL BLEMISHES ——axp— SKIN DISEASES CURED Broken, Crooked or Hump Noses Corrected. Supertiuous Hair Removed. li is no louger necessary If you do not we, it can be suit you, and rs, mouth or ingaooNy th c 1. ct, on,inor under that cannot be and permanent: 1. H. Woodbury H1L39! ical Institute, st 42d street, . \ J ng every new in the medical It was the first noses by the the Jobn H, nstitute. Wo- have once had twenty years move all facial ualcase, We range of medi- ernaland external, and all the vari- kK on Dermato- w the feat- anged. The Ww - shar sizeof Woodbury’s a as) i ae 7 - ; == @ GET A REWARD st: Bor Cut out the different pieces on the dotted line, then match together and form the Picture of a well-known man—when properly done it will tell you how to get the Reward. comicbooks.com