Life, 1899-09-14 · page 17 of 20
Life — September 14, 1899 — page 17: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily **advertising** with satirical content embedded in one section. The main satire is **"Life's Bureau of Bachelor Beauties,"** a mock escort service. The humor targets Gilded Age social conventions: unprotected women needing male companions for respectability at picnics, dinners, and funerals. The three portrait photographs represent available "escorts." The joke's sharpest point: the bureau advertises "German Barons" available "by the day or week at exceptionally low rates"—satirizing both the American upper class's fascination with European nobility and the desperation of impoverished European aristocrats willing to hire themselves out as social accessories. This reflects real Gilded Age anxieties about class, marriage markets, and the commodification of social status. The remaining content consists of straightforward period advertisements (Chestnut Hill Academy, Allen's Foot-Ease powder, Remington typewriters, railroad tickets)—typical of Life magazine's revenue model.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
CHESTNUT HILL ACADEMY A BOARDING SCHOOL POR BOYS CCUPIES tho former Wis- sahickon Inn in the elevated and beautiful open country north of Philadel- phia, For Illustrated cataloguo, address the Head-master, JAMES L. PATTERSON, Chestnut Hill, Pa. Colfers, and all who Walk or Stand Much Use ALLEN'S FOOT-EASE INTERCHANGEABLE MILEAGE TICKETS. 500-mile tickets at two cents per mile, good on_ New York Central and all its branches and operated lines, including West Shore and branches —over 6,000 miles of railroad. Sold by all New York Central Ticket Agents. Swiftest, Strongest Saves Most and Lasts Longest emington Standard Typewriter A Powder for the Feet. Shake Into Your Shoes Allen's Foot=Ease, a wider for the feet, It cures painft . smarting, Rervous feet, and instantly kee. the sting out of corns bonions. Te the great- discovery of the Ease maken ‘ie bt Htth tts acertain cure for For a copy of “The Railroad and Dictionary," send your address to George H. Daniela, General Passenger Agent, Grand Central Station, New York. ‘shoe . Do nat accept an Imitation, Seat by mailforzic. in stampa, FREE TRialrackace sent by mail, Address ALLEN S. OLMSTED, Le Roy, N. Y. (Mention this magazine). LIFE’S BUREAU OF BACHELOR BEAUTIES. FOR PICNICS. WYCKOFP, SEAMANS & BENEDICT, “ony rs et ee 327 Broadway, New York. Very cheerful; ne digestions, can eat anything, ple preferred; «ing all the latest songs, good at fiirting; wear the indestructible rock-proof pants, This Bureau is prepared to furnish, at short notice. and on reasonable terms, gentlemanly escorts for unprotected ladies, agreeable and well-mannered dinner guests, athletic noblemen for out-of-door sports, melancholy mourners and pall-bearers for fashionable funerals, titled guests for garden parties, etc., etc., etc. We have just received a job lot of German Barons who can be retained by the day or week at exceptionally low rates. All communications regarded as strictly confidential. Ames: LIFE’S BUREAU OF BACHELOR BEAUTIES, 19 West Thirty-first Street, New York City.