Life, 1901-01-24 · page 19 of 20
Life — January 24, 1901 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **railroad advertisement**, not political satire. It's a clever visual pun promoting the Lackawanna Railroad's route between the Pan-American Exposition (held in Buffalo, New York in 1901) and New York City. The ad depicts a frying pan with a map of the railroad route illustrated on its surface. The "handle" of the pan becomes the railroad line, connecting Buffalo to New York via stops including Chicago, St. Louis, and Niagara Falls. The wordplay plays on "pan" (the cookware) and "Pan-American" (the exposition). The joke: just as the "handiest way to handle a pan is by the handle," the handiest route to the Pan-American Exposition is via the Lackawanna Railroad. It's commercial advertising using humor and visual creativity typical of early 20th-century magazine ads.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
| and best way to handle a pan is -by the handle. > The ~ handiest and best route between the - Pan-American . Exposition and cet ~ New York 1s ‘the FOR INFORMATION, RATES ETC, ADDRESS wakes 429 Broadway NY. 103 Adams St.Chi, = 289 Main Street, | Broadway & OliveSt, © Buffalo. | St Louis. : ~ 26 Exchange PI.New York. T.E.CLARKE, T.W.LEE, B.D.CALDWELL, GENL SUPERINTENDENT. GEHL PASSENGER AGT. TRAFFIC MANAGER. = \lackawanna Railroad COPYRIGHTED 1960 LACFAWARMA RR. a comicbooks.com