Life, 1904-04-14 · page 16 of 20
Life — April 14, 1904 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Life* magazine contains satirical poetry and social commentary alongside period advertisements. ## Main Content: "Scissors at Nullus" The poem mocks spring fashion trends and women's clothing obsession. The central cartoon depicts a man being physically overwhelmed by an enormous dressed woman—satirizing how elaborate spring fashions dominate social interaction. The accompanying verses suggest that fashionable dress, not the woman herself, attracts male attention ("take the Dress and let the Woman go"). The secondary anecdotes mock courtship and family dynamics: a father's stinginess, a young man's naiveté about church attendance, and a candidate's awkward encounter at a farmhouse. These are gentle social satire about American middle-class behavior. ## Advertisements The page includes ads for Wilson Whiskey, Hunter Baltimore Rye, Milo Egyptian Cigarettes, and a Life Publishing Company book promotion for "Cirillo"—typical early 20th-century luxury goods marketing. The satire targets shallow consumerism and fashion-obsessed society, particularly women's apparent prioritization of clothing over substance.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
5 ; —Chicago Tr THE SPRING OPENINGS. : 1 It is the Rustle of the silken Frock “ vy ; a That makes the Ih Bosom: knock— Wett, Bobby, how do you like church Ah, take the Dress and let the Woman go! i as they walked homeward fr you will have Dan Cupid beat a block wary, to. w Bobby had just paid ‘Twas this: I saw a rich creation there— AT WLLy 4 It made me sigh: “For thee alone I care.” so 1 needs ake backward Loo! A what Woman own to Wear As one with Nerve prepared for Anything 1 went to sce the styles Among a Sea of Wor Yet saw the fashic ejaculated the young ma: ch did you get, father? "How much did I get? Why, what in? How much what?" asked the cach we t at this evident irreverence. e which got the very don't you remember when th were marked the very highe joney around? 1 M1 t the Thought that came to Me. ‘0 candidates for office in Missouri were stomp northern part of t and in one town appearance was almost simultaneous. The as e last arriving happened to stop at a house for k this Frive y Meditatic c of getting a drink of water, wered his kne said—when she had given him t had offered her in recom methought the Ostrich and the Dove Satin, Lace and cad of me give you that all Men fall i replied the bright \ ER HIS OWN HEART. Ge the cand One sees a Gown at Forty Ninety-cight THERE ONCE WAS A CHAP CALLED TOLSTOI, pose that fh Upon a Maid then with Heart elate w T WITH SOME CHICKEN HE'D Tot ' ETM MADE PEW DE 1 y af the Dress al merrily. Jone, the ¢3 one anot . and, pickin into my Mind kissed her. t, T meet I he kiss you, too? he asked, genia . he did, sir! responded the 1 “and he kissed ma, —Collier’s Wee their Tr fr in. The International Company, Bream’ r ane, B.C, England, Aarsts WILSON Hunter WHISKEY Baltimore Rye Under Any Test is The Best. THAT’S ALL! Sold at all fret-class cafes and by jobbers Wat, LANAHAN & SON, Baltimore, 9d. “Cirillo.” that dainty story of love en twined with music and painting, is having a The rapidly increasing sa It is one of those curious romances which, through it sect Egyptian 3 of story and simplicity of style, gains popularity, not by advertising and the usual es methods, but by the deep and agreeable Cigarette recollect ausing them to remember it with pleasure and to recall it 1 = to their friends in speech. Asn specimen of re) UA ity book-making it fs a sumptuous production. $1.25 Postpatd ; AROMATIC DELICACY— LIFE PUBLISHING COMPANY, geht ret MILDNESS — PURITY foe pouetss rurman 19 West 31st Street, New York. = — __ - 4) : The Great Passenger Line of America—NEW YORK CENTRAL comicbooks.com