Life, 1906-10-11 · page 21 of 24
Life — October 11, 1906 — page 21: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page features a serialized poem collection titled "The Willie Boys," compiled for the *Baltimore American*. It's a series of darkly comedic short verses about a child named Willie meeting increasingly gruesome fates. The humor is *gallows comedy* — each stanza depicts Willie dying or suffering in absurd ways: getting burned in a fire, struck by a train, poisoned by a tablet, exploding after poking dynamite. The final verses show his mother grief-stricken watching him grow up to shave, then mourn at his grave. This represents **turn-of-the-century American newspaper humor** that relied on morbid, violent jokes about children — content that would be considered deeply inappropriate today. The verses were attributed to various newspapers and humorists, suggesting this was a popular, syndicated form of dark comic entertainment. The page is otherwise filled with period advertisements for liquor, railroads, and food products.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Re THE LIQUEUR OF POLITE SOCIETY The Willie Boys (Compiled for the Baltimore American by Lyon) ILLIE to the circus went, He thought it was immense; His little heart went pitter-pat, For the excitement was in tents. —Harvard La sut his stocking on g-side out and thought it fun, Mother didn’t like his whim, So she turned the hose on him. § —Philadelphia Ralph A. m poor. Record. Loud the baby screamed, and louder; Willie fed } Scolded, answered with a shrug, “Little sister acted bug.” sect powder. Anonymous She sits in sorrow, her refined And still unwrinked face is grave, Though Time to her has been most Her Willie has begun to shave kind— —Chicego Record-Herald. Willie saw some dynamite; Didn't understand it quite; Poked it with his little stick; Rained little Willie for a week. Park @ Tilford FOUNDED 1840 The firm name of Park & Tilford stands for absolute food excellence. Purity and the best at lowest prices. Groceries and Table Delicacies. WRITE FOR PRICE-LIST Broadway and Twenty-first Street Broadway and Forty-first Street Fifth Avenue and Fifty-ninth Street Sixth Avenue near Ninth Street Columbus Ave. and Seventy-second St. NEW YORK of Creature | PROPOS | Comforts—there’s a | substantial smack and an afterglow of supreme enjoyment in every bottle of EVANS’ ALE Anonymous. Little Willic, in the best of sashes, Fell in the fire and was burned to ashes By and by the room grew chilly— no one liked to poke up Willie —Harry Graham LIQUEUR Peres Chartreux —GREEN AND YELLOW-— Willie ate a tablet The fa Now he’s got a big one On his little grave. ly doctor gave; Known as Chartreuse claes Wine Merchants. Grocers, Hotels, Cate cr © Co, 45 Broadway, New Vork, NV, Sole Agents for United States 4 ; 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2° 2° ° 2 2 2 4 ° 4 C4 ° 2 o 2 ° 2 2 2 2 2 2 ° 2 2 2 2 ° 2 2 2 2 4 ; 2 2 2 2 2 2 4 : 2 Anonymous. Willie, on the railroad track, Failed to bear the « ming back Scraping Willie off the wheel tnonymous gine squeal Now the engine's 2S RATLROAD With green apples little Willie rior precinets piled; rst time since he toddled ngel child. Baltimore American Instead of a mixture of wines, it is now es, 1t 1s no Luckily URING the Spanish war, while the battle- ships were on blockade at Santiago, it was customary to load the six-pounder guns every | evening to protect against possible torpedo-boat attack, While the triggers were bei ed down jens of the guns on the M ts was accidentally discharged, the shot passing over the quarterdeck of the ‘Texas, which was lying | next in the blockading lin All the officers of the | Texas were on deck smoking and talking when the fashion to achu: the shot passed a few fect above their heads. Almost before it struck the water a signal was started on the Texas from its commanding | | oflicer, Captain Jack Philiy officer of the Massachusetts. The signal was: KANSAS CI Y “Good line but a trifle high’ AND POINTS, BEXOND BB oe.) , GEO. J CHARLTON, Ceneose Dasrereen Acowr =< CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. OLD CROW RYE =«4or WHISKEY to the commanding H. B. KIRK & CO. SOLE BOTTLERS, NEW YORK comicbooks.com