Life, 1907-02-07 · page 17 of 52
Life — February 7, 1907 — page 17: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains Valentine's Day humor and satirical commentary typical of early 20th-century Life magazine. The main cartoon, "When a Girl's in Love," features a romantic poem ("A Valentine Rondeau") mocking sentimentality with exaggerated praise of a sweetheart. The "Wholesale" section mocks scientific pretension through anecdotes: a University of Chicago professor performs bizarre experiments on a rat (freezing it, filling its ears with collodion—a chemical compound), then publicly reports these findings to the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The satire suggests scientists conduct pointless cruelty under the guise of research advancement. The final quip about "New England conscience" as "an inherited disease" stereotypes New Englanders as inherently moralistic and guilt-ridden—a common early American regional joke. The page is organized around February and the zodiac sign Pisces, with decorative fish illustrations. The humor targets romantic excess, scientific pomposity, and regional stereotypes.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
WHEN A GIRL'S IN Lovie A Valentine Rondeau So, at my Beauty's throne and tore out its olfactory nerve. But did WEETHEART—of all words Rnect in worship prone, he selfishly keep his fun to himself? No, uiown And make my lover's plea. he reported it all to the American Asso- This vocable alone imeem ciation for the Advancement of Science, Describes her best to me— eae Sivect TAN? and if science does not hereupon advance So dear, so fair is she, Julian Devasid: by leaps and bounds, we shall wonder. So like a rose full-blown. Anyway, it is difficult to imagine much of ? Wholesale anything further he might have done to eff If she were carved in stone, . . . the rat. Or, if her face were shown PROFESSOR in the University — On canvas, one would see Chicago put out a rat's froze HE New England conscience isn’t an Sweet Art off its feet, filled its cars with collodion, idea—it’s an inherited disease. FEBRUARY PISCES comicbooks.com