Life, 1909-01-07 · page 55 of 60
Life — January 7, 1909 — page 55: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily **advertising** rather than editorial content. The main elements are: **The Cartoon:** A small sketch depicts an Irish immigrant (identifiable by dialect and working-class appearance) at a tenement door, negotiating with a landlord about employment and rent. The caption uses heavy Irish brogue ("Sure! If ol don't answer...") to create humor from ethnic stereotyping common in 1909. The joke plays on the desperation of poor immigrants balancing job-seeking with avoiding eviction. **The Advertisements** promote: - **Vivella Flannel** (winter clothing) - **Boston Garter** (men's hosiery support) - **Steinway Piano** (luxury musical instrument) These ads reflect 1909 consumer goods and class aspirations. The Steinway ad emphasizes artistic sophistication and period-style design for wealthy homes, contrasting sharply with the working-class immigrant struggle depicted in the cartoon—a juxtaposition that encapsulates American class divisions of the era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
count nmis- 1 our n can lace, nsion. HI ace erma- 1 any siness l€ ac- . fifty thing rvice te us have Ey- dver- And le of [ send ‘VIVELLA'[ FLANNEL “e Winter Designs for 1909 FOR Women’s Flannel Waists Children’s Dresses Men’s Flannel Shirts Golf, Polo and Automobiling “VIYELLA” can be obtained at the leading Retail Stores and high class Men’s Furnishers DOES NOT SHRINK STYLE, NEATNESS COMFORT THE IMPROVED BOSTON GARTER “Si The name is stamped on every loop—Be sure it’s there THE CUSHION BUTTON CLASP LIES FLAT TO THE LEG—NEVER SLIPS, TEARS, NOR UNFASTENS. WORN ALL OVER THE WORLO Sample pair, Silk 50c., Cotton %e. failed on receipt of price. BOSTON, MASS., U.S. A. INSIST ON HAVING THE GENUINE REFUSE ALL SUBSTITUTES ¢ (as someone knocks): “SURE! IF OL DON’T ANSWER, UT’S SOME WAN Mike knocks): “ ! : i Y'CIVE ME A Jou, AN’ IF OI DO, UT’S THE LAN’LORD AFTMER THE RINT.”” The PIANO SIGN AND SYMBOL OF PERFECTION IN THE MUSIC-ROOM RT in the music-room invariably calls for an adherence to A.“ tne style of some particular period of architecture, for a connected color-scheme, for a nice appreciation of the details of design and decoration. The architect and the decorator having harmonized design and ornamentation, the idealin artdemands but one further essential—the choice of a PERFECT PIANO, Recognizing the dictates of a cultured and discriminating clientele, it remained for the house of Steinway to blend music and decorative art. Be the music-room Gothicor Renaissance, Tudor or Louis XVI, among the pianos at the Steinway Studios one may find exact representations of every period— true reproductions, gems of beauty and perfection. For in all its details of construction the Steinway Piano stands apart Unexcelled Unequalled Unprecedented Some years ago the Steinway Art Department was a new departure along the lines of the «esthetic in piano-making. Toxlay its products may be found at the courts of most of the royal houses abroad, as in many of America’s residences of regal splendor—the purest and most exquisite examples of this branch of classic art. STEINWAY & SONS Steinway Hall, 107-109 East 14th Street, New York Subway Express Station at the Door = S comicbooks.com