Life, 1909-04-01 · page 30 of 52
Life — April 1, 1909 — page 30: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is a collection of satirical humor pieces typical of early 20th-century Life magazine. The central "Recipe for An Easter Poem" mocks sentimental Easter observance by reducing its clichéd elements (bonnets, choirs, lilies, candy eggs) to cookbook ingredients—suggesting Easter poetry is formulaic and superficial rather than genuinely spiritual. "A Devilish Good Idea" lists societal problems (vivisection, Comstock [likely Anthony Comstock, the moral censor], the Theatrical Trust, magnates) as things to eliminate—biting social criticism. The other pieces are brief comedic sketches: a child's misunderstanding about Easter bonnets and hoops; a Jewish immigrant's malapropism about fever dropping "after der fire" (playing on Yiddish-inflected English); a pawnbroker's dishonest excuse for missing money; observations on luxury and necessity. The cartoons employ ethnic humor and wordplay typical of the era. The overall tone is urbane mockery of pretense, hypocrisy, and social absurdity.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Recipe for An Easter Poem BONNET full of nodding plumes, Or wreathed with roses gay, An anthem, and a white-robed choir, A girl or two in gray, A row of decp-toned organ-pipes, (Be sure they're gilded well), A regiment of stained-glass saints, A mellow-throated bell. A prayer-book in silver bound, A dim religious gloom, And cushioned pews, and dusky aisles, And lilies all in bloom, A half-a-dozen gorgeous eggs, Of candy, every one, Mix well with well-worn sentiments, Your Easter poem is done. ETTER be a dumb clam than a loquacious lobster. A DEVILISH GOOD IDEA Liars, Idiots, Fools, E'verybody, Snobs. “neLio! “THIS At EASTER MAT. WHERE DID YOU GET THE 100P? "* 'T A HOOP, 1'M DELIVERING AN oe Vivisection, Insincerity, Comstock, Theatrical Trust, Injustice, Magnates, Society. A Natural Sequence OCTOR: Mr. Isaacs, your son is improv- ing. Last night he was burning up with fever, but to-day his temperature has dropped to 99. Mr. Isaacs: Vell, dere’s alvays a drop in figures after der fire. - AMILY A coop talker is generally a poor stopper. trees are be pretty shady. apt to Luxuries UXURIES are are enjoyed chiefly and almost solely because other people do not have them, All other possessions arc necessities. If every- one were a Standard Oil magnate, it would be an insufferable bore, and it {s getting to be almost that anyway. Luxurics do not connote comfort. On the contrary, they con- note litte indigestion, gout and lassitude. Comfort comes only from necessities. those possessions which LADY in making a purchase at a pawn- shop one evening, dropped a five-dol- lar gold piece into a crack in the floor. The next morning the lady called for her moncy. Taking her to the lack of the store, the pawn broker asked, in a confidential whisper, if she was sure that it was five dollars she had lost. “Yes, a five-dollar gold piece.”” “Vell, it iss very strange, but I gif you my vord of honor, lady, ve only found t'ree dol- lars and sigsty-five cents."” “THINK THIS EASTER BONNET NEEDS MORE TRIMMING ON THE SIDE’? comicbooks.com