Life, 1909-04-22 · page 30 of 32
Life — April 22, 1909 — page 30: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a promotional page for *Life* magazine's upcoming issues (circa 1910s). The masthead asks "Are You a Lobster?"—a humorous rhetorical device comparing readers' nervous dispositions to lobsters' imperviousness to illness. The joke suggests that unlike robust lobsters, sensitive, high-strung people need *Life*'s humor to maintain health. The page advertises upcoming special issues: - **Spring Sporting Number** (May 6): outdoor recreation - **College Number** (May 20): celebrating college life and girls - **Matrimonial Number** (May 27): marriage and relationships - **Summer Gadding Number** (June 3): travel and adventure References like "Fletcherized" (a popular digestion method) and mentions of "brain fag" and hypochondriacs reflect early 20th-century health fads and anxieties. The tone is gently satirical—mocking both contemporary wellness trends and readers' neuroses while positioning *Life* as therapeutic entertainment. The illustrations and casual, colloquial writing style are characteristic of *Life*'s satirical approach.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Are You a Lobster ? Of course not. If you were, you would naturally be always in the best of health. Nothing ever happens to a lobster. But if you are a high strung, nervous, delicately organized person, as we know you to be, then you need to be cheerful. The Health Number of Life does it. You can wander along in this number and find almost anything you want. There is even an insane asylum for the weary. And the Fads! They are all there, from the fresh-air contingent to the brain fag clientele. Centre-page cartoon by Dart entitled ‘* The Cost of Living ’’ makes you stop and think. ‘‘ The Hypochondriac ” is so cheerful in its ultimate intention that it robs you of all your symptoms while you wait. This is a Fletcherized, peptonized, sterilized, Pasteurized, exercised, and laughter wise number, NEXT TUESDAY! APRIL 27—Issue of April 29th COMING May 6. Spring Sporting Number (Cover by Crosby) Spring is now here, ad de cod id our hed is begiddig to get better. Sood we shall be free from it, and get out into the open. The trout are waiting for us, the whip-poor-will is calling, and Nature as usual is “on the job.'’ Read this number of LIFE—devoted to out-doors—and get the fever. May 20. College Number. (Cover by Clay) This number is coming out in ample time for commencement, as a measure of cheer to the overworked college man, as he bums the midnight oil on the Great White Way, or wears his young life out toiling on the baseball field or over the skull and bones. And then the girls! This num- ber of LIFE will prove conclusively that it is possible to retain your beauty and yet be a college girl. May 27. Matrimonial Number (Cover by Ker) What Every Husband Knows! All will be revealed in this number, the happy medium for bringing together those who have long been parted, and of cementing new ties. Matri- mony in all of its varied phases, from the obsolete paregoric bottle to the storkless home, will all be set down here. The pictures are wonderful, and the text edifying as usual. June 3, Summer Gadding Number (Cover by Clay) “ Aren't you ready yet? Hurry, please. Now, there isn’t a moment to lose. We've only just got time to catch that train.” You've heard that said before haven't you? And it makes you feel as if you couldn't wait. You want to get somewhere—to run away and kick up your heels. The “spirit of all this is right in this number of LIFE. Speed. Commotion. Jauntings. Outdoors. New Scenes, You mustn't miss it. Other numbers will be announced later. Titles subject to change Watch this page wit BELO comicbooks.com