Life — June 24, 1909 — page 10: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This page from *Life* magazine contains two main elements: **Left side:** A humorous poem titled "Departmental Ditties" by Harry Graham about table manners—covering topics like eating noisily, combining eating and drinking, chewing with mouth open, and improper handling of asparagus and bones. It's satirizing Victorian etiquette rules through exaggeration. **Illustrations:** - Top right: A recruitment advertisement showing beavers with "PLASTERERS WANTED—OPEN SHOP" sign, captioning "Come on, boys. Here's a chance to make money." This appears to be labor-related satire, possibly about union disputes or working conditions. - Bottom left: "The Judgment of Paris-Green" depicts a figure examining vegetables, likely punning on the classical myth while commenting on food quality or safety concerns. The overall theme addresses dining decorum and working-class economic issues through humorous verse and visual gags typical of early 20th-century satirical journalism.