Life, 1909-06-24 · page 27 of 29
Life — June 24, 1909 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a promotional page advertising Life magazine's upcoming Fourth of July issue. The main cartoon depicts children in period dress playing with fireworks and explosives, illustrating dangerous Independence Day celebrations. The text reveals Life's **social advocacy campaign against fireworks safety hazards**. Life claims credit for starting this crusade "several years ago," urging readers that celebrating patriotically doesn't require "playing with explosives." A reader reportedly wrote that Life's previous cautionary illustration had reformed her family's dangerous Fourth of July habits. The page promotes upcoming special issues, including a "Spooks' Number" by illustrator Irvin (featuring ghosts and supernatural content for entertainment). The tone is self-congratulatory about Life's role in public safety education while maintaining the magazine's satirical, humorous approach to serious social issues. This reflects Progressive Era concerns about public safety and reformist messaging through popular media.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Our Fourth of July NUMBER Comes Out Next Week There has been a great agitation recently about the dangerous use of fireworks on the Fourth of July. Do you know that LIFE STARTED THIS ? Several years ago this paper urged upon everybody the absurdity, to say nothing of the danger and loss of life, of playing with a lot of explosives, ‘just to be patriotic.” In this Number—Out Next Tuesday—we have another picture, along the line of the first one published several years ago. It is called ‘* The Annual Sacrifice.” Some day we hope that it will not be necessary for LIFE to publish pictures like that. One lady wrote us the other day that that Glorious Fourth picture had cured her and her boys of the Noisy Fourth habit. She discovered that they could celebrate in other ways. It's a great number next week—loaded with laughter. COMING July 8. A General Number, about nothing in these two numbers, we are saying nothing about their contents. A anh are working on them now doing what—well, trying to fill the particular. Colored Cover by Phillips. pared Ait Tog x - up with the very best ideas that the countr Someone said to us the other day: “I notice you are getting the last minute, the best thing always comes along. And so we outa lot of special numbers. Why don't you get out a humorous can't get up a full bill of fare beforeha number occasionally ?"* Now there is an idea there somewhere. The great difficulty lies in the fact that we do not always : , dare, like Oliver Wendell Holmes poet, to be "as funny as we ay fea A Special Spooks’ Number. Cover can." Being artists in our particular line, we have to restrain y Irvin. ourselves. In this number, however, we have really given our This is a grim and ghostly ghastly gaunt and gruesome selves full swing. It's going to be real humorous. And as for number. ‘Tread lightly. Step softly. Get a copy, sleep with it the cover ** Arms and the Man," it’s a wonder. under your pillow, and you will see your great grandmother's glorious galaxy of splendid spooks, ihe girl you are going to July 15. Another General Number, and another the fortune that awaits you, and other interesting per- colored cover by Phillips. sonalities—all for ten cents. And so there you are. We are not going to give you special Buy early and get an assortment of shudders warranted to numbers every weck, And another thing. Please note that in please. HOW TO DRESS YOUR CHILDREN ON THE POURTH. I you are a subscriter to LIVE you miss noue of these good things. Price ia the United States, Mexico and the American Possessions, $5.00; Canada, $5.52; abroad, $6.04. THE WILLIAMS PRINTING COMPANY comicbooks.com