Life, 1909-11-18 · page 9 of 36
Life — November 18, 1909 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two satirical pieces from Life magazine. The top section, "A Few Deductions," features a dialogue where Mrs. Sherlock Holmes deduces details about another woman's life from observations—her love of formality, financial struggles, poor housekeeping, and limited reading. The satire mocks both detective fiction conventions and women's domestic stereotypes of the era. Below, "Will It Lift?" addresses aviation concerns about President Taft's weight. The accompanying illustration shows a man (likely representing Taft) standing on a beach. The text references Progressive Republicans' fears that an enlarged airplane called "President Taft" won't achieve flight, playing on contemporary anxieties about both aviation technology and the president's famously large physique.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
701 A Few Deductions “At Mrs. Brown,’* said Mrs. Sherlock Holmes, “1 observe that you love formality, that you own this house, although 1 am not certain about the mortgage, that you are not very well connected, that you do not care for books, that you are trying to make grand stab at being recherchée, while only succeeding in a poor four-flush. “Perfectly wonderful, Mrs. Holmes. Quite as good as your husband. How in the world do you do it?" “It is very easy,” replied Mrs. Holmes, as she deftly un shined her nose with a pocket powder rag.“ When I came in you took special pains to ask me to remove my gloves and be informal, which showed that you have formality on the brain end that your remark was intended as an apology for thing which was not just so. If you were really informal, you would have said nothing about it “You are not accustomed to good things or you would not have served that horrible cake with the tea. Then, wh called the maid to replenish the cake, most of which y yourself. you said, apolovetically, “* W t this house with out a bell in the library,"’ a remark Proved conclusively that you owned you nothing as to the size of the mortg “Then you will recall your account of how your husband plained of having nothing to read and how you chided hi the reply that there were three large book-cases down airs and two upstairs, all well filled. This proves that you on books as household furniture of the junk type. Your whole demeanor proves that you are a very poor climber.” “ Perfectly marvelous, Mrs. Holmes.”* “It might seem so,’* replied the detective’s wife, “ but the real secret, after all, is that I have met sc like you before.’ sO. Jones Will It Lift ? OUBLE the size of an aeroplane and you must increase its driving power > lift So, often, with folks. here are those who fear the sur face area of our President has otor T is how it begins to look to the progressive Re publicans of Middle West. They are afraid t the big acroplane ” President Taft” THE ANCHOR is not going to life AR were comicbooks.com