Life, 1909-12-02 · page 19 of 80
Life — December 2, 1909 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains **no political cartoon**—it's primarily literary content and advertisements from an early 1900s *Life* magazine. The main text discusses "Fletcherism," a dietary fad where food should be chewed thoroughly for mental and physical health. The author sarcastically compares mindless newspaper reading to poor digestion—people consume news rapidly without actually absorbing or thinking about it, causing "intellectual dyspepsia." The page includes: - A travel advertisement (De Potter Tours) - An anecdote about Robert Louis Stevenson's wedding - A critique of sensationalist publishing - A large **Peerless Motor Car advertisement** showing a wealthy couple in an automobile (common luxury marketing of the era) - A Bromo-Seltzer headache remedy ad - A note about Jerome K. Jerome's book *Three Men in a Boat* reaching its twentieth anniversary The satirical point targets both publishers for quantity-over-quality content and readers for passive, uncritical consumption.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Wi leave in November and January, also WORLD TOURS Sfcstseorktenc, Twelve Toursia 1910 forall parts. yyy" Frente, Pot *@ Spams Sicily, at esineiuding Oberammergau. POTTER TOURS Gi:) Sevan Are You Literary ? (Continued from page 778) 1¢ man who first invented ncho Panza said, and so say 1; s him, also, that he didn’t keep t discovery to himself ; nor try it—as the lucky fellow might— ‘A close monopoly by patent-right. New York Times. “When were you born? '’ asked an inquisitive of Robert Louis, one day. “May tenth, eighteen hundred and cighty,"’ was the instant reply, and Robert Louis and Fanny Stevenson ex- changed glances. This was their wed- ding day.—The Fra Fletcherism and Reading “Fleicherism '’ applied to reading might work wonders in curing intellec- tual dyspepsia, building up the mental tissues, promoting the health and vigor of the brain, and increasing the patient's intellectual weight. When one cont plates the square yards of daily paper, especially of Sunday paper, that the eye and the mind travel over every morning, indiscriminately gobbling an article or a paragraph here and there, or perhaps even taking in the whole rudis indigesta- gue moles, to let it gallop through the alimentary canal of the intellect without being one-thousandth part assimilated, one marvels that softening of the brain is not a hundred times more prevalent than it actually is, and one feels inclined 10 organize a boycott against all publishers (of whom newspaper pub: lishers are the chief offenders) whose output is more remarkable for quantity than quality. For nineteen cents a da: declares one enthusiastic Fletcherite judicious person can buy food which, if €aten with deliberation, will more richly nourish the system than a many-course Delmoniconian bill of fare costing sev- * eral dollars. A small fraction of the All That TheName Implies Catalogue Q will be sent on request 2449 EAST 9322 ST, CLEVELAND,O. ALA. heart-sustaining literature to give every reader at least a modicum of true cul- ture—The Dial. Three Men in a Boat™ Whatever Jerome K. Jerome may write he seems destined always to be regarded primarily as the author of Three Men in a Boat. That book has just bad its twentieth birthday, and a new edition is being brought out in England, It has been reprinted every year since 1889, hundred and seven thousand copies. In 10c., 28¢., 50c., and $1.00 Botties. (Continued on page 780) comicbooks.com