Life, 1909-12-02 · page 30 of 80
Life — December 2, 1909 — page 30: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page celebrates three prominent Americans' birthdays through satirical congratulatory letters: **Joseph Leiter** (wheat speculator) - The text mocks his famous wheat-market corner, suggesting he's unlikely to repeat such a feat and that his survival (and others') following the financial maneuver is itself noteworthy. **Edward H. Sothern** (actor) - A respectful tribute calling him a rare "high-minded representative" of American drama, with tongue-in-cheek appeals to set aside theatrical debates on his birthday. **William James Rolfe** (Shakespeare scholar) - Playfully credits him for his long association with Shakespeare, implying this connection elevates his reputation. The silhouette illustration above depicts a wealthy family's Christmas morning, captioned "Peace on Earth." The photograph below ("More Important Than Santa Claus") shows Santa with reindeer—likely contrasting commercial Christmas imagery with the magazine's focus on notable individuals worth celebrating.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
& dee MH ure WRehy Popular Birthdays JOSEPH LEITER Born December 4, 1868 a parvis_ momentis magnas rerum iones efficit. To have achieved such an immense corner in wheat even once in a lifetime is an accomplishment not given even to every Chicago millionaire. That you have survived, and that others have sur- vived, is something. And that the prob- ability of your ever repeating your fa mous performance is remote is something We suspect you, sir, of many more birthdays. We endeavor to congratulate you upon this one! EDWARD H. SOTHERN Born December 6, 1859 Fliquentia non modo cos ornat, penes quos Cicero The American drama has not so many high-minded representatives that, in our birthday party, we can afford to omit the least of them, to say nothing of the dis- tinguished gentleman to whom we offer our felicitations. Let _us, therefore, for- get for the day all those minor differ ences of opinion about what constitutes the highest histrionic art, or its classic forms, and, remembering that we are men and brothers, meet upon the com- mon ground of good fellowship and good wi Mr. Sothern, you have given us much pleasure in the past, and we look for- ward to your future with equal equanim- ity. We congratulate you upon the at- tainment of another birthday. May you continue to merit the just applause that should always be accorded to painstaking effort accompanied by real talent Au revoir! WILLIAM JAMES ROLFE Born December 10, 1827 “Take him for in all, Horatio, he was Professor Rolfe, we have long held you in admiration, and we welcome the mo- ment when we have a proper excuse for taking you by the hand. A man is often known by the company he keeps; and that vou have been associating with one I Shakespeare so long is by no means MORE IMPORTANT THAN SANTA CLAUS comicbooks.com