Life, 1910-02-03 · page 39 of 44
Life — February 3, 1910 — page 39: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily **advertising**, with a sidebar article about literary taste. The main article "Poe's Taste in Poetry" discusses how Edgar Allan Poe's critical judgments were influenced by the fashions of his own era—specifically how he praised mediocre women poets of his time. The piece then becomes a gentle joke: a collector claims to own a Poe autograph manuscript, but when the editor reads the opening lines aloud ("When lying on my clayey bed..."), the awkward, clunky vowel sounds are obviously *not* Poe's work. The article reveals the poem actually belongs to Euphemia Hemans Simpson, a now-obscure poet Poe apparently admired. **The satirical point**: Even great critics like Poe were victims of their era's poor taste, and what seemed brilliant then sounds embarrassingly bad today. The page is otherwise filled with period advertisements (An-a-cea Water for digestion, Durham-Duplex Razors, Cortes Cigars, White Rock water)—typical early 20th-century Life magazine content targeting middle-class male readers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Seems Beyond Repair ‘and you can find no rellef try AN-A-CEA WATER ow who try It and physicians who use {t in their own fanilies (ell that It ts“ marcelqus and unaccountable.” NEW YORK, Pr PHILADELPHE nd for Book:et. Stone St, New York. The Literary Zoo (Continued from page 222) is immortal, and the Academy—for all its grey-beards—has recognized it. . j : The mee Old-Style Razor Made. Absolutely Poe's Taste in Poetry How the fashions do change—not coly in women’s hats, but in poetry. a, én y Safo—the Safety-Razor It might be supposed that poetry, in 2 : , _ Made Absolutely Perfect essence, was always the same; that however vapid the public taste and however susceptible to improvement in | ‘ the process of the suns, the ripe criti- URHAM -_ UPLE cal judgment of fifty years ago would te, fundamentally, the critical judg- ment of to-day. Yet so great a poet R AZ OR and so keen a critic as Edgar Allan Poe was somehow strangely influenced in his poetical appraisements by the Everything a Razor Should Be taste of his own times. How else are a ” ‘ If you usea “Safety” Razor, you'll __ If youuse the old-style razor, youl pe th account for us extravagant, like the Durhem-DuplexRazorbetter like the Durham-Duplex better, be- featured. praise: of certain contempo- because it has every good feature of _causeithaseveryadvantageof thelong Ey women poets? particularly jis the best “‘safety” razor and the blade, with the additional advantage admiration of the verse produced by adivonal advantage that ofremovableblades mi Estelle Anna Lewis. it shaves with the correct sy FRER TRIAL one i it ii These reflections are aroused by an sliding diagonal stroke— plex Razor is new, | unnec ingenuous communication to The something hoe-like de-| ftiem but we wil snd you the corns ° ; e al oe 1 blades can, Times. Its correspondent, an eminent vices cannot do, pencaes open recgot ot $9.00. 2 | owercs; be hosed 3 (New York) collector of rare manu- The Darke Dole pithin 30 dave and get your money sropped lke on oxinary sripts, informed the editor that he easily and quickly sha Write for Free Booklet razor. New es, the toughest beard. f for 50c. had purchased “an autograph manu- ieeiot gowns wt Poets” but that he DURHAM DUPLEX RAZOR CO., 111 Fifth Ave., New York could not find the poem in his edition of Poe's works. He enclosed a copy. FOR _g MEN OF BRAINS It you saw these opening lines, O ‘ou are in the academy of the highly intelligent reader, schooled as 'IGARS would you attribute them to Poe -MADE AT KEY WEST— * bide spt dee my clayey bed, Who there, by ire affection led, Will come and weep— Just read aloud those two lines: “When Iving on my clayey bed, and if the combination of voweb sounds does not set your teeth on edge we shall undertake to mail you, post- age prepaid, a complete edition of Euphemia Hemans Simpson's poetical 6 Th ” works. e World’s Best Table Water cst The poem, of course, is not Poe’s, but he esteemed it so highly that he (Continued on page 224) comicbooks.com