Life, 1910-04-07 · page 56 of 76
Life — April 7, 1910 — page 56: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical piece mocks a Missouri character calling himself "Professor" D. Jones, claimed to be "the greatest speller" in Missouri and beyond. The satire playfully catalogs Missouri's supposed contributions to American culture and achievement: Mark Twain (humorist), Theodore Roosevelt (statesman), local editors including Joseph Pulitzer, and playwright Augustus Thomas. The piece uses humorous exaggeration—references to the state's famous breweries (Lemp, Busch), poet Eugene Field, and broker Alexander Konta—to gently ridicule provincial pride and boastfulness. The tone suggests affectionate mockery of Midwestern self-importance, a common Life magazine theme. The jest targets not malice but rather the gap between small-town pretension and actual accomplishment, characteristic of early 20th-century American satirical humor about regional character types.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
oiGede Nature a Mirror polished and perfect to Psyche, convex to the jointed times. It was there that the French retreated before the Germans, leaving South St. Louis, as far as Carondelet, FIFTH AVE. & 36™ST., NEW YORK Capital, $1,250,000. Su-plus and Profits, $750,000 most of the public schools and all the political jobs in their possession. It was or is there that the census and the gas bags of balloons were or are best inflated. It had, or has, or will have, the title to the future greatest city ever builded, not excepting Carthage or Duluth. Chicagorose * * * * * * ¢- a 4 like (can you spell it?) from its ashes; Interest Paid on Daily Balances | St Louis soars proudly from amidst DIRECTORS its soot. . . Missouri, or Mizzourah (either is correct) has produced the greatest hu- BENJAMIN ALTMAN, JOHN I. DOWNEY. WILLIAM H. PORTER, B, Altman & Co, Building Construction. Pres't Chemical N JOHN JACOB ASTOR 21 SEWARD PRO morist—Mark Twain—the _ greatest GEO. F. BAKER, m1 aa Vice-President . statesman (Bent f th atest ‘Chairman First National Bank, t, DANIEL G. REID, (Benton), ‘of, the igreatest STEPHEN BAKER, AB WiEAMONE Rock Island Systet { statesman (Roosevelt). St. Lou: bore Pres't Bank of the Manhattan Co, Vice Pres't First National Bank. DOUGLAS ROBINSON, or borrowed our ablest editors—* Lit- GEO. B. CAS EDGAR L. M! eal Estate, tle Mack,” Joseph Pulitzer and their Attorneys, w Blair & C % . ie C; CLAFLIN, : ; . pupil, the late Charles H. Jones. She United Dry Goods C THOMAS COCHRAN, Jr., Vice-Pre CHARLES A. PEABODY Pres't Mutual Life Ins. Co. publishes the magazine with the great- -est circulation; she produced our only ¥. ©. CO: GEO. W. PERKINS, CHA z playwright—Augustus Thomas. She is President. J.P. Morgan & Co., Bankers. Vice-Pres't Tiffany & Co, ever hospitable—sometimes even to HH. P. DAVISO! D. POMEROY, ALBERT H. WIGGIN. C ice-Pres't Bankers’ Trust Co, Vice-Pres't Chase N. OFFICERS E. C. CONVERSE, President. ALEX. H. STEVENS, Vice-Pres, SEWARD PROSSER, Vice-Pres. THOMAS COCHRAN, Jr., Vice-Pres. GEO. W. PANCOAST, Cashier. HOWARD BOOCOCK, Ass't Sec. JAS, R. TROWBRIDGE, Trust OMcer. Bank. (Continued on page 641) A Real Hustler Lavy (to applicant): Yes, I advertised for a maid-of-all-work. Are you an early WY ceca GaN wusih ama Exquisite Cordial of the Centuries At me lasht place Oi was up an’ had ° breakfast ready an’ the dishes washed ZL put away an’ all the beds made be- Ao. fore anybody else in the house was up."" Jones of Mizzourah A Missouri person who calls him- self “ Professor,” with D. Jones as an annex, insists that he is “the greatest speller not only in Missouri but in the whole world.” Mizzourah is full of a number of | Cleanser and Mouth Wash things, including mules, mounds and In One municipal polities. All’ these abound Polishes the teeth to dazzling whiteness, while {ts fragrant js "i jolas the antiseptic foam reaches every part of the mouth—neutraliz- in St. Louis, which adjoins ing all toothdestroying acids, preventing dis- Lemp brewery on the west. It was praise Ons Cece) there that Alexander Konta, a Strong’s Arnica Tooth Soap broker in epigrams, delivered his im- comes in a handy metal box—nothing to break ran or spill. A convenient cake that insures beauti- mortal mot: “Good beer needs no fa Sout healthy gatos nnd & jsese tbeeeh. Busch.” It was there that Eugene Strong’s Arnica Jelly parr Field passed through on his way to Keeps Your Skin Smooth Denver, murmuring, “Parnassus or Xo need to endure the discomfort of sunburn bust.” (It is said that t stone still or winter chapping. Apply with finger tips, ‘ rub gently into pores, In’ collapsible metal marks the spot—though the editor who shied it at Eugene has never been iden- tubes, WS cents. MEE joc ty doo Lae a a Jr we Well foreland Me tified.) It is the home of Joseph Folk pales the Food nad Dros Ars, and Abe Slupsky. It is there that Cuaranteed June 30, 1906, Serial No. 1612. C.H. STRONG & CO., Chicago, U.S.A. & William Marion Reedy holds up to POOPOOOO II NLOTOTD oo LIQUEUR Peres Ghartreu —GREEN AND YELLOW— At first-class Wine Merchanta, Grocers, Hotels, Cafés. Batjer & Co., 45 Broadway, New York, N.'Y., Bole Agents for United States, comicbooks.com