Life, 1910-05-05 · page 63 of 72
Life — May 5, 1910 — page 63: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two distinct elements: a humorous theater critique and automobile advertising. **The Theater Piece**: A satirical essay mocking theatrical conventions of the era, particularly the unrealistic staging of snowstorms around stage heroines. The author ridicules how snow falls only on the protagonist while the rest of the stage remains dry, and how a spotlight (the moon) mysteriously follows the heroine, conveniently disappearing when villains approach. This is gentle satire on the melodramatic staging techniques and artificial dramatic devices common in early 20th-century theater productions. **The Advertising**: The page features two car ads (Studebaker and W.L. Douglas shoes), typical of Life's mixed editorial-advertising format. These are straightforward product pitches with no satirical content, common in period magazines. The "Stage Heroine" piece would resonate with theater-goers familiar with these conventions, poking fun at how theatrical "magic" relied on obvious, somewhat absurd technical tricks.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Stage Heroine (Continued from page 850) it clears up again and keeps dry for the rest of the evening. The way the snow “ goes” for that poor woman is most unfair. It always snows much heavier in the particular spot where she is sitting than it does anywhere else in the whole street. Why, we have sometimes seen a hero- ine sitting in the midst of a blinding snowstorm, while the other side of the road was as dry as a bone. And it never seemed to qccur to her to cross over. We have even known a more than usually malignant snowstorm to follow a heroine three times around the stage and then go off r. with her. Of course you can’t get away from a snowstorm like that! A stage snow- storm is the kind of snowstorm that would follow you upstairs and want to come into bed with you. Another curious thing about these stage snowstorms is that the moon is always shining brightly throughout the whole of them. And it shines only on the heroine, and it follows her about just like the snow does. Nobody fully understands what a wonderful work of nature the moon is except people acquainted with the stage. Astronomy teaches you some- thing about the moon, but you learn a gqod deal more from a few visits to a theatre. You will find from the lat- ter that the moon only shines on heroes and heroines, with, perhaps, an occa- sional beam on the comic man; it al- ways goes out when it sees the villain coming. It is surprising, too, how quickly the moon can go out on the stage. At one moment it is riding in full radiance in the midst of a cloudless sky and the next instant it is gone! Just as though it had been turned off at the meter. W. L. DOUGLAS $5, 94, $3.50, $3 & $2.50 Shoes Boys" Sh 300° SHOES 242% W. L. Douglas y. shoes are worn by more me than 4 any other make, BECAUSE: W. I. Douglas 85.00 and 84.00 shoes equal, An atylo, ft and wear, or W. L. Douglas 83.50, 83.00 and 82.50 shoes are the lowest price, quality considered, in the world. Fast Color Eyelets. The tine hi W,, L. Dons name and searnped’on the Bottom, rhe Net ow fo order, yall bons presale ich Br iockions Mass @ The worth of your car does not depend upon the size of the motor—if the | transmission is faulty, its power is minimized. | The most powerful motor or the most perfect transmission is handicapped by a poorly designed rear axle construction, or by excessive weight. But— @ The worth of your car does depend upon whether the motor, transmission, rear axle | construction and weight are each planned to work in harmomy and each balanced one with the other. The STUDEBAKER GARFORD “40” | is the net result of more engineering experience than any other single car made, and the proof of its wonderful balance is shown in the unparalleled economy of its maintenance. Dept F. STUDEBAKER AUTOMOBILE CO. Genzral Offices SOUTH BEND, IND. Licensed under Selden Patent. Send for a copy of the “MOTORIST'S LOG BOOK™” (with maps), giving the actual experience of a prominent motorist while touring France, Spain and Italy in a STUDEBAKER ata car cost of $3.80—less than one cent per hundred miles— for repairs. STUDEBAKER “40” seven passen- ger Touring Car with disappearing | folding seats, (roomy and luxurious). It makes you quite giddy until you get "Tis the smell of the bacon that's cook- used toil —IJerome K. Jerome,“ Stage- ing in camp, land. Makes you wish you could live life all Cooking in Camp mb Vy OU may sing of the incense of roses in June Or the perfume from orchards in May, The sweet-smelling odors that come from the loft That's filled with the new clover hay, But I recall one that is sweeter by far Than the nectar from rose, tree, or clover, 351 You remember the trout in the pool just below, Where a rock jutting out from the shore Makes as good place to stand as you whip out your flies, And capture two good ones or more Then after a day filled with pleasure and work, As you trudge back to camp with your trout, (Continued on page 852) comicbooks.com