Life, 1910-06-09 · page 36 of 40
Life — June 9, 1910 — page 36: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a table of contents/announcement page rather than a cartoon. The main humor targets **Theodore Roosevelt's return to public prominence** (likely his 1912 comeback campaign). Life satirizes Roosevelt's claimed modesty—he allegedly refused to allow commemorative coverage, replying "Modesty prevents." Life responds that patriotism overrides his reluctance, announcing they'll run a special Roosevelt issue in all "Roosevelt States of the Union (46)," with obvious tongue-in-cheek exaggeration. The decorative shield emblems lining the page appear to be state or regional symbols, reinforcing the geographic emphasis. The page advertises upcoming issues with playful titles—"Yankee Doodle," "Great Wild Oats Number," and "Dyspeptics' Number"—showcasing Life's satirical house style. The closing verse ("That one small tongue could utter all he knew") is an oblique jab at Roosevelt's notorious talkativeness, a common target of contemporary satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
NEXT TUESDAY LIFE is nothing if not original. One day in a moment of high inspiration jt suddenly occurred to us that we ought to have something to say about the return of Mr. Roosevelt to his flock. It seemed to us that this event, so slightingly noticed by our backward brothers of the press, ought to be commemorated in some manner so that the people would know about it. We cabled Mr. Roosevelt, asking permission to refer to him occasionally in this number and received this characteristic reply: “Modesty prevents.’ This, however, scems to be a case where patriotism is a loftier duty than consideration for the feelings of one who shrinks so absurdly (and to us mistakenly) from publicity. And so next week this great number of LIFE will be on sale in all the Roosevelt States of the Union (46). Harvard papers please copy. Coming Numbers: June 30 Yankee Doodle (formerly Army and Navy)» with cover by Orson Lowell, and replete with patriotic persiflage. July 7 The Great Wild Oats Namber. Cover by Squires showing a thrilling midnight clopement. This is the first announcement of this num- ber. We have been keeping it up our sleeve for the psychological moment, It _ reeks with wickedness, Don't get it. We will withhold it by request from any reader or subscriber and refund the ten cents, if notified at once. Otherwise we don’t an- swer for consequences. July 21 Dyspeptics’ Namber. Cover by Kilvert. This is an exceedingly painful number. |Full to bursting. gastronomical galaxy of glorious gyrations. Warranted to give everybody palpitation of the diaphragm. They wondered still, and still the wonder grew, That one small tongue could utter all he knew. All Explained in Next Week's LIFE. Subscription, $5.00 Canadian $5.52 Foreign, $6.04 comicbooks.com