Life, 1910-12-29 · page 19 of 41
Life — December 29, 1910 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This *Life* magazine page contains several distinct satirical pieces: **"Winter Advice"**: A classical poetry piece (adapted from Horace) humorously counseling readers to enjoy wine, warmth, and romance rather than worry—typical *Life* magazine sophistication aimed at educated readers. **"Revised by a New Yorker"**: Mocks urban transportation complaints (subways, taxis, walking), suggesting modern city life creates constant frustration. **"The New Industry"**: The main cartoon satirizes the shift from authentic ranching to entertainment. A ranchman reveals he's abandoned cattle ranching to train performers for Wild West vaudeville shows—a commentary on how the romanticized "Old West" had become commercialized theater rather than actual occupation. This reflects early 20th-century anxiety about authenticity versus manufactured spectacle. **Bottom Cartoon**: Dark humor about a "humane person" and a "fiend" regarding roadkill, suggesting casual indifference to violence. The page reflects *Life*'s typical blend of literary sophistication, urban satire, and commentary on American cultural shifts.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Winter Advice Ad Thaliarchum, HORACE, LOOK 1, ODE 9. “Vides, et alba stet nive candidum—' EE how Mount Soracte, snowy With the drift of winter stands! Br-r-r!_ It’s blustery and blowy! Light the fire and warm your hands. Thaliarchus, pass the bottle— Sabine four-year old—the best. . Thanks, old top. It helps to throttle Care. The gods will do the rest. Down around the Martian Campus Girls are pining for our glance. Come, before the people stamp us As a pair without romance. Vanish, Care! and exit, Sorrow! Worry never, always hope. Take To-day, forget To-morrow— That’s the Q. H. Flaccan dope. Franklin P, Adams, Revised by a New Yorker VIATION is vexation, The subway is as bad; A taxicab perplexes me And walking drives me mad. Humane Person: Goop HEAVED Fiend: 1 THINK SO; BUT PERHAPS I'D BETTER RUN OVER MIM ONCE MORE TO MAKE SURE. *LIFE- The New Industry, o ‘OU must own a great many cattle,’ we say to the grizzled ranchman. “You seem to have a large number of cowboys. We saw you showing them how to lasso the cows this morning, and all that sort of thing. Were you teach- ing some new ones?” “Cowboys!” laughs the ranchman. “Shucks! Them was a lot of fellers I am teachin’ stunts to do in wild west shows an’ on the vaudeville stage next season. I ain't been in the cow business for ten years.” 1 HAVE YOU KILLED HIM?