Life, 1911-02-02 · page 13 of 52
Life — February 2, 1911 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a St. Valentine's Day special issue of *Life* magazine. The editorial introduction defends the magazine's decision to devote an entire issue to love and sentiment, responding to critics (apparently including humorist Dan Cupid) who claim such topics are outdated and overly sentimental. The editors argue that love remains eternally relevant and that cynics are simply growing old. They assert there's "no sense of shame" in celebrating love's various expressions. The cartoon on the right, captioned "Inconsistent Woman," depicts a bundled female figure from behind—showing her upper half wrapped warmly while the lower half remains visible through transparent material. This appears to be a visual joke about contradictory female behavior or fashion choices, typical of *Life*'s satirical humor targeting social conventions and gender relations of the era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ii AN QURAN Ti TTT iii ST VALENTIN This Number ROM time to time during the past we have been admonished by our critics that Love and Sentiment have too large a in Lire’s columns, In some quarters, indeed, Dan place sorts of impossible Cupid, peering as he does out of all corners, and revealing himself in all sorts of attitudes, seems to be regarded as an eternal bore. Kisses are considered commonplace; it is even hinted that they are going out; and 1s for lover's sighs and indeed all the paraphernalia of courtship, these ire declared to be the unhonored relics of a long forgotten past. Why should we have the temerity, therefore, to issue a number frankly devoted to passé Love, to hearts and darts and wooings? We might retort upon our critical friends that it is they who are growing old; and that they are being constantly succeeded by a newer generation to whom the hackneyed phases of the tender passion come with an ever fresher meaning. Bur we shall not do this. We have another and better reason for issuing t appeals to us more on common sense and reasonable grounds, and this number; one irom which there is no appeal; and just for this reason we have taken ial pleasure in filling it just as full as we could of love themes and pictorial sentiment. In brief, our reason for issuing this number is because we cannot We experience no sense of shame when we frankly declare help it. We are disingenuously that Love in its various phases never bores us. in love with Love. So here's to Dan Cupid and his followers. RALPH BARTON ” INCONSISTENT WOMAN ! SME BUNDLES UP THE UPPER HALF: AND THE LOWER HALP YOU CAN See THROUGH