Life, 1911-02-02 · page 42 of 52
Life — February 2, 1911 — page 42: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page combines advertisements with satirical content typical of Life magazine's format. **Left side:** Usher's Whisky advertisement featuring a classical allegorical female figure representing "The Standard of Excellence." **Center:** Life Publishing promotes a subscription incentive—a framed picture titled "Dear" or "Dearest?" (showing a woman at a desk, likely contemplative). The joke plays on romantic ambiguity: subscribers must pay $5 for a year's subscription to obtain this premium picture, which cannot be purchased separately. The title's question mark suggests interpretive mystery about the woman's emotional state. **Right side:** Philip Morris cigarettes advertisement and a cartoon about restaurant service. The cartoon shows a waiter dismissing a customer's complaint about a fly in soup with crude humor—the fly "deserves it" for buzzing around all morning. This reflects early 20th-century attitudes toward service standards and working-class irreverence. The page exemplifies Life's mix of consumer advertising and satirical humor targeting contemporary social customs.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
G. S. NICHOLAS & CO. NEW YORK Sole Agents It Cannot Be Bought LIFE’S Premium Picture, Copyright, 1910, Life Publishing Co, tbe = ‘DEAR’ OR ‘DEAREST’ ?”’ will not be sold, and can be procured only by subscribing to LIFE. To Secure the Picture printed in proof form, ready for framing, send us $5 for a year’s subscrip:ion to : LIFE, and the picture will “DEAR” OR "DEAREST"? be sent free. (Coter) LIFE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 17 West 31st Street, New York, Subscription $5 Canadian $5.52 Foreign $6.04 Philip Morris 8 Cidarett igarettes Win favor —and hold it. The de- iN mand grows more insistent every day. | In Cork and Plain Tips “The Little Brown Box” “HERE, WAITER, THERE’S A FLY IN MY SOUP.” “ SERVES THE BRUTE RIGHT. HE’S BEEN BUZZIN’ ROUND IIERE ALL THE MORNIN’.” comicbooks.com