Life, 1911-11-02 · page 47 of 56
Life — November 2, 1911 — page 47: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a humorous story (not a political cartoon) told by Herman, a Jewish immigrant shopkeeper with a heavy Yiddish accent, warning his employee against fraternizing with soldiers. The narrative recounts Herman's wartime experience in Vicksburg: a soldier left his bugle in Herman's store, and subsequent soldiers offered increasingly large sums ($50, then implied higher amounts) to purchase it. Herman repeatedly refused, protecting the bugle for the original owner. **The satire's point:** The story mocks both the soldiers' desperation and impulsiveness, while portraying Herman as honest and trustworthy—a counterpoint to common anti-immigrant stereotypes depicting Jewish merchants as greedy. The exaggerated dialect (typical of early 20th-century American humor) and the anticlimactic resolution suggest gentle ethnic comedy rather than mean-spirited caricature. The moral is simple: avoid entanglement with unreliable soldiers. The remaining page contains vintage advertisements for automobiles, chocolate, and foot powder—typical Life magazine content.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Buying a Bugle “Mr, Hoffenstein, he folded up a pair of trousers and placed them on a pile, “if you don't haf any objections, I would like to get from the store avay von efening and go mit the soldiers to the Spanish fort.” “Vell, Herman, I dinks you had bet- ' ter keep away from de soldiers,” replied Hoffenstein, “und stay mit de store, be- cause, you know, you don’t can’t put any said Herman, as dependence mit de soldicrs. I vill tell 2 vhy. “Von day vile I in Vicksburg, Guring de var, a cock-eyed soldier came into my store mit an olt bugle in his , hand, und he looks around. I asks bim —With vat he wants, und he buys a couple of The first use of shalt drives in large undershirts; den he tells me to keep his it Is the Silent Waverley Electric. High B@iciency Shaft Drive, Full Elli or Pneumatic Tires. *Shentlemen,’ I anyding ? says, ‘do you vant the 1912 models. J ~ THE ORIGINAL | , MILK CHOCOLATE The | Highest Art | in the producing of milk chocolate has been achieved by Mr. D. Peter, of || Vevey, Switzerland. Peter’s Milk Chocolate is known the world over as having an *Ve are shoost looking to see vot unrivalled delicacy of flavor, and a you haf,’ said one uf dem; und afder a most nourishing and digestible quality, ile anodder says: * Bill, shoost look dere ° de bugle ; de very ding the captain told It comes in several varieties to get. You know we don't haf Sime je in de company for dree mont Peter's Milk Chocolate. How much you ask for dot bugle?’ Peter's Milk Chocolate Cro- “Tells dem dot I can’t sell the bugle quettes. Iweause it belongs 10 a man vot sh Peter's Almond Milk Choco- vent out “LT vill give you fifty dollars for it ‘Thimbles” with says the soldier, sg his money i I don’t care to sell, LIMOUSINE-FIVE, PRICE, $3500 First in Shaft Drive and Now First in Five-Passenger Seat Space jumbers on electrics was on Silent Waverieys, Now all leading electrics are shaft driven or coming to shalt drive. bundle and de bugle behind de counter Ie different. See our handsomely illustrated art catalog, sent free on request. until he comes back. After de soldier The first electric with limousing body, seat room for five adults and full view ahead for the driver vent de store out, some more come in is the Silent Waverley. und valk around, vile dey look at de Like the Waverley Shaft Drive, the Waverley Limousine lea: goods. . There MAY be other Limousines next year. Exide, Waverley, National, Ironclad or Edison Battery. Write for Waverley Art Book. Price, $3S00 dowa to $1225. The Waverley Company Factory and Home Office, 152 South East St., Intianspolis, Iediana, U.S.A. Several hundred other dealers. Full View Ahead But the Wave ley Shaft Drive the wey. But if you want the Town Car of next year now— tie Springs with torsional supporting cross springs. Solid Richly illustrated in colors. Describes all New York, 2010 Broadway Philadetpbia, 2043 Market Stree. St. Louis, 4432 Olive Street Chicago Branch, 2005 Michigan Boulevard ‘Address on application. (ALLENS FOOT-EASE ke Into Your Shoes atheantisept It reviewes painful, for ingrowing nails, ewealins, i hing feet, We bay AL PACKAG “Ina pinch, by mail, Addre use Allen's Foot-Ease.’ * Roy, Ne¥ comicbooks.com