Life, 1912-02-08 · page 40 of 44
Life — February 8, 1912 — page 40: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **full-page advertisement** for the Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary, not a political cartoon or satirical content. The ad promotes the dictionary as an affordable self-improvement tool—costing less than two streetcar fares (carfares) daily, or seven cents. It emphasizes authority by citing endorsements from the U.S. State Department, the Commissioner of Education, and historical figures like Lord Morley. The implicit message reflects **early-20th-century class anxieties**: mastering vocabulary and language is presented as essential for social and professional advancement. The ad assumes readers aspire to become "entertaining talker[s]" and successful business people. A secondary offer provides a free atlas "with large 1911 maps"—useful for businessmen and educators needing current geographic/economic information. This is **advertising content**, not satire, though it subtly mocks penny-pinching ("looking so closely at the penny that the dollar cannot be seen right behind").
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Less than 2 Carfares oe a Day Gives You a a Mastery of Words ES, even less than it costs to mail four letters by first Y class delivery. Think of it! Only seven cents a day will put in your home the supreme authority on the defining, pronouncing and spelling of every live English word—the Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary. No library is complete without this most reliable dictionary. The home or the office that tries to get along without the Standard, when it is so easy to own, is certainly looking so closely at the penny that the dollar cannot be seen right behind. In almost every article you read there are words that suggest whole trains of ideas. If you skim over such words without knowing their full and true meaning, you can never hope to have the rich vocabu- lary of the entertaining talker nor be able to write clearly and forcefully. FUNK @ WAGNALLS STANDARD DICTIONARY is not only the most complete dictionary ever published: bring the world to his desk. He needs a gazetteer that will help him it is also a history of words, a guide to the correct use of English, a thesaurus and a condensed cyclopedia. Authority in Washington—It is the authority of the State Department at Washington, D.C. “Jt is the most thumb-worn of all the dictionaries in our room,” says the fore- man of the Proof Division of the government printing office, C. M. Robinson. A copy of the Standard stood beside Lord Morley when he was writing his ‘Life of Gladstone.” Authority in Schools—The Standard has the enthusi- astic support of the highest official of education in the country, the U. S. Commissioner of Education, E. E. Brown, who say The Standard Dictionaries are wonder- Sully comprehensive; they are superb!” Immense numbers of the various editions of the Standard Dictionary are used in the Philippines and other posses- sions. They are ordered by the government in 10,000 lots. Tt was the late Edmund Clarence Stedman who said: “To have created the Standard Dictionary is as great a boon as any publishing house need wish to confer upon its own time and generation.” Atlas Free The business man needs an Atlas with large 1911 maps, that will Funk & Wagnalls Company $3,398 LONDON For a short time you can have a copy of our $6.00 Atlas of the World FREE with the Standard Dictionary—if you order early. bi develop his sales campaigns by posting him on the industries, the latest census statistics, the trade conditions, the physical features of the different countrits and the home life of the people. In the home a comprehensive Atlas and Gazetteer is as necessary to the child as a primer is in the school, It will picture to him the scenes of many great events and will give life to his study of history and his geography. The Atlas contains 254 pages with accurate full-page and double- page colored maps and a score of half-tone illustrations, It also in- cludes 16 pages of census statistics. It measures 1014 x 131% inches. “Helpful Hints” “Helpful Hints in English” is the title of it. Just prest down and full to the brim with information on the correct use of words and phrases. It is alphabetically indexed and is bound in a pretty cloth art cover. Helpful hints would cost you 25 cents if sold in stores, but a copy of the limited supply is yours for four cents if you will sign and send the coupon NOW—before you turn this page. Send 4c for “Helpful Hints” ,.<'., FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY, 44-60 E, 23rd St., N. ity. Here is 4c for “Helpful Hints in En, I would like to examine sample pages of the 1911 Standard Dictionary and have informa- tion about the Free Atlas offer in connection with the dictionary, and easy terms, Life 2-8-12 Name... Occupation. P.O. State Medien AW comicbooks.com