Life, 1912-04-04 · page 62 of 80
Life — April 4, 1912 — page 62: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains a brief comedic sketch satirizing opera-goers' behavior. Three inquisitive women attending an opera (likely Toscanini conducting) interrupt the performance with trivial gossip—asking when it ends, discussing the conductor's memory, and gossiping about Tetrazzini (a famous opera singer). One woman mentions Tetrazzini placing a canary in a bag to enhance her vocal performance, a reference to a well-known anecdote about the singer. The satire targets wealthy society women's shallow engagement with high culture—they attend prestigious performances but remain distracted and gossipy rather than respectfully attentive. The sketch mocks their pretentiousness and the absurd legends surrounding famous performers. The page also features substantial advertising (canoes, auto tires, and a mail-order Civil War photography book), typical of *Life* magazine's format.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Save wie \ $5 to $15 Tue Inquisitive Women (all togeth- Keep « on your cr): How soon does this opera stop Nour UpKeel ¥ Not until 11.30? downs, Auto Tires Secoxp Woman: Say, girls, I guess m8 8 No cheap mail order tires—your choi ’, 7 : [t’s fun to own 7 we'd better go. stat makes backed by the manti!arturer's guar your canoe te First Woman: I must get a good look es We also guarantcotosave you 200 30per ; "hen . o 4 z font this ecason on Auto Acc Bveriiyeu “want at Toscanini. They say he has quite a Sent th season on Ruts t; to trim it up good memory—remembers when Wagner tnd enormous ales enable us to die i : i Relea ‘you. Immediate deliveries—all ;: with your flags . ° —(to Usher) Yes, yes, we're going. subject to ‘inspection and approval. ind cushions; to keep it out as long as you like. THE END. you how to keep your upkeep foday, Canoeing is most fun when your canoe is an NATIONAL GARAGE SYSTEM, Inc., Dept. L, S. giesw, Mick, for here is the added pride of possessing the highest class anoo in the world. It is light, swift, safe, easily managed. | Models for all purposes. Write for our catalog—full of canoe facts and canoeing pictu ‘Agents everywhere, 2000 canoes je ve ou Tows CANOE CO. The Inner Story Y. Middle Street, 01d Town, ie, U.S. AL Ci eo ivil War After 50 Years in this photograph, sped their silent messages—and saved an army, started a battle—caught an enemy off guard. They were part of tones.) the Union Signal Corps—test friend of the Secret Service and the “inst Wo £0 say (peering throug! camera caught them as they did a man's size job in those days of confu- Fines Wousy : O say (peering through sion and dismay. ‘Their work, so valuable to the nation, so fascinating Md glasses), he wears his face natural to hear about, was but slightly remembered till vividly recalled by 3800 —(hivs-s-s-5-8-sss95sss5) he doesn’t make photographs of the Civil War, lost for fifty year-—now found again and up! contained in the ten extraordinary volumes of the Secoxp Woman: Yes, he does (bor- General fowe ginsies): T can see Jampblack on PHOTOGRAPHIC McClelar A Mid-Opera Irritation Fe shore to ship, from hill to hill, innocent-looking flags, like that Caneso (sceaving a chain made of golden Message from Destiny (making operatic history) Tike Womax: That red ribbon in HISTORY of The her hair—( -sssssssss) makes her soy, Tetrazzini—she ‘Auato (how hoppy with him, sith In the bewildering mazes made by 4,000,000 fighting men, those 4 suas of the Signal Service worked silently and swiftly, and now at last Yother dear charmers away). the camera has brought them their fong-deserved glory. On the sensitive glass negatives, too, flashed scene after scene from the é : busy war life of the telegraphers, showing them as they set up tsto—— Ha, hal he-he-ehchehe (All thefe clicking machines in bomb proof and trench, in muddy road wiciei azzini—they. say she and deep forest, But most startling of the newly revealed secrets Sigele:) Buc Tetrazsini—they: say'she are the amazing glimpses into that inner Secret Service of guertil put a canary in a bag and then paralleled ins, spies and scouts men and women otfor whom cath sun- s Died'e-volce se-sse-ase) when ile rise threatened a disgraceful death. ‘That Sccret Service in the the bird's voice—(hisss-sss-sss) when the North was organized by Allan Pinkerton, famous detective, and it canary did colorature work Bald odes bis protection that Mathew piety, and oles Unioa Jaienosteldinglo axpopulor demand: photographers took this and the other 4800 photographs now con- (CUsuens yielding:to a:popular demand.) tained inthe Photographic History, Here in tvese pages you also Usuen: Excuse me, but people around sce photographs of Union troops taken by Confederate photoera- icrecwant you lov keep'quici, phers as secret information for their armics. All this and much yous! - more, you will find in the part of one volume of the Photographic (User disappears up aiste.) History devoted to Secret vice. | There are ten volumes, cover: Seconn Woman and she never pai ing every phase of the war, and besides the photographs, they con- Secoxp Womay : —and she never paid tain a madlion-word text history freshly written by flty famous mea, Szcoxp Woman; Amato—tomato—po- the canary a cent for all those lessons— Ha! ha! hehehehehe tchetehetche ke! : . tail ate Low Price Extended to fl til 0 (Usuer reappears do YOUR LAST CHANCE It was announced that the Wanamaker low price club would close on March 23d. But so enthusiastic has been the reception of this work—so great the disappointment of thousands who were late ‘that we have been granted an extension by the publishers until April 20th, On that date the price will go up. There will be no further extension. This is your last chance to save money on this work. Don't miss it. 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