Life, 1912-08-15 · page 39 of 40
Life — August 15, 1912 — page 39: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is an advertisement for a series of six satirical prints by artist Balfour Ker depicting the founding and early life of a typical American home. Rather than political satire, this is social humor about domestic life. The series follows a narrative arc: young lovers envisioning their dream home (guided by "Cupid, Master Builder"), through to their son becoming the household's "ruler of the roost" after recovering from childhood illness. The prints humorously capture the sentiment and comedy of modern domestic life. The advertisement emphasizes the quality of production—photogravure prints on fine India paper with French plate stock—and offers both a luxury edition and cheaper alternative ($1.00). This was a mail-order product from Life Publishing Company, reflecting early 20th-century print culture where magazines sold artwork directly to readers as home decoration.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
_-LIFE- | - The American ] t Home ‘. d i A series of LIFE PRINTS ys | AR ne Pins ath , by Balfour Ker, full of human _ / > interest. . “" These six pictures tell a 4 story that at some point y touches the personal experi- ence or the hopes of every reader of LIFE—the story of the founding of the typical American home. : . From the day and hour c + , ; when the young lovers see the “New Home” of their hearts’ t E desire rising vision-like under a 4 the personal direction of D. Cupid, Master Builder, to that , on which the son and heir of 1 the house, recovered from his first trifling illness, is scen as the undisputed “ruler of the roost,” Mr. Ker has caught the humor and sentiment of the modern home in masterly fashion. Printed in photogravure on India paper of the best ; quality and mounted on plate- 4 | or ;| marked French plate stock- a true edition de luxe. Also a cheaper edition, size 15 X 20, same quality of plate work. Price, $1.00 each. Sent prepaid to any ad- ; ¥ 18 tn., $2.00 dress upon receipt of your remittance. LIFE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 17 West 31 St., New York ti THE WILLIAMS PRINTING COMPANY, NEW YORK comicbooks.com