Life, 1912-10-17 · page 38 of 44
Life — October 17, 1912 — page 38: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page presents a humorous essay about Boston landmarks, interspersed with period advertisements. The main text mocks Boston's public spaces through mock-serious descriptions. The author ridicules the Boston Common's fountain, featuring two "metallic bullheads" (codfish heads) with their tails tied together—described ironically as "sublime" and artistically impossible. He sarcastically notes the fountain's frog pond contains no water, undermining its purpose as a "watering place." A key anecdote involves meeting a pale young man claiming to be a Boston resident who recently completed his "junior year at the State asylum for the insane"—a joke about Bostonians' supposed tendency to lecture strangers relentlessly. The author calls this "unjustifiable Purist" behavior, suggesting Boston's reputation for self-righteous moralism. The advertisements (tooth soap, garages, liqueur) are unrelated to the satire. The closing quote critiques patent medicines—a contemporary concern about medical quackery.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
bles Boston Common and Environs (Concluded from page 2021.) holder. I do not know who designed it, but am told that it was modeled by a young man who attended the codfish autopsy at the market daytimes and gave his nights to art. The fountain proper consists of two metallic bullheads rampant. They stand on their bosoms, with their tails tied to- gether at the top. Their mouths are Positive Delight uites fei trem: tele aonstis fn beautiful stream. to Brush the Teeth The pose of these classical codfish or Florida Water and gu Amica : - | bullheads is sublime, In the spirited A Seulbying puteineiive eal femmeutatioe, Urceeian tel GrateoRorian tusile wileh they’ decal Makes the daily bath a pos- Ive princes to be having, with their tails abnormally itive luxury. Its world-wide ’ 5 clevated in their artistic catch-as-catch- use for over a century has Strong’s Arnica Tooth Soap cater can-chn>scilley the designer bas emphesized the de ightful (Cleanser.end Meuth Wash (n'One) certainly hit upon a unique and beauti- quatities of this matchless ful impossibility. Each bullhead also has toilet perfume. a8 ee soln, Ae a tin dipper chained to his gills, and Leading Coupeiies atet—or vend direct. through the live-long day, till far into Aer e no Substiti = Chicago the night, he invites the cosmopolitan Orne eatin dawns, tramp to come and quench his never- LANMAN & KEMP dying thirst. 135 Water St., New York EDWARDS FIREPROOF GARAGES The frog pond is another celebrated STEEL watering place. I saw it in the early For Automobiles and Motorcycles part of May, and if there had been any — ——=- water in it it would have been a fine : , ; " it i that I was a little ed to find a $30 to $200 sight. Nothing contributes to .the suc- : ile aurprieed to Bad 4 little frog pond containing neither frogs Easy to put up. Portable. All sizes. cess of a pond like water. ji ij j Rasy te nat ap. Porvable: Ail sises: Y Sealival to say te 3 Wosidh Raa nor pond, but he said I would find it all THE EDWARDS MFG. CO., 236-286 Egrlestoa Ave., Clacinnatl, 0, right if T would call around during of- — fice hours, While sitting on one of the many seats which may be found on the Com- mon one morning, I formed the acquain- tance of a pale young man, who asked me if I resided in Boston. I told him that while I felt flattered to think that I could possibly fool anyone, I must ad- mit that I was only a pilgrim and a stranger. He said that he was an old resident, and he had often noticed that the peo- ple of the Hub always spoke to a fellow till he was tired. I afterward learned that he was not an actual resident of Boston, but had just completed his junior year at the State asylum for the insane. He was sent there, it seems, as a confirmed case of unjustifiable Punist. Therefore the governor had Punist him accordingly. This is a specimen of our capitalized joke with Queen Anne do funny on the corners. We are shipping a great many of them to England this es ‘ sagen, where: they are.greedil ed HAS STOOD [@q | | tp ati Gcvoured by the crewed heads: THE TEST [|fouurate | It isa good hot weather joke, devoid of mental strain, perfcetly simple, and may OF AGES ¥ = : be laughed at or not without giving the slightest offense. A N D I Ss S T I L L = = : ¢ —From “ Remarks of Bill Nye.” rman fessrs, M. W, Hazen Co. CORDIAL EXTANT [am Geil “Do you really believe, doctor, that At first-class'Wine Merchants, Grocers, Hotels, Cafes. your old medicines really keep anybody Batjer & Co., 45 Broadway, New York, N.Y. alive?” asked the skeptic. Sole Agents for United States. “Surely,” returned the doctor. “ My prescriptions have kept three druggists and their families alive in this town for twenty ycars."—Harper’s Weekly. comicbooks.com