Life, 1913-05-01 · page 34 of 48
Life — May 1, 1913 — page 34: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily an **advertising page** from Life magazine (page 894), with some satirical content interspersed. **Main Advertisements:** - Bausch & Lomb camera lenses (left column) - Madame Nordica's Bath Powder for weight reduction (right column) - White Mountains of New Hampshire tourism (center) **Satirical Content:** The "Fictitious Biographies of Real People" section mocks Edward Gibbon's famous *Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire*, suggesting that while Gibbon read 1,500 volumes of Roman history, no living person has actually read his entire work—it's valued precisely because nobody expects to finish it. A second anecdote jokes about frontier justice in "Crimson Gulch," where you "can't lynch the wrong man" because executions happen regardless. **Historical Context:** These satirize pretentious intellectual achievement and frontier lawlessness—both common targets of early 20th-century American humor. The weight-loss powder advertisement features opera singer Madame Nordica's endorsement, reflecting period obsessions with appearance and celebrity testimonials as marketing.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
894 “CPTFE: Its never too late to get a good lens -alessar can be fitted to almost any camera And with a Tessar you will find it easier to make sharp, clear pictures even in poor light—you will find that-pho- tography is no longer a matter of chance as it was with just an ordinary lens. Bausch Jomb Zeiss "JEssar [ENS is so rapid, so exact, so remarkable in its illuminating power, that it can do things you have never been able to ex- pect from an ordinary lens. Made with scientific accuracy —to give a Clear, bright image, of the quickest movement—to work under light con- ditions from which you have been ac- customed to get dim results or utter failure. If you are Interested in better results, send for literature. Bausch € lomb Optical ©. 620 ST. PAULST. ROCHESTER, N.Y. MEETING HIM HALF WAY gt eeeeee ees esses Fictitious Biographies of Real 3 People EDWARD GIBBON, PUTNEY, ENGLAND, APRIL 27, 1737 ITTLE. Eddie Gibbon, who wrote one of the greatest works of ion ever known—namely, “ The De- cline and Fall of the Roman Empire” —was not considered a bright boy when he was young, but having met Madame Necker and Madame de Stael, he got so after a while that he was extremely vivacious in conversation. Mr. Gibbon took snuff regularly every hour, and having read fifteen hundred volumes of Roman history, rewrote them for the use of American Congressmen who had no other means of education, His works are still seen in libraries, and are the ‘basis of some of our most popular school histories. So far as is known, there is no human being alive who has read all of Gibbon’s book through. A great many people have read the first part of the first chapter and the second part of the second chapter, but the last volume remains uncut, and has achieved its reputation from the fact that Gibbon wrote it with the expecta- tion that it never would be read. “T UNDERSTAND you went over to Crimson Gulch and lynched the wrong man?” “No,” replied Three-Finger Sam. “You can't lynch the wrong man in Crimson Gulch. We jest got Piute Pete a little bit abead of his turn.” —Washington Star. WHITE MOUNTAINS of New Hampshire New life, new nerves, new energies, new appetite, new enthusiasm. New Lives for Old That's what a White Mountain vacation gives you, It’s a new sensation to play golf and tennis up under the clouds, to motor on the Roof of New England, to feel the thrill of vistas a hundred miles across, to ride and drive and tramp and climb in the fresh- ness and beauty of this exquisite mountain country. Delightful boarding hot Joxurious hotels with their whirl of social gayeties and outdoor sports. Delightful people worth know- ing from all over the country. Send for FREE BOOKLET ‘Address Vacation Bunsav The New England Lines Room 774 So. Station Boston, Mass, Bath Powder Tor Reduction of Weight y| Ho’ Madame Nordica solved the problem LA) of reducing weight—how she made her Fj marvelous discovery whi road—and why she olfers her secret to you, is interestingly told in her wonderlul book, “The Dream of Fair Women” This valuable book tells why special dieting, drugging or burdensome exercising is unnecessary in reducing weight. Itcontains photographs of Madame Nordica in many famous “4 operas. Also, the photographs and endorsements of many prominent people. Write for it at once. oe eee “The Bath Powders which bear my name are precisely the same as I have used with such amazing results. | personally recommend them fee Send five two-cent stamps for Brad Pes toasent wets fis | Dream of Fair Women.” This )} book contains Information in oaluable to every woman whe is tn earnest about reducing her weight, Madame Nordica’s Bath Powders are for sale at many lead'ng ji drug and department stores 1a specialty shops. MADAME NORDICA'S COMPANY ‘Studio 17 A Reduce Your Weight This Bookells How » s To one of those priests of the Court, the Bishop of Amiens, the Duke of Bourgogne, great grandson of Louis XIV, once said: “At what age were you made a bishop? Fifty, my lord,” was the reply. “It is quite late! The rea- son is, Prince, that when the King, your grandfather, makes a mistake he does it at the latest possible moment. ” Let us correct the vices and strengthen the minds of men; but let us choose for ourselves, and yield universal assent to none. —Henry St. John, Viscount Bolingbroke. comicbooks.com