Life, 1914-03-19 · page 33 of 44
Life — March 19, 1914 — page 33: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains a **book review in verse** (left) and a **product advertisement** (right), typical of Life magazine's mixed content. **The Poem**: A humorous review of George Allan England's science fiction novel *Darkness and Dawn*. The satirical summary describes a 1920 cosmic catastrophe that kills nearly all humanity. Two survivors—Allan Stern (an engineer) and Beatrice—awaken 1,000 years later to a jungle-covered Manhattan. The verse mocks both the melodramatic plot and the convenient "second Adam and Eve" trope, noting they're "more conventional" than the biblical pair—even using a phonograph to conduct their marriage ceremony. **The Advertisement**: The Jones Speedometer, a car speedometer using centrifugal force technology. This occupies most of the page and emphasizes reliability across temperature variations and altitudes. H.W. Johns-Manville Company (a major industrial manufacturer) controlled distribution through 49 service branches nationwide, offering guaranteed repairs and maintenance. The juxtaposition—dystopian fiction against commercial optimism about automotive precision—is purely editorial layout, not intentional satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Rhymed’ Reviews Darkness and Dawn (By George Allan England. Small, Maynard & Co.) ING! Bang!—a wedge of mon- strous girth, Six billion tons or so, but plenty, Was blasted out of shattered Earth By Cosmic Force, in Nineteen-twenty. And from our deeply wounded Sphere Such’ noxious gases emanated That everyone, or pretty near, Was permanently suffocated. But Allan Stern and Beatrice, A simple maid in all her flower, Were saved from such a death as this; Immured within a lofty tower, A thousand years, entranced, they slept, While o’er Manhattan’s best mac- adam And asphalt roads the Jungle crept. They woke, another Eve and Adam; Bat more conventional, by half, Than that Ancestral Pair before them, They got an ancient Phonograph To read the marriage service o'er them. An Engineer was Allan Stern; His arm was strong, his brain was clever, His heart was brave, and he could turn His hand to any task whatever. Conundrums that would stump the Sphinx He answered readily and brightly. He slew a horde of Missing Links, For they were blue and most un- sightly. He found a dusty monoplane And deftly set the thing in motion And visited a sunken main No loss of Accuracy through Changes in Temperature a (COP force is an absolutely re- liable means of accurately measuring car speed. It is constant, unvarying, in winter and ‘summer, in high altitudes and low. It is this force that controls every movement of the Jones S Geared to the Truth From hub to dial the Jones Centrifugal Speed- ometer represents one continuous, unbroken, metal-to-metal contact, through which the exact speed of the road wheel is directly passed up to the recording hand. It is literally geared to the truth. Few Parts and Strong The Jones Centrifugal Speedometer has no delicate hair springs or compensating mecha- nism. Its parts are few, simple and proof against the destructive effect of vibration. It Is Read Without Effort The indicating hand moves steadily over the clock-face dial, which is easy to read from any part of the car. Many other noteworthy ometer. Centrifugal Principle features, such as the instantancous trip reset, give increased convenience. Backed by a Service and Guarantee of Known Integrity The H. W. Johns-Manville Company now control the selling and marketing policies of the Jones Centrifugal Speedometer. Johns- Manville Service Branches, in practically every principal city of the United States and Canada, are equipped to handle with -expert efficiency all matters pertaining to adjustments, repairs and replacements. The J-M Guarantee Tag attached to each instrument is your a: surance of satisfaction. When you specify Jones equipment you are assured of a principle giving absolute reliability and a Service that is established rather than prot Write nearest Branch for booklet. H. W. JOHNS-MANVILLE COMPANY Brake Lining, Spark Plugs, Electric Lamps, Speedometers, Horns, Fire Extin- guishers, Carluretors, Dry Batteries, Vaporizers, Auto Locks, Fuses, Tapes, Packings, ete. New Orleans New York Johns-Manville Service Branches in Omah: 49 Cities assure Satisfactory Serv- Phil i Sa ice to Jones Speedometer owners A hundred leagues below our ocean. Pi Portl Ore. Rochester tion; f St. Louis Upon its murky shore were men And women, too—a backward na- Sin Cake San Frances Louisville Seattle Memphis Syracuse Milwaukee ered Minneapolis Wilkes-Barre Newark, N. J. Youngstown ‘The Canadian H. W. Johns-Manvile Company, Lad, Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg Vancouver He lifted them to light again To start the Earth's repopulation. Jouns- ANVILLE - So thus began, from Chaos won, Our Golden Era, love-inspired. I found this nonsense lots of fun,— A fine, long yarn to read when tired. Arthur Guiterman, comicbooks.com