Life, 1914-09-17 · page 4 of 48
Life — September 17, 1914 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is an advertisement for an art portfolio titled "War as Viewed by Life." The image depicts a skeletal, cloaked figure of Death standing amid a battlefield scattered with corpses and destruction. Ravens circle overhead, while smoke billows in the background—a traditional memento mori visualization of war's devastation. The portfolio reproduces satirical and dramatic war illustrations that appeared in Life magazine over the previous decade. Life Publishing Company sold it for twenty-five cents, positioning anti-war artistic commentary as a commercial product. The timing—noted as "Ready for delivery September 24"—suggests this coincided with World War I's active period, when American publications increasingly depicted war's horrors through allegorical imagery.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A handsome art portfolio, printed in colors and black and white, on coated paper. © A reproduction in extenso of the famous war pic- tures, dramatic and satirical, which have appeared in Life during the past ten years. A pictorial arraignment of War. Sent to any address on receipt of twenty-five cents. Address Or, LIFE PUBLISHING COMPANY, Ask your newsdealer. 17 West 31st Street, New York Ready for delivery September 24.