Life, 1914-12-17 · page 33 of 40
Life — December 17, 1914 — page 33: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **promotional material**, not satire. The page advertises San Diego's 1915 Panama-California Exposition, a world's fair celebrating the Panama Canal's opening. The **seal (top left)** shows a woman presenting California's natural resources—typical exposition imagery. The **photograph (right)** displays the exposition's Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, designed to evoke "an Old Spanish City" as stated in the text. The **quotations from Cervantes** ("Never did you dream, O Spain") frame the exposition as fulfilling Spanish imperial ambitions through American achievement—a pointed historical irony, given Spain's colonial decline. The message to 1915 readers: Visit San Diego to experience California's beauty and modern American accomplishment, packaged in romantic Spanish architectural aesthetics. This was earnest promotional copy, not comic commentary.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Make 1915 the happiest year of your life py T it to yourself this way. If you want to have the best time you've ever had, if you want to see more that is interesting and wonderful than you've ever seen—if you want to have much to re- member that is worth remembering for the rest of your life, decide now to go to’ San Diego next year. ‘A’ new wonderland has been created for your pleasure out in the most beautiful part of this beau ful country of ours. Everyone has always felt that seeing America first” should begin with Southern California. This has been trae in the past; it -will be a thousand times more true during all of sors. San Diego and the country around San Diego represents the very utmost that nature can do for any man’s pleasure and delight, or his comfort. Every condition of climate, atmosphere: mountains, sea, flow- ers, trees is perfection itself: "For years every adjec: tive of superlative admiration has been used to do. it justice. and still the truth has never been ex: aggerated. ‘And now, in such a setting and against such ‘a background "has been’ created this extraordinarily beautiful and original Exposition; differing from all previous expositions; exceeded in'beauty and interest by_none of them. Its beauty is attained through its form—the faith fol and marvelously realistic reproduction of an Old Spanish City. This idea has been consistently carried out in the architecture, the buildings and gates, the cool patios, the fountains, the fascinating wealth of color, the ‘shimmering white walls against the tur- quoise sky. Any one who has seen the Exposition will tell you that this all makes a picture he will never forget You can come time; the weather is always delightful, the Exposition lasts all the year. Begin to plan for it now; make 1915 your big “time”. You will never have $0 good a chance to enjoy a wonderful experience. Open January 1 V91S a tiacer to que ti, Oh! Espaia, 1915 All Nunca sofaste."—Cervantes. All “To do what thou, O Spain, did never dream."\—Cervantes, the Year comicbooks.com