Life — August 5, 1915 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Rare Form" This 1915 *Life* magazine cover depicts a tennis player in an exaggerated athletic pose, captured mid-serve with dramatic body contortion. The figure launches the ball skyward while wielding a tennis racket, legs splayed in an impossibly dynamic stretch. The caption "Rare Form" is likely satirical—the cartoon exaggerates the athletic extremes of competitive tennis, poking fun at either the sport itself or the intensity with which players pursued it in the early 20th century. The illustration's art deco style and dynamic movement emphasize the absurdity of the pose, suggesting mockery of both athletic pretension and the increasingly competitive nature of recreational sports among the leisure class during this era.