Life, 1916-07-06 · page 21 of 42
Life — July 6, 1916 — page 21: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two separate satirical pieces from an early 20th-century American magazine. **"An Idea for Booksellers"** mocks the confusing nature of large bookstores by proposing they should have announcers (like railway terminals) directing customers to literary sections. It references actual authors and movements—Emerson, Amy Lowell, Ernest Dowson, Joseph Conrad, Spoon River (likely Masters' anthology), and Vachel Lindsay—organizing them by region and literary school (the "Decadent Division," "Anglo-Russian school," "Chicago slum poets"). The satire critiques both the overwhelming abundance of books and literary snobbery about which authors are "really worth while." **"To Save Copyright"** attributes an anecdote to Oscar Wilde about a publisher's funeral being held simultaneously in London and New York solely to protect copyright. This mocks both the absurdity of international copyright law and the cynicism of publishers prioritizing legal protection over funeral propriety—a darkly humorous jab at commercialism. Both pieces target literary and publishing worlds through clever wordplay and exaggeration.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
* An Idea for Booksellers BIG bookshop always seems to us a most confusing place. In such an embarrassment of riches, which way is one to turn? To guide one to what is really worth while there should be an announcer, as at the railway ter- minals, shouting in an enormous voice: “This way for Emerson, Amy Lowell, and points north of Boston. This ‘rnest Dowson and way-stations on the Decadent This aisle for Joseph Conrad and the Anglo- Russian school. This train for Spoon River, Vachel Lind- say, and the Chicago slum pocts.” To Save Copyright VERY now and then a new Oscar Wilde story turns up. Here is one that is vouched for by an English man of letters, who pressed an invitation on Wilde. The latter declined, pleading an engagement. “ The fact is, I] am go- ing to a publisher's funeral. He is to be buried simul- taneously in London and New York—to save copyright.”