Life, 1918-10-10 · page 13 of 33
Life — October 10, 1918 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**The Cartoon:** The sketch depicts an art dealer and customer in a gallery. The customer asks for a written guarantee that a painting is a genuine "Van Dyke" (likely a misspelling or pun on "Van Dyk[e]" or similar master). The dealer refuses, offering only his "word of honor" instead—satirizing the dubious authenticity claims common in the art market and dealers' reluctance to provide legal protection for their sales. **The Story "Who is He?":** This appears to be a satirical narrative about a spiritualist or reincarnation believer claiming to have been "the Master of Ceremonies" in a past life. The text mocks spiritualism fads popular in the early 20th century, particularly the claim that one lived through "the greatest war in history" (likely WWI, suggesting this is from around 1918-1920). The dealer's skepticism reflects period cynicism about spiritualist charlatans.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Customer Dealer: Who is He? T was a bright morning in the Universe five thou- sand years ago. A disembodied spirit sat brood- waiting to ou have your choice ten years during the WM vext five thousand years,” said “ee the Master of passing by. “And but once?” “But once in that time. We are crowded, my friend. We are doing the best we can for all.” Ceremonies, “What is the program?” “There are several interesting peri- ‘ ian, the Assyrian, the ¢ Greek, the Roman— The Master of Ceremonies was very polite. He went into detail, explaining with great care just what wi st to 1glg. “In this year,” “the greatest war in history will He explained the inventions, he horrors, the idealism everything. The disembodied spirit shouted vaporously, almost reaching sound “Me for that “One moment—the price. "he exclaimed You can- not expect to view the greatest show on earth anless you are willing to pay WILL YOU GIVE Me A WRITTEN GUARANTEE THAT IT'S A GENUINE VAN DYKE? LCAN'T DO THAT, MADAM, BUT I'LL GIVE YOU MY WORD OF HONOR. the admission fee and the charges to be in it.” “Certainly not. How much will it layhe everything you've got. If you'll have to. spend And whatever you have must be put into Liberty Bonds.” “Ts that all fany people think that’s a good ‘ou actually make me smile. to see that show, to Why. ke part i of contributi no price is too great. Book me, to have the privi “Remember. If on the roth of Oc- tober, 1918, a man calls on you—you, a well-to-do or a moderately well off, or comicbooks.com