Life, 1919-02-27 · page 28 of 38
Life — February 27, 1919 — page 28: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The page contains two distinct pieces: **Top cartoon:** Shows "Jed Hankins, D.S.C." (likely a political or social figure) standing alone by a large tree, expecting to meet a "reception committee of one" at what appears to be "Maple Corners"—a small-town gathering. A large crowd has assembled instead at the building behind him, suggesting ironic disappointment or a comedic contrast between expectation and reality. **"Butterfly Inn" poem and illustrations:** A satirical piece by Richard Butler Glaenzer contrasting painted butterflies on walls with real painted butterflies at tables. The poem's irony: the real butterflies at tables (representing actual people) hear nothing true, while the wall paintings (representing ideals or art) speak honest "fables." This likely satirizes artificial social pretense—people performing at fashionable establishments while missing authentic meaning. The accompanying sketches labeled "Dreams" and "The Man's" remain unclear without fuller context. Both pieces appear to target small-town pretension and social artificiality.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
JED HANKINS, D. S.C, WAS EXPECTING A RECEPTION COMMITTEE OF ONE DREAMS THE MAN'S Butterfly Inn shears above the din band raytime of But Said the butterflies painted on the wall To the painted butterflies at tables: “We do not envy you at all: Nets cannot catch us, nor sables.” But the painted butterflies at the tables Wore ears that heard nothing at all That is, nothing so true as the fables Of the butterflies painted on the wall. Odd bits one notes at Butterfly Inn, Where puppets caper to Brass and Tin. Richard Butler Gla