Life, 1919-03-13 · page 30 of 42
Life — March 13, 1919 — page 30: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Life* magazine (likely 1919, given the reference to "war requirements" ending) contains three distinct elements: **"Then Here's to Hope"** is a sentimental poem by Cora Lapham Hazard about hope sustaining us through hardship—typical of post-WWI optimism literature. **The "Mephistopheles, Inc." announcement** is dark satire mocking Germany's defeat. It presents "Devil Brand Evil" as a company now freed from its "one hundred per cent contract with the German Empire." This sardonically suggests Germany was literally in service to evil during the war—a pointed jab at German wartime conduct. **The cartoon captioned "A Safe Landing Place"** shows a soldier embracing a woman while an airplane wreckage burns in the background. The dialogue mocks Greenwich Village bohemians: the woman assumes the man is a successful poet, but he's actually just returned from war work in a munitions plant. The satire targets pretentious artistic types who mistake working-class respectability for artistic success. Together, these pieces reflect post-WWI American attitudes: relief at Germany's defeat, sentimentality about soldiers returning home, and mockery of urban intellectual pretension.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“LIFE Then Here's to Hope "TiS told, fair Hope, that you are but a tricksy elf, And that a siren song to hearts you sing: Elusive as the rose mists of the mystic dawn, hadows of the night moth'’s wing Or flick’ring s "Tis whispered low, sweet Hope, those fair bright dreams you weave Are wove from moonshine, irised o'er with dew. As false as the mirage that’s painted on the sky, And still, my Hope, here's faith and trust to you When wrapped within the magic of your wondrous dreams, When to my weary heart you sing your song The courage then have I to walk the burning sands, And reach my quest, althongh the way be long Cora Lapham Hazard Announcement MEPHISTOPHELES, INC, respectintly annonnee a new line of Devil Brand Evil and allied products for the 19f9 season. With the cessation of war requirements. we are now released trom our one hundred per cent. con- tract with the German Empire, and our total output can now be placed on the open market Spee consideration will be given to Lenten customers “so HF’S A GREENWICH VILLAGE POET. HE LOOKS PROSPEROUS!” and accounts, “HE IS, FOR TWO YEARS HE HAS BEEN WORKING IN A MUNI Service stations everywhere. 1ON PLANT.” A SAFE LANDING PLACE