Life, 1919-05-01 · page 43 of 44
Life — May 1, 1919 — page 43: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two distinct pieces of content: **The "Art" Story (left column):** A brief humorous narrative about an Author complimenting an Artist for perfectly illustrating his characters and story, unaware that the Artist's secretary has just revealed she sent the *wrong* set of illustrations to the publisher. The joke plays on the contrast between the Author's effusive praise and the actual mistake—suggesting that sometimes success masks incompetence. **The Advertisement (center/right):** A testimonial from Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, a Spanish author of popular novels like *The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse*, endorsing a Waterman's Ideal Fountain Pen. Dated February 1919, he claims to have used the same pen for eight years while writing his novels and journalism supporting the Allied cause in WWI. This is vintage advertising leveraging a famous author's endorsement to sell fountain pens—a premium writing instrument essential before ballpoint pens existed. The page also includes a small advertisement for Bell-Ans antacid at the bottom left.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Confession LADIOLI aflame in a crystal vase, y of your hair's dark dis- reasoning beauty of your vy treasures when T went cll-searred watches when von the graveless dead, save one surpassing ou left unsaid! Ruth Lambert Jones. Art tor stood, fingering the is hat, while the Artist hioning a plump. young se skirt had caught on a wire. A deft touch, and pleted. Then the Artist di recognized his. visitor. here? [was so absorbed ced you.” eA admitted, “1 me—l—you see, 1 wanted sonally st scratched his head with a brush, and there was a Ins eve: * the Author when ! thought perhaps— we been time ips you had not paid just as ntion to the text as you vur illustrations are wonder- I that. 1 have been honored publishers select you as my But there has been a time n I said she was short, and er tall; or maybe I described ters in evening clothes, and 1 playing goli, Of course ad it was my fault for not tten the story. properly. in ace, but your work on. this i mine amply makes up for Your Hand ” hfora Pencil? ” 6 BELL-ANS Hot water Sure Relief anything in the past. Never have your drawings so well expressed my own ideas of what the characters should be. Why, man, I'm p: Hy overcome ! Anyhow, you must realize something of the additional pride I take in the work —knowing that your appropriate illus- trations have made it what it is.” Struggling to hide his emotion, the Author departed. As he left the studio. a young girl entered. She was the Artist's secretary. Grand Palais, Monte Carlo February 21, 1919 A friend of mine told me that he has called your attention to the Waterman’ Fountain Pen held in my hand, in one of my pictures. I bought it in Buenos Aires eight years ago when I was traveling in South America giving literary lectures, and since then I have written with it my novels, Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Our Sea, and actually the latest one, entitled The Enemies of the Woman, Furthermore. | have written with it hundreds of articles for the news: papers in favor of the Allied cause and the ten big rf volumes of my History of the War of 1914, As you see. the poot pen has worked well. For this reason, it is a little old and tired, but con+ tinues to serve me. Best regards from VICENTE BLASCO IBANEZ : just discovered a horrible she confessed. “When the Author came in here, just now, | real- ized I sent thé wrong set of pictures to illustrate his story.” « Vows you know Mrs, DeCourcey is a woman of taste, discernment and refinement, What makes you so sure? “T happen to know that she is a reg- ular annual subscriber to Lire.” comicbooks.com