Life, 1919-08-28 · page 7 of 40
Life — August 28, 1919 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three separate satirical pieces mocking upper-class pretension and social climbing. "Sensitive Plants" ridicules wealthy people who pose as artistic intellectuals while living privileged lives removed from reality—they discuss philosophy and art while benefiting from material comforts. "First Maid" satirizes servant gossip about their employers' extravagant parties, highlighting the gap between wealthy people's self-importance and servants' indifferent observations. "The Last Stage" appears to mock theatrical or social performances, suggesting artificiality in how the wealthy present themselves. The illustration shows people in formal dress on what appears to be a porch, captioned to suggest society photographs documenting fashionable footwear trends—poking fun at how trivial upper-class concerns appear to ordinary observers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Sensitive Plants AID the Sensitive Plants in the gar- den “We're Artists in Word ; We dwell in our own little Arden, Aloof from the Philistine herd Thought and in “The Cabba We turn in Oly we know for a bumpkin; an scorn From the grossly material Pumpkin And the utilitarian Corn “They prose of the Fruits they are giv ing But we who have Souls, who are Fre Have fathomed the Secret of Living— To Feel! and to Think!! and to Be!!! “Our manners, though lofty, are gentle; Our exquisite nature is such So nervously temperamental, That all of us shrink at a touch. “We plan for the Good of the Masses; Our Wagon is hitched to a Star; And if we had tortoise-shell We'd look half as wise as we are. glasses “Now here comes that funny old hocr! We wonder what he is about?” “Them weeds ain't no use,” said the Grower. “Tl root the dodgasted things out!” AG IRST MAID (bragging about a party given the day before by her mistress): And they all came in limousines, and had on the grandest clothes, and wore the biggest dia- monds. Neicusor’s Maw: And what did they talk about? First M, Appearances COULDN'T serve as a convinces me he’s guilt “Sh-h! That's the district attorney.” juror, judge. One look at that fellow -W.RGRAUERER The Last Stage IRST MEMBER: What's going to happen to this club? Stconp Memurr Heaven knows! A man might just as well live at home. E KIND OF SOCIETY SNAPSHOTS WE MAY EXPECT TO SEE IF THE PRICE FOOTWEAR CONTINUES TO ADVANCE comicbooks.com