Life, 1920-04-15 · page 7 of 44
Life — April 15, 1920 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a title page for a piece called "Life" featuring an illustrated poem about an "Elf of the Indian leaf"—a personification of tobacco smoke. The poem's speaker, seated at a desk in period clothing, receives visions summoned by burning incense made from tobacco and other aromatic plants. The satire appears to target the romantic, mystical associations people projected onto tobacco use in the 19th century. The "wistful Elf" brings forth pleasant memories and visions, but the speaker's charm lies in summoning comforting illusions rather than truth. The cartoon gently mocks the escapism tobacco provided to its users, presenting it as a pleasurable but ultimately deceptive habit that conjures "plaintive shadows" and "softer visions" rather than reality.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
WHisrer 2D the Elf of the Indian leat “Time is a wastrel, Time is a thief Velvet-fingered to filch away All dear memories—gold or gray. He carries them off in his black-mouthed sack, But mine is the charm that brings them back, Back from the dark with a gentler thrill Kinder, mellower, dearer still! My slow incense, rich with balm OF the sun-warmed isle of pine and pala Rising, summons in clouds of myrrh Plaintive shadows of things that were Bringing again in Time’s despite Softer visions of lost delight, . Tender visions of hallowed grief. Said the wistful ELf of the Indian leaf comicbooks.com