Life, 1920-10-21 · page 40 of 44
Life — October 21, 1920 — page 40: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily **advertisements and light satirical content** rather than political commentary. The cartoon "Little Conversations" shows children discussing a doctor delivering a baby—innocent humor about children's misunderstandings of adult situations. "Hoards" is a humorous poem by Berton Braley satirizing magazine hoarders. An elderly collector obsessively seeks rare old magazines to complete his collection. A mysterious stranger directs him to dental and doctor waiting rooms—where such outdated publications accumulate. The joke: the man raids these waiting rooms for old *Godey's Lady's Book*, *Puck*, and *Lippincott's*, then sells the haul to junk dealers. The irony is that professionals never notice the magazines vanishing. The remaining content is **commercial advertising**: Forhan's gum treatment (addressing pyorrhea/tooth decay concerns), Tareyton tobacco, Tabarroth laxative, and Hays gloves. This reflects early 1920s consumer culture and period anxieties about dental health.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
LITTLE CONVERSATIONS’ Buck: WE GOT A NEW RABY DOWN TO OUR HOUSE Peanut Buck Peanut WHO BRUNG IT? DOCTOR M'GOWAN RRUNG IT. WE TAKE FROM HIM TOO, Unhealthy gums denoted. by tenderness and bleeding INHEALTHY soil kills the best SM of wheat. Un- healthy gumskill the best of teeth To keep the teeth sound keep the gums well. ‘Watch for tender and the body as well as the teeth, Not only do the gums recede and cause the teeth to de- cay, loosen and fall cut, but the infecting Pyorrhea germs lower the body’svitality and cause many serious To avoid Pyorthea, visit your denuist fre- quently for tooth and Gums wil prevent Pyocthea—or check 18 pores ied for special treat- ment. 3Se and 60 tubes in U.S. and Can. FORHAN Co. New York Forhan‘s, Ltd, ‘Montreal l Tatéy Popular Sue) Also packed in half or pound tall ton London Smoking Mixture ee Theres something about it you'll like Alt your Dealers or Sample on request Fath SoCacew CeIn. rreo Broadway New York Hoards N aged bibliomaniac, He stoppeth one of three; “1 seek for ancient magazines To fill my sets,” quoth he. “I've hunted high, I've hunted low At bookstores second-hand, I've tried the men who peddle junk, But nowhere in the land “Can' I find trace of what I need To make my scts complete. My search for periodicals Seems doomed to meet defeat.” “What ho!! What ho! You aged man,” The stranger then replied, “Go forth, go forth as I direct, And do not turn: aside. “Go, seek the dentist's waiting-room, The doctor's office, too, And on their tables shall ye find The stuff ye have in view! “Ye shall find Godey's Lady's Book Of 1817, And Golden Hours and Lippincotts’ And Su ‘inton’s Magazine. “Ye'll find the New And Puck of '04, With all the musty almanacs From centuries of yore. York Ledger there “So go and loot those waiting-rooms I'm giving you the hint— And you shall find whatever is Completely out of print.” The old man did as he was bid; He filled his sets, and then He sold the rest of what he found To junk and garbage-men. This made him rich. But dentist folk And doctors gazed upon Their waiting-rooms and never knew That anything was gone! Berton Braley. EUROPE Parties enrolling now. Most interesting routes. TEMPLE TOURS “They WORK while you sleep” Best Laxative for Men, Women and Children. 10, 25, 50c—drugstores. for Motorists-men and wom Hays Superseam Glove “FPS , comicbooks