Life, 1923-09-06 · page 14 of 40
Life — September 6, 1923 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page presents a poem by George S. Chappell contrasting old and modern tennis. The illustrated sketches show tennis players in action—men and women in athletic poses with rackets. The poem's satire critiques how tennis has evolved from a genteel Victorian pastime ("placid operation / With frequent pauses for iced tea / And cake and conversation") played by leisured aristocrats in formal dress into a modern, internationally competitive sport played with serious athleticism across nations. The final stanza welcomes players from "Briton or Anzac, Belgian brave" to compete on a "World Lawn-tennis Court / And Friendly League of Nations"—referencing post-WWI international cooperation and global athletic competition as a hopeful alternative to conflict. The artwork emphasizes tennis's transformation from drawing-room recreation to vigorous sport.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Lf An Outline of Tennis IME was when tennis used to be A placid operation With frequent pauses for iced tea And cake and conversation. ir damsels clad in snowy white Made ineffectual dashes, And gentlemen were bravely bright In blazer-coats and sashes. That ancient game has passed away In sentimental glory, And tennis as it’s played to-day Is quite another story. It spreads about our planet's girth; On broad athletic pinions The game flies up and down the earth To all its vast dominions. Briton or Anzac, Belgian brave, Of Latin blood or Saxon, We welcome you across the wave With whistle, bell and klaxon, And meeting on the Field of Sport *Mid pleasant recreations, We have our World Lawn-tennis Court And Friendly League of Nations. George S. Chappell. comicbooks.com