Life, 1924-01-10 · page 38 of 44
Life — January 10, 1924 — page 38: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page combines advertisements with satirical content typical of early 20th-century *Life* magazine. The main satire, "Author-Shops," mocks the modern trend of reading book *reviews* instead of actual books. The author suggests that people now climb escalators rather than stairs, take correspondence courses instead of college, and read reviews in their coat pockets rather than carry books. The piece satirizes the growing laziness and shortcut-taking of contemporary society, warning that books will soon be sold "ready-made" like clothing, fitted by salesmen showing customers files of reviews rather than actual manuscripts. The satire suggests this convenience culture will ultimately discourage both readers and writers. "1984: A Glimpse into the Future" presents a humorous speculative letter imagining 1984 as absurdly futuristic—featuring divorce parties, elephant hunting in Africa, and travel via "blimp." It's light social satire on upper-class frivolity. The page otherwise contains period advertisements for Wilbur's Chocolate, Conn Saxophones, and dandruff treatment—typical commercial content of the era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Exaguisrte MORSELS of Vanilla Chocolate, wrapped in pure tin foil. Delicious as sun-ripened fruit. A delightful food-con- fection for the entire family. Tempting to the last piece. If your dealer cannot supply you, end * Sicoforapondben. H. O, Wasvua & Sons, Inc., Phila., Pa Makers of Wilbur's Cocoa - LIFE - Author-Shops Tus is an age when people read book-reviews and walk up escalators, and that precocious youngster who wanted to know what they did with time when they saved it ought to be taken out to the woodshed. Once a person, to know what a book 1 to be able to carry round with him some respectable sort of opin- contained a ion of the contents, was compelled to go through the tedious process of read- the be may step r instead of climbing the as he now, ing n escal stairs, or step into a correspondence course instead of going to college, he step on a book-review instead of book. Ars ng the brevis It is easy to see that books will soon be regarded as souvenirs of a backward The reviewer has given us some- thi it saves us time and labor, . we shall ng better and when reviews are boun be able to carry around whole libraries in our coat pockets. It is but a step from this to the ideal time when books will be put on the market like clothes: only the poor will buy them ready-made, the fashionable reputable writer and will go to son be fitted; ymers will appear at the d ask to be shown some bookings, and the sales- men will place before them a file con- taining the reviews of the embryo books the read d g over-read, enefit everybody ; m th This w ing public will be saved fr comfort resulting from be and the writing public irom the dis- couragement of wasting a whole week ne is of existence in writing a book no going to buy 1984: A Glimpse into the Future (Portrayed in a letter from Kitty Lingerwell, of Park Lane, London, to John Spifleton, of East Fifty-secand Street, New York City.) Dear Jack: Just a line to ask you to dine with us on Tuesday at half-past ten. The Bufileys are giving a divorce party afterward. Town is rather empty just now, as one’s run down to Mombasa for the elephant hunting over the week- and of course, to-morrow is the A few of us ng over for the day Grace Twinkleson is being married for the seventh time, this afternoon. If you must be back in New York on Thursday, do let Harry Whiffletree take you in his new blimp. He's leav- ing Wednesday noon. ing Sweepstakes Yours on the crest, Kitty L. Friday. | —master Conn Saxophone ook Taal The saxophone is to- day’s most popular in- strument. Witha Conn you can learn the scale in one hour opular music in a short time. Entertain yourselfand friends—make more money. Saxophonists are in demand for orchestra and solo work. This Free Book explains exclusive features which make the Conn saxophone easiest to play, beautiful in tone, reliable in action. Tells why world famous artists such as Isham Jones, Paul Biese and scores more prefer the Conn’ | Free Trial; Easy Payments on any Conn instrument fot band or orchestra. Send now for Free Book and details, C. G. CONN, Ltd. 121 Conn Building Elkhart, Indiana THR PRONT —Yale Record. An Easy Way to Remove Dandruff If you want plenty of thick, beautiful, glossy, silky hair, do by all means get rid of dandruff, for it will starve your hair and ruin it if you don't. _The best way to get rid of dandruff is to dissolve it. To do this, just apply a little Liquid Arvon at night before retiring; use enough to moisten the scalp, and rub it in gently with the finger tips. By morning, most, if not all, of your dandruff will be gone, and three or four | more applications should completely re- | moye every ign and trace of it. You will find, too, that all itching of the scalp will stop, and your hair will look and feel a hundred times better. You can get Liquid Arvon at any drug store. A four- ounce bottle is usually all that is needed. The R. L. Watkins Ce., Cleveland, Odie, comicbooks.com