Life, 1924-06-19 · page 27 of 40
Life — June 19, 1924 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This 1916 *Life* magazine page satirizes two targets: **"Ye Merrie Jeste"** mocks the Colonial Revival fad—tearoom owners adopting fake-archaic "Ye Olde" names (like "Ye Wylted Celerie Inn"). The article jokes that this quaint aesthetic trend, while confined to tearooms, should spread absurdly to all businesses: undertakers, barbershops, and tire repair shops with ridiculous pseudo-medieval names. It's satire on affectation and commercialized nostalgia. **"The People's Choice"** presents Anthony Horace McFife, apparently a political candidate, through cartoons showing his character traits: he's practical, pro-labor (supports high wages, low rents), favors home ownership, and represents "the people." The accompanying verse endorses him as a man of common sense and populist values. This appears to be campaign material or political endorsement disguised as humorous character sketches—advocacy wrapped in cartoon form.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Ye Merrie Jeste N those sections of the 1 where there is at least one tearoom {c each jal bed in which Washington such q lightful signs as “Ye Wylted Celeri Inn” and “Ye Signe of Ye Anzmic Choppe” show the urge for beauty that is upon us Throughout New tryside is liberally these brilliant advance gui e renaissance, almost as liberally a littered with stray ban cores, fragments of sandwiches, pop bottles, newspapers and other m evidences of the older order in national life. It would be unfortunate if these col orful additions to our scheme of exist- should be limited to tearooms, inns and roadhouses. The scope of this sig v ant movement should be broadened. so that at no far-distant day we may walk about city streets and gaze on such evidences of our love for the be tiful as Ye Quainte Undertaker’s Ye Daffodille Glue Fact Ye Redde Jowle Barber Ye Golden Dawne M Ye Better Days Pawr Ye of Ye Aching Ye Boote Legge Reste Ye Whyte Or. Fishmongerie Ye Sweete Lilac Floppe Jointe e Signe of Ye Flatte Tyre about this es K. McGuinness. The First Hundred Words A KEYNOTE speech is one that be gins on page one and is continued on page ten among the second-hand saxophone ads. The People’s Choice When ha Anthony Horace McFife a day's work in his life ds for the the Mellon taxatior For he’s warmly The widows and orphans, the poor of the natior He stands for He loves the poor farmer, but thinks it a pity A full dinner pa He never had sense to move into the city He prom ccor with ju “Be practical,” Anthony says; “it is best He'll soothe frenzied To train our young men for the Edison test.” He stands f He knows naught of art. but he says that he guesses But in certain emerger He'd like the Greek goddesses better in dresses As level as water, as straight as His personal habits are all to the mustard— His favorite revel is coffce and custard; comicbooks.com