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Life, 1925-01-01 · page 31 of 37

Life — January 1, 1925 — page 31: what you’re looking at

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Life — January 1, 1925 — page 31: Life, 1925-01-01

What you’re looking at

This page contains satirical humor typical of 1920s *Life* magazine. The main feature is "We Interview Mr. Sims," which parodies obsessive collecting culture through absurdist humor. Mr. Sims of Seattle has built an entire museum dedicated to old razor blades—supposedly enough to stretch from London, England to London, Ontario if laid end-to-end. The satire targets several things: the collecting mania of the era, how marriage supposedly "settles" people into domesticity, and the earnest seriousness with which wealthy hobbyists pursued their collections. The joke is that Sims treats used razor blades with the reverence typically reserved for fine art or artifacts, having constructed bathrooms and an entire museum to house them. The accompanying cartoons and advertisements are standard period content—domestic humor ("Switchcraft" about a wife), product ads (Bellans indigestion tablets, water filters), and shipping line advertisements. The page reflects 1920s anxieties about modernity, home life, and consumer culture presented through gentle mockery.

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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

graces the table and adds sparkle to the smartest functions, here and abroad. “The Queen of Table Waters” Sole Importers: Apoliinaris Agency Co., Fifth Avenne at 42nd Street, New York But Don't Tell ‘Em I Told You you've fallen in love with a maiden, And have lost both your heart and your head, n't go to the men for your counsel; Consult with the women instead. r men will agree with a lover, And affirm what the lover prefer, t you'll learn more about her from women, Phan you'll “learn about women from her.” A. EB. N. G. Switchcraft Tur Brine (at the telephone): Oh, do come home. I've mixed the The radio is all vered with frost and the electric c-box is singing “’Way Out West Kansas.” gs in some way. KOBLER AIR AND WATER PEARL PIPE of the smoke 19% Nicotin, 85% Pyridin, yalac. $5.90. Literature free. Nooler & Co, bec, $94 26tb SL, Gettenberg, West New Yerk, N. J. lief 6 BELLANS Hot water Sure Relief SELL-ANS FOR INDIGESTION 25¢ AND 75¢ PACKAGES EVERYWHERE * LIFE We Interview Mr. Sims TuroucH the courtesy of the Rotary Club, we were accorded an interview with Mr. Addison Sims of Seattle, whose collection of old razor blades, if placed end to end, would reach from London, England, to London, Ontario, with stop-overs. To our first question, “When did you begin collecting?” Mr. Sims re- plied: “With my first shave. But,” he continued, “it was not till I was married that I became a serious collector. At first I simply threw them on top of the medicine chest in my bathroom. But when I was married, I moved into my OWN HOME.” He paused, “I should like to say right here and now that the spirit of the home is being kept alive to-day by no one so much as the razor-blade collector. You ask me why? Because—once a collection assumes important proportions, the collector can’t move—he must keep that HOME! But, to continue,” he said, “for some time I adhered to my old careless way—just throwing the blades on the cabinet, without a thought for the future. But one day I woke up and found that I had no space left— not room for even one single, solitary blade. I met the emergency tempora- rily by installing extra medicine cabinets—with large, roomy tops—and later I put in more bathrooms—with two chests in each, “But before long I was face to face with the same old situation—no more room! What to do—what to do? A larger house? Impossible. More bath- rooms? Mere temporizing. Throw them away? Where could I have thrown them? Stop shaving? Have you ever met my wife? No—it was a serious moment in my life. Something had to be done. “And it was then that I became a serious collector, I built the Sims Museum, and to-day you can see, in shining rows, my collection of old safety razor blades—thousands of them. “I had but one regret—my collection was incomplete. My first blades, abandoned so thoughtlessly upon my marriage, were missing. But collector's eles San Frandisco Sailing from From San Francisco New York via Los Angeles jan. 8 KROONLAND Jan. 31 jan. 22 FINLAND eb. 15 eb. 12 MANCHURIA Jan. 17 Apply Dept. C, No. 1 Broadway, New York; 460 Market Street, Sant Francisco, or any authorized steamship agent. PANAMA Paciric LINE luck was with me. I returned to my bachelor home and there, on the top of the chest,—rusty, dusty, but untouched— they lay. I bore them to my Museum in triumph. “Yes,” he answered our question, “I have had many offers of other col- lections, but for the present the Sims Collection suffices.” “Just one more question,” we begged. “Is your problem solved now? Is the Museum the end?” “Ah! As to that,” said Mr. “well—I—er—I'm having a new wing built on next month. Sims, Good morning.” Patricia Collinge. . \ wea) THE AUTOMOBILE SPFEDER TAKES THE BABY OUT FOR AN AIRING comicbooks.com