Life, 1927-04-07 · page 56 of 59
Life — April 7, 1927 — page 56: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon parodies the absurdist effect of modern advertising by rewriting the nursery rhyme "Little Boy Blue" as pseudo-Latin poetry composed entirely of brand names and advertising slogans—Sapolio, Cadillac, Frigidaire, Pepsodent, Halitosis, etc. The satire targets how American magazines of the 1920s bombarded readers with product advertisements, making the commercial language so ubiquitous it becomes meaningless nonsense. The Latin framing device (attributing the poem to "Leander T. De Celles" and setting it in ancient Rome) heightens the absurdity: classical literature has been replaced by marketing jargon. The accompanying illustration shows a fashionably dressed woman with a car—herself a walking advertisement. The joke is that consumer culture has invaded and corrupted even high culture and literature.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
HE comfort and luxury of a private car—the rarity of an English- | speaking courier chauffeur abroad—the charm and delight of | knowing that you are utterly independent and carefree—all this may befor you. Send for the booklet, “Europe by Motor”. Read about the 115 prearranged tours at your disposal! They range from half day excursions to prolonged trips of weeks or months, and include urope hy olor i" the well koowe pisces of interest on the Continent, the British les and North Africa. HE booklet, “Your Tour to Europe”, offersa series of tours which may be taken either with parties conducted by experienced leaders, or by independent travel with itineraries that may be modi- fied to fit individual preferences. These combine motor, motorcoach, and railroad travel and insure special features that afford you intimate glimpses of life off the beaten track. Every detail of your trip arranged in advance, eliminating all the usual worries of foreign transportation. FRANCO-BELGIQUE TOURS CO., LTD. Box L4, 1440 Broadway Corner 40th Sireet New York, N.Y. AN FEL VA | Life is dell worth living x all the time, AT THE “™ BREAKERS foremost hotel on the boardalk, a” \ ATLANTI D CITY LITTLE BOY BLEW. (An ode of Horace written after he had read the back of a moder, American magazine. Fragments found in a bean pot in the Appian Way while constructing Mussolini's subway under Rome.) [t* sapolio tonsilitis simplex Iodent congoleum speedex, Cadillac tuxedo erysipelas rex, Delco castoria. camera Bakelite rem radio amrad ansco Rebus auditorium naphtha filmo, Pontiac linoleum lax tobacco, Phantasmagoria! Mazda Mussolini aladdin villa, Frigidaire calox duco coca cola, Pyorrhea flux prophylactic asthma Stucco tomato. Pepsodent fatima arguto reo, Halitosis domino pax oleo, Mecca cantilever phoenix curio Fyrax mulatto! Leander T. De Celles. “I Never Lose My Temper” SHE: Losing your temper is a very bad thing, don’t you think it is? He: Oh, absolutely. Sue: I make it a rule never to let anything really make me lose my temper. He: That's a good plan, all right. Sue: I think it just shows you what a person really is at heart when they lose their temper, don’t you? He: Absolutely: _ Sue: It makes me simply furious when people get mad with you just over some little trifling thing. I It is trying, all right. Sue: Trying? Why, it makes me simply raging. I mean I get so mad I could spit! Lloyd Mayer. Now He Wishes He Hadn't “In reading works of fiction we have become so accustomed to conventions that we hardly notice how often they con- tradict reality. In many novels I have read T have been introduced to respect- able women with scarlet lips, whereas in life I never saw a really good woman with such labial curiosities.” -William Lyon Phelps, i “Besays on Books,” 1913. Tuenr is said to be a conspiracy to keep a certain musical comedy off the London stage. This is the first plot we have ever heard of in connection with a musical comedy.—London Opinion. “Cueven, isn't she?” “Oh, yes! Why, she is so bright that she can say cute things over the tele phone."—Kansas City Star. comicbooks.com