Life, 1927-05-05 · page 44 of 46
Life — May 5, 1927 — page 44: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is not political satire but a **Mother's Day promotional advertisement** (May 8th). The page celebrates the emerging practice of sending flowers by telegraph for Mother's Day—a relatively new service offered by the Florists Telegraph Delivery Association. The narrative describes a son named Dave, working at a lumber mill in North Carolina, sending flowers to his mother via this delivery service. The central image shows an elderly woman receiving and arranging a bouquet of roses. The advertisement promotes: - **Flower telegraphing** as a modern convenience for distant sons and daughters - **Carnations as "Mother's own flower"** with symbolic color meanings: red for living mothers, white for deceased ones - A free care-and-arrangement book from the Society American Florists The "satire" is gentle social commentary on family separation and modern convenience—poking mild fun at Mother's predictable response to put all flowers in one vase, while celebrating the technology enabling emotional connection across distance.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
fad | Nf iF 5 : \ lothers Day F ye mentees ie Tr Sunday, May Sth Pp Wountaine af Noh ‘Canke | i Jack's weekly letter is postmarked | at efath 4 Seattle, and Rose is at that East- | jay itil “lowers ern Finishing School. “ “ a trio of long three little cards, each with a cherished greeting and a huge bouquet of beauty, sparkling in the sunshine of a glorious Sunday morning. Of course Mother put all of the flowers in one big, roomy vase. That's just the sort of thing a Mother would think of, isn’t it? Telegraphing of flowers was started by the Florists Telegraph Delivery Association. Thousands of members send flowers every- where. Send fr || Ais Book, Send roe for beautiful belpful book: How to Care for Flow ers. Society American Florists, 247 Park Avenue, N. ¥. Ce Carnations are Mother's own flower. Wear them Sunday in her honor. A cheery red blossom is for you who know the joy of Mother's presence; a pure white one if her face is but a cherished memory. comicbooks.com |