Life, 1927-10-06 · page 35 of 40
Life — October 6, 1927 — page 35: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Life magazine page (page 33) combines satirical poetry with period advertisements, reflecting early-20th-century consumer culture. **Left side**: "A Burst Ball" is a humorous poem about inflating a foil ball for charity, taking pride in its perfect spherical shape, then being disappointed when it deflates. It's gentle domestic satire about vanity and futile effort. Below sits a quip attributing to "Jep Tuxkins" (likely a made-up name for comedic effect) that divorces are becoming common—implying smart people should avoid marriage. This reflects contemporary anxiety about rising divorce rates. **Right side**: Two advertisements—Murine eye drops (claiming 80% of movie stars use it) and **Arrow Collars**, which argues starched collars signal urban sophistication and professional respectability, while soft collars belong only to golf courses and rural settings. The ads reveal period class anxieties: appearance as social marker, celebrity endorsement as marketing tool, and strict grooming codes distinguishing city from country life.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A Burst Ball toa Mt fi P my neighbour When I fashioned that spheroid of foil, ye often obser mired it, “How glad they will be! As a mother who watches with ple asure Her infant progressing in size, ei And viewed it with How I smacked it ar To ensure # more spherical state! How often T bade my acquaintances hold it And guess at its weight ns faded, lemnly told ever be rumpled or rolled. then, my darlings appear- z its lamina flat, 1 stnelter’s absurd inter- at's that! Jep Texxixs says divorces have be- no smart people will avoid them. -Washington Sta of the screen use | this eye beautifier | 80% of movie stars questioned say they use Murine to keep their eyes always clear and luminous, and to relieve eye strain caused by work- ing under glaring lights. Use this harmless lotion to improve youreyes' Mueine EYES THIS IS THE NEW ARROW TREND Starched Collars are back. Back on the necks of men who occupy places in this world where appearances count. Soft collars are all right on the Links or in the Country. But in the City Well, it just isn’t the thing. To impress favorably you must wear Starched Collars. ARROW COLLARS comicbooks.com