Life, 1927-10-20 · page 30 of 48
Life — October 20, 1927 — page 30: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**The Cartoon:** "Off-Stage with Famous Vaudevillians—The Seal Trainer's Wife Goes Shopping" depicts a scene in what appears to be a department store or public space, showing a woman (the seal trainer's wife) in an exaggerated pose while other patrons and staff observe. The humor relies on the implied contrast between her dignified husband's profession and her undignified public behavior while shopping. **Context:** In early 20th-century Life magazine, vaudeville was popular entertainment, and "off-stage" glimpses of performers' private lives were satirical fodder. The joke mocks both the pretensions of show business figures and women's shopping habits—a common comedic target of the era. **The Other Content:** The page includes book reviews in verse (typical of Life's format) and a brief joke about Californian weather, representing the magazine's mix of theatrical satire, literary commentary, and short humor pieces.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Rhymed Reviews Off-Stage with Famous Vaudevillians THE SEAL TRAINER'S WIFE GOES SILOPPING, Portrait i O one has ever deceived him re- arding antiques. He can tell of a chair by the lines of the its legs. He can detect a man-made worm hole at one hundred paces. Off hand, he can state the age of an antique bed, and come within a month of being correct. He can find something wrong, and be right about it, with the most taste- fully-clothed attire. He knows the suit, the scarf, even the kerchief, to be worn for any occa- sion. His judgment in such matters is indisputable, His eyes are keen concerning art. man’s Without looking at a gallery list, he can distinguish a Da Vinci from an Andrea del Sarto, a Palma Vecchio from a Rubens, a Holbein from a Memling and a Tintoretto from a Mantegna. His unerring knowledge in all of these is uncanny. But he tells me, in all sincerity, that his fiancée’s complexion is nat- ural. C. Warden La Roe. come here for the I'v Tour! winter. Carirorntan: Well, you've to the wrong place. There's no winter bere. come A Good Woman Frederick A. Stokes Co. By Louis Bromfield ALAS for Mrs. Emma Downes! - For Mr. Bromfield first creates her With selfish pride and rustling gowns, Then grimly grits his teeth and hates her. A strong, self-righteous female Hun Who deemed herself the best of mothers, She ruled and wrecked her only son And spoiled the lives of sundry others. Her son was Philip, dark and slim, Of gentler, finer disposition; His mother briskly married him To Naomi, who ran a mission. They went to Africa, the pair. natives mobbed them, armed. and scre So Philip came y from there And vowed that he was through with preaching. On Philip's vision dawned anew His boyhood friend and playmate, Mary; And Philip wasn’t strictly true To Naomi the missionary. But he and eke his whilom bride Are now as dead as Danny Deever, First Naomi by suicid And Philip, last, by jungle fever. And every grief and every sin And every tragical trilemma And every sad “it might have been!” Was somehow due to righteous Emma. So many novels now I see Whose teachings, rightly under- stood, are How very good the Bad can be, How very, very bad the Good are. Arthur Guiterman, Comment THE Chicago fight has settled at least. one Big Question: next year's bout will be termed the Tunney-Dempsey battle and not the Dempsey-Tunney. _ comicbooks.com