Life, 1927-11-17 · page 16 of 48
Life — November 17, 1927 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Life* magazine contains two unrelated pieces: **"The Gay Nineties"** (top): A satirical illustration mocking theatrical melodrama of the 1890s. The caption describes how a battered dressmaker's dummy was repeatedly repurposed as a prop in amateur home theatricals—used for "hectic drama" with costumes, bolts of material, and theatrical excess. The joke targets the overwrought sentimentality and recycled props of period amateur theater productions. The humor lies in the dummy's degraded condition after such repeated abuse. **"The Message"** (bottom): A classical scene depicting Demosthenes and Lagos, with Demosthenes receiving what appears to be an urgent message. This appears to be a literary or historical narrative piece rather than satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Gay Nineties ABOUT TWICE A YEAR, BACK IN THE “MADE-BY-LOVIN’-HANDS-TO-HUM” NINETIES, THE BATTERED OLD DRESSMAKER’S DUMMY WAS TOTED DOWN FROM THE ATTIC TO PLAY THE LEADING ROLE IN A HECTIC DRAMA, THEN THE DRESSMAKER ARRIVED AND FOR DAYS THE HOUSEHOLD REVERBERATED TO TALK OF GORES, GUSSETS AND GIMPS, BOLTS OF MATERINL AND YARDS OP DUSTBRAID, WHALEBONE, WaAIST- , LACK AND LINING WERE SLASHED AND BASTED AND GRADUALLY TOOK THE siApE or Harper's 1y’s LATEST FASHION HINT. BUT EVEN APTER THE DRESSMAKER HAD GONE MATTERS DID NOT IMMEDIATELY RETURN TO NORMALCY, POR THERE WERE STILL MYRIADS OF HOOKS AND EYES TO BE SEWN ON BY THR PAMILY. Nobody EVER ALLOWED A DRESSMAKER AT A DOLLAR SEVENTY-FIVE A DAY TO DO THINGS LIKE that. SO REALLY IT WAS SEVERAL WEEKS BEFORE IT WAS SAFE FOR PS THER TO WALK ABOUT ON HIS BARE FEET. The Message EMOSTHENES. strode along Lagos kept silent, not daring to dis- “Go!” he cried, his voice booming the beach, his robes fluttering turb the master’s trend of thought, high above the roar of the waves. in the wind, his great brow furrowed ing to break the thread of some “C And tell King Philip that I in deepest meditation. Lagos, his intricate speculation, waiting for the certainly agree with Olympias that friend and disciple, followed him, al- message that was to shake the world. Athenian (They're Roasted) Ci ways a step or two in the . At last Demosthenes turned to him. rettes are the Best.” 4. Watkins. comicbooks.com