Life, 1902-12-25 · page 21 of 77
Life — December 25, 1902 — page 21: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **contest advertisement**, not a political cartoon. Life magazine published 15 sketched portraits of young women's faces by illustrator C.D. Gibson (famous for the "Gibson Girl" ideal), each labeled only by number. Readers were challenged to match each face to her corresponding "type" from a numbered list—including categories like "His Fiancée," "The Girl Who Bores Him," "His Sister's Chum," and "The Girl He Loves." For five dollars (a year's subscription to Life), contestants received a Gibson print valued at two dollars, plus the chance to win $500 by correctly identifying the most faces. The contest closed January 15, 1903. **The satire**: This mocks early-1900s romantic archetypes and masculine anxieties about women—the implicit joke being that women's social roles were so standardized that their "type" could be read from appearance alone. It's less about individual women than about commodifying and categorizing femininity.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Who Are They? THEY ARE jancee - ir] He Flirte With 9. ‘The, Ols1 Hie Mother Wante im to Marry ister b rh ith Mon: i Bores Him a ited i 10, Hi iis Sirs: Lovee" Silteas if; The Oi He Gols with |. His Sister's Chum |. His Platonic Friend . The Girl Ho Loves -You Will Receive $500.00 if you can tell which is which, now known only to the Editor of LIFE, who has marked each face with its proper number, and placed the picture in a sealed envelope to be opened January 15, 1903, on which date the contest closes. The person who identifies the greatest number of the young women will receive a prize of $500. Should more than one identify an equal number, the prize will be divided. WHAT WE DO WHAT YOU MUST DO We send you LIFE for a year. Tear out this page and mark each face with the number in the list which belongs to her. Mail the marked page to us WITH FIVE DOLLARS, We send you by return express, prepaid, a proof of the price of a year’s subscription to LIFE. Subscriptions C. D. Gibson's exquisite picture, “Has She a Heart? may begin at any time. This is hand printed on Japan paper, 15x20, matted, ready No page received after January 15, 1903, will be con- for framing, and sells at $2.00, sidered. We give you the opportunity of getting the $500. IN ANY EVENT you secure seven dollars in value for your payment of five dollars, and in addition may secure the $500. The result will be published in LIFE of January 29, 1903. Life Publishing Company, - 19 West Thirty-First Street, New York City comicbooks.com