Life — January 12, 1905 — page 7: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 43 This page contains two distinct sections: **Left side** ("Society" / "Handsome Costumes at the Auto Show"): A fashion commentary describing elaborate costumes worn by wealthy women at an automobile show, featuring specific details about jewels, fabrics, and accessories. The humor lies in the extravagant excess—diamonds, pearls, ermine, and thousand-dollar hats—satirizing high society's competitive display of wealth. **Right side** ("A Bargain in Wives"): A short story about a man shopping for a wife, apparently from a marriage broker. The satire treats matrimony as a commercial transaction, with the clerk offering a "twenty-year bargain" wife. The humor critiques both mercenary marriage practices and male attitudes toward women as purchasable commodities—a common satirical target in early 20th-century publications. Both sections mock wealthy society's materialism and questionable values.