Life — March 8, 1906 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Life Magazine, March 8, 1906: "At His Own Game" The main cartoon depicts a wealthy American millionaire attempting to enter what appears to be the gates of Heaven or an exclusive club, but being stopped by St. Peter. The millionaire argues he should be admitted, while St. Peter responds that entry requires a halo—which the millionaire lacks. The millionaire then offers a cynical bargain: he'll provide half a halo if St. Peter furnishes the other half, suggesting he can buy his way into heaven through deals and bribes, just as he conducts business on Earth. This is social satire mocking wealthy industrialists of the Gilded Age era, criticizing their assumption that money can purchase moral redemption or entrance into exclusive spaces—even divine ones. The joke suggests such materialistic approach to spirituality is fundamentally corrupt.