Life, 1908-04-09 · page 19 of 20
Life — April 9, 1908 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a satirical dating game where readers choose hypothetical marriage partners from five women and five men, then submit four-line rhyming verses explaining their choice for $200 in prizes. The women are characterized by stereotypical desirability markers: wealth, temperament, social status, and appearance. The men similarly combine financial status with personality traits (reliability, domesticity, adventure). The satire targets early 20th-century marriage mercenary attitudes—contestants must justify choices in verse, making explicit the calculating nature of mate selection based on money, social position, and superficial qualities. The contest mock-seriously asks readers to commodify romance, exposing how marriage was often a transactional arrangement rather than an emotional commitment. The deadline (May 18, 1908) and prize structure suggest this was a popular reader-engagement gimmick typical of *Life* magazine's satirical humor about American social conventions.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
1 Very high church. Rich, apoplectic uncle. Kind heart bat irritabls when crossed. Devotée of bridge: Generally ami occasional fits of temper travagant No dowry. Rapid lke le, but has Fond of matinées. 3 Widow, No encumbrances. Gentle, loving disposition. $12.000 a year income, Eco o pomical. Ex. Veryfond of society. Break fast invariably in bed. dowry. Nervous be an actress. $2,000 a year, unencum- dered. Fond of fight fiction Very disorderly. Always late but has a warm beart No Wants to IF YOU HAD TO MARRY ONE OF THESE WOMEN, WHICH WOULD YOU CHOOSE? Life’s Marriage Contest. HIS is a double contest, with two sets of prizes, one for men and the other for women. After selecting your life partner, fill in the following lines, with the reasons for your choice, and return, with your name and address plainly written, to the of Lire, 17 West 1 ely wit. Amusing talker, Seldom at home. Coflce merchant. Bold spec: ulator. to three girls at same Income uncertain. “This competition Is open freely to all who may desire to compete, without change oF consideration of any kind. Was once engaged In each case the answer to be in a four- line verse which ends in any four of the ight words given above. For example, if you are a select the lady marked No. 1 might be as follows. “Kind heart” is good enough for me, You are the one I'll wed., Bridge plaver you can always be Ry “Uncle’s” purse strings led. Two Hundred Dollars to Contestants Or, if you are a woman, your answer may No.3 Dear Millionaixe, your health T know May be, indeed, a cause for woe, In spite of this, still I incline Quite sordidly to make thee mine. For the cleverest three rhymes in the opinion of the editors, Lire will pay, in order of merit, $50, $30 and $20 to cach set testants. he contest will close on May 18, 1908, at noon, ONE OF THESE MEN, WHICH WOULD YOU CHOOSE? Fairly good health. Retired from business. Domestic. Un: sympathetic, but soulof honor Millionaire. time. Poetical temperament. Fond of ladies. At times afiec- tionate. an insurance company. Never long in same busi- ness. Sporting tastes. Fond Salary of $1,200 in of travel. Rather jolly, In- come irregular. Prospective contestants need not be subscribers for LIPE in onder to Ne entitled to compete for the peizes offered comicbooks.com