Life, 1909-03-11 · page 9 of 36
Life — March 11, 1909 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains a satirical cartoon about fashion and vanity. The illustration shows a man admiring himself in a mirror while a woman stands nearby, with dialogue mocking his concern about wearing a large hat or accessory. The accompanying text discusses a dressmaker who "got a bank cashier looking like a 'C. Q. D.'" (a distress signal), and contrasts two types of geniuses: one who wears expensive accessories versus another named Whizkins who "does not wear long hair" but has money and "seems to live well." The satire targets masculine vanity and the absurdity of men obsessing over fashionable accessories. The final joke implies that true genius isn't about appearance or following fashion trends, but about practical intelligence and financial success—a commentary on early 20th-century status anxiety.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
WF; » be Mir ID. “OF ALL THE DING-DOG-BAT—WHAT IN THUNDER MEN WANT TO WEAR SUCH THINGS FoR 18—UMPH—J'Il GET THAT IN THAT EYE OR I'LL EAT—STOP DRAWING IN YOUR BREATH, MAN, AND SWELLING YOURSELF UP! CAN'T YoU SEE HANG 1T!—THERE GOES MY THUMBNAIL, RIGHT OFF SHORT——’" 100K I'M SIMPLY F English sparrow’s wings were worth $100 each, no oF HIZKINS is a real genius,” woman's hat would be complete without a pair. says the admiring friend “But he does not wear long hair, a clean linen, always has money in his pockets HEN it comes to making figures lie, a dressmaker has live well,"’ differs the: other. got a bank cashier looking like a “C. Q. D."’ a thou- “That's true. sand miles from shore. 's has on nd seems to And don’t you see, he must be a genius to be able to do all that and still be a genius?" comicbooks.com