Life, 1909-12-23 · page 9 of 28
Life — December 23, 1909 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The top illustration depicts a domestic scene where a woman tends to a bedridden man while guests arrive. The caption references "Louise Jebb" and "Tom," with dialogue about worrying—suggesting a satirical commentary on a specific social situation or relationship, though the exact reference is unclear without additional context. Below, "Business Troubles" mocks **Santa Claus** as a failed businessman and "voluntary bankrupt." The text satirizes his inability to modernize his operations, attributing his financial collapse to outdated methods and resistance to contemporary business practices. This appears to be a humorous commentary on old-fashioned commercial enterprises struggling against modern competition and efficiency standards—using the beloved Christmas figure as an ironic vehicle for the critique.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
SS XS COMFORTING THE SICK Louise Mary: 1 pip. AND TYLL TOM NOT TO WOKRY AMOUT ME. ME SAID HE WOULDN'T, THE MowRID RRUTE!" Business Troubles ANTA CLAUS, formerly and for many years a well known and popular distributor of juvenile happiness, is a vol untary bankrupt. Santa Claus was probably the biggest advertiser in the trade, and while his winning personality and unique methods enabled him to build up a large and apparently successful business, his predilection to expensive chimneys and repeated failures to “deliver the goods"? undoubtedly cost him the loyalty of a certain class of patrons, though a few continued to trust him. While the old fellow is known to have had pretty hard sledding for some time, the direct cause of the failure was inability to adjust himself to modern conditions and success- fully cope with infantile skepticism and growing parental competition. His assets consisting of good will (subject to considerable shrinkage), an antiquated sleigh, and a few old reindeer thar would shy at a toy auto, will he sold at public auction De- cember at 4a. m., to satisfy several million small claims against the estate W. F. R. Brothers ! IND MAN: Madam, won't you take this seat? Lavy: I cannot deceive you, but I am a suffragette Kixp Max: Then sit in my lap. WOMAN who is improved by paint needs it so badly that nothing can make her attractive comicbooks.com