Life, 1911-05-11 · page 14 of 44
Life — May 11, 1911 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The main cartoon depicts an absurdly elaborate automobile overflowing with passengers, animals, and contraptions—satirizing the "craze for joy riding," a early 1900s phenomenon where car ownership became a status symbol of wealth and leisure. The accompanying text mocks excessive consumer spending and fashion snobbery. It advertises ridiculously expensive wardrobes (twelve hundred dollars for camp clothes, ten thousand for annual upkeep) with pretentious descriptions of garments for golf and rowing. The satire targets upper-class Americans' obsession with conspicuous consumption and ever-changing fashions. The small cartoon captioned "Mrs. Goat" shows a woman regretting marrying a poor man, reinforcing the page's theme: wealth determines social standing and happiness. The closing motto, "America for the Americans," ironically undercuts the elitist content, suggesting satire of wealthy Americans' self-importance and disconnect from ordinary citizens.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Mem mtaen Cave. THE CRAZE FOR JOY RIDING REACHES HUCKLERERRY CENTRE ceive a sct of patterns guaranteed to be worth 89 cents outfits, bathing suits, traveling costumes and athletic lingerie. mailed free to any part of the United States. We want every For golf we recommend our brassie suit made of Irish lace woman and child in the country to belong. passementerie, cut bias, with harem skirt effect, short sleeves, Our summer styles are just out. These include brides’ the whole ornamented with’ jet ornaments. Some of our latest effects for infants will be appreciated by all mothers who have the interest of their children at heart. For rowing, a green grenadine is the popular thin should be cut high in the neck and made to fit closely over the shoulder blade These costumes are, of course, entirely different from anything hitherto in vogue, but that is the idea. We are here to give the men a sensation. Unless this glorious result can he accomplished we would be a failure. re you sending your daughters away to camp this sum- mer? We furnish a complete wardrobe for twelve hundred dollars, including hair ribbons, We have just received a request from a lady in Chicago asking what a lady can dress upon in a year and still keep up appearances In reply we will say that it all depends upon what circle you move mm. For ten thousand dollars we can give you a splendid start—even if your husband is not sup- Mrs Goat. ou, witat A FOOL T Was To MARRY sUCIT A porting himself. HARD UPADED FLLLow ! Our motto 1s “ America for the Americans” It has been comicbooks.com