Life, 1911-07-06 · page 25 of 44
Life — July 6, 1911 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This *Life* magazine page critiques early 20th-century American wealth inequality and urban planning through multiple overlapping satirical pieces. The top illustration depicts a "Mourning" parade float—likely referencing an actual NYC parade—showing wealthy society women and men in elaborate dress. The accompanying text reveals the satire: these "mourners" are actually sixteen-year-old heiresses gambling for stakes, and wealthy arrivals are celebrated with floats depicting divorces and frivolous spectacles. The boxed banners mock the wealthy's detachment: "We are looking for your sympathy... we have our own troubles" and offering millions for "new sensations" and "new foods"—suggesting the rich's endless, superficial desires. The essay "The Need for New Slums" delivers biting sarcasm: it argues New York should demolish and rebuild slums annually to stay fashionable, just as the wealthy constantly renovate Fifth Avenue. This mocks the city's willingness to constantly redevelop wealthy neighborhoods while treating urban poverty as static or inevitable. The "Light-headed" lost-and-found joke plays on an aluminum-headed cane owner—likely satirizing shallow, empty-headed wealthy individuals.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
This was a very popular float, revealing as it did a number of sixteen-year-old millionairesses playing for five dollars a point. The Pet Dog. A wonderful repre- sentation of nurse and dog, showing complete schedule in life of dog from . to 6 pam. with dog’s wardrobe “The Arrival.” This float depicted the arrival of an American millionaire and his wife at a European hotel Five Steps to Divorce. This float showed how divorces are secured and the methods leading up to them Among the banners were the follow- ONE MILLION DOLLARS OFFERED FOR A NEW SENSATION MOURNING FOR THE LIVING AND FOR THE DEAD LOOKING FOR YOUR REMEMBER THAT OUR OWN TROUBLES, WE ARE syM- PATHY, WE AVE TWO MILLIONS FOR THE MAN WHo INVENTS A NEW FOOD Now that this parade has been such an immense success in New York, we understand that it will be copied by every large city throughout the country. Thus the masses will no longer be ar- rayed against the classes. The brother- hood of man is assured + Light-headed OST—A cane belonging to a gentle- man with an aluminum head. The Need for New Slums Fasiions change in everything else, why not in slums? New York, always a leader, has succeeded in estab- lishing some very complete and highly civilized slums. Not for a single mo ment do we deny that fact. They are perhaps the best the world bas ever seen. But is that y reason why we should keep the same ones year after year? That's not the New York way. Ii New York doesn't like some fine building on Fifth avenue or upper Broadwa it comes and up goes a better one be- fore you know it. Consequently the bet- ter parts of the city are always new, novel and noisy. Now Ict us do the same with slums, Then sight-seeing tourists can come back perennially and always feel sure of being horrified by up-to-date horrors. down our comicbooks.com