Life, 1911-09-07 · page 16 of 44
Life — September 7, 1911 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes American marital advice and international diplomacy through a humorous "Husbands' Correspondence Bureau" narrative. The text mockingly describes the author's visits to European royalty—a Portuguese princess and the Russian Czar—offering them domestic advice as if they were ordinary clients needing marriage counseling. The top cartoon illustrates "The Right Kind of Protection," showing chaos with overflowing domestic troubles and disputes, contrasting with the bureau's promise of orderly solutions. The satire targets several things: American arrogance in offering unsolicited advice to foreign leaders; the emerging marriage-counseling industry; and gender dynamics of the era, where wives control husbands' finances and social lives. The advertisement for the "Husbands' Correspondence Bureau" (available "day and night") mocks both marital discord and commercialized solutions to personal problems. The bottom illustration from "1620 to 1920" appears historical/decorative, possibly contrasting past and present.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
gret very much to say that Portugal, although Princess 4 king's great-aunt, sent for us, rived too late to do much for the young king. If he could have come on to New York, where he could have been under the personal supervision of our enter- tainment committee, we might have straightened him out; as it is, his marital affairs, while not widely advertised, are not in the most satisfactory condition. His great mistake was in wishing to marry above him, as we explained to his aunt. In Russia we called on the Czar, and ventured, during our brief stay, to give him words of encouragement and ad- vice, In our opinion the Czar has been much misjudged. Although we were we ar- -presett only a few moments, he gave us such a long list of domestic troubles that our eyes involuntarily filled with tears. Considering’ thg.condition of the empire and all the ‘circumstances, we agreed to let him have our full corre- spondence course—including a free copy of “One Thousand Ways to Leave Home "—at half price. What he really needs is a good long ation, away from the office, where he "t hear a telephone ring or be shot at by some total stranger who passes. A few wecks in our Summer Camp for Husbands in the Adirondacks would do him a world of good. We have returned home’ with a com- fortable feeling that after all the lot of 1620 TO 1920 FOUND IN THE RUINS OF NEW YORK CITY the American husband is not so bad. It is true that half the time—when he is away from his wife—he is afraid to say that his soul is his own, and that the other half—while in her presence— passionately. denies that he has a soul; that he has no time to cultivate his mind, because he is trying to provide her with clothes. But after all there are compensations. For one thing, he is within easy reach of this Bureau. Re- member that we are open day and night. The slightest sign of trouble with your wife, if the affair is placed in our hands, will call forth all of our im mse re- sources, at moderate prices. Call, write or wire. Husbands’ Correspondence Bureau. comicbooks.com