Life, 1911-12-07 · page 40 of 112
Life — December 7, 1911 — page 40: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two satirical pieces about Christmas shopping and attitudes: **Top cartoon:** A wealthy couple (the "Pillages") enters a shop and demands to buy everything in it. Mr. Pillage asks the proprietor the shop's total worth, then simply says he'll take it all. The satire mocks wealthy consumers' casual extravagance and entitlement during the Christmas season. **"Some Christmas Bromidioms":** A collection of common holiday complaints—about procrastination, gift-giving difficulty, wrapping expenses—presented as tired clichés people repeat annually. The satire targets the way Christmas shopping becomes obligatory social performance rather than genuine giving. **Bottom cartoon:** A politician arranges a "monster mass meeting" for Thursday night. When challenged about organizing monsters, he agrees they are monsters. This likely satirizes political rallies or gatherings as morally questionable events, though the specific reference is unclear without more context. Overall, the page mocks Christmas commercialism, shallow social conventions, and political hypocrisy through humor.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
aid ——& Wy oy Mrs. Pillage: rook LITTLE DEAR. ME WANTS EVERYTHING. Mr, Pillage (to proprietor): wuat’s YouR EN (oP WORTH? Proprietor: WELL—ER—I'M NOT SURE} ABO Mr. Pillage: \'LU TAKE 17. PIERREPONT, YOU CAN PLAY Now, Some Christmas Bromidioms “Oh, I never give my husband a Christmas present.” “7 ES, I always mean to get my shopping done early, but “TI wouldn’t mind Christmas if it weren’t for writing the Y : . f notes of thanks afterward.” I never do.’ “Tt’s so hard to find gifts for men.” “Tt doesn’t seem possible Christmas is so near.” “Tt isn’t the value of the gifts, it’s just the remem- brance.” “Oh, if I had plenty of money, Christmas shopping would be easy enough.” “Tt’s awfully hard to select a book.” “Tt isn’t only the gifts, but nowadays you have to have all that tissue paper and holly ribbon and fancy tags.” “It’s so hard to find anything for her, because she has Spokesman: Look were! YOU'RE ARRANGING A Mo¥- everything already.” STER MASS MEETING FOR THURSDAY NIGHT, AREN'T you? “Sadie and I don’t give presents any more, we just ex- Politician: yes change post cards.” “WELL, WE'RE MONSTERS.” comicbook Meo