Life, 1911-12-07 · page 52 of 112
Life — December 7, 1911 — page 52: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains Christmas-themed humor typical of early 20th-century satirical magazines. **"Christmas Chimes"** offers brief, cynical observations about holiday customs: Santa's workload (many births), the desperation of unmarried women under mistletoe, poverty's incompatibility with Christmas magic, and over-decorated trees. **"The Horse"** shows a cart horse receiving minimal reward for Christmas labor—a straightforward joke about exploitation. **"Why Ada Never Married"** satirizes the various excuses people offer for an unmarried woman's status. Each explanation (mother blames her pickiness, father cites her intelligence, relatives claim generational decline, friends say she was never asked) contradicts the others. Ada's own explanation—prioritizing church and settlement work—suggests the real reason: she chose social service over marriage. This gently mocks society's obsession with explaining female singleness while also acknowledging women's capacity for meaningful work beyond matrimony. **The bottom cartoon** shows a shopkeeper helping a child select slippers as a Christmas gift for their father, requesting a "soft sole."
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Christmas Chimes HE stork finds plenty of work for Santa Claus to do. Under the mistletoe old maids rush in where pretty girls do not have to tread. When poverty enters the door Santa Claus doesn't come down the chimney. Tt is more extravagant to give than to receive. Too many trimmers spoil the Christmas tree. The Horse: THis 18 ALL t GET FOR CHRISTMAS Why Ada Never Married mother’s explanation: “She was always hard to suit Her father’s explanation: “She couid not find a man her intellectual equal. Aunt Fanny’s explanation: “ Young men are not what they were in my day! 3rother Jim’s explanation: “She was never much of a anyhow. Her best friend’s explanation: “She never was asked, that’s the reason.” Ada’s own explanation: “I could not bring myself to “WAT KIND OF SLIPPERS DO YOU WANT?” “THEY'RE FOR A CHRISTMAS PRI NT FOR Para, SO 1'D W. W. Whitetock. LIkt SOMETHING WITH A SOFT Sot give up my church and settlement work!” AN ALIGN MENT comicbooks