Life, 1912-07-04 · page 20 of 44
Life — July 4, 1912 — page 20: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes American wealth inequality and materialism during the Jazz Age. The top section mocks wealthy society through a letter from someone who lost money in United States Steel (a major stock), yet claims their visit was worthwhile because they learned about expensive fashion. The absurd prices—$1,000 for a bathing robe, $500/week for a private hairdresser—ridicule extravagant consumption by the rich. The bottom cartoons expose economic desperation. One shows a jobless man with starving children being sold an expensive car on credit by an unscrupulous businessman. The other depicts an Irish stable worker told to ride a "strate car" (streetcar) instead of a horse—a pun suggesting even working-class employment has vanished. The juxtaposition is pointed: while the wealthy flaunt frivolous purchases, working people cannot feed their families. This reflects pre-Depression economic tensions and class conflict in early 20th-century America.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
JULY FOURTH 1 myself got caught slightly in United States Steel. But I want to say to you that, in spite of all this loss— which is purely incidental—my visit was all that could be desired. I learned enough about clothes in twenty-four hours to make me a society leader for the rest of my life. I had no idea before that you could clothe a woman entirely from the American standpoint. I now realize that we do not have to go abroad to get our clothes. Gratefully yours, P. S.—The children enclose five hundred dollars. Will you kindly place it upon the zero for them to- morrow afternoon? We call attention to some of our new summer cos- tumes. One of them is a seaside resort piazza lounging robe, made out of French knots with silk passementerie and embroidered with striped mull and ratine shields in the empire style, for only one thousand dollars. This includes a light cherry brassiére with a set of Irish lace slippers. We send our private hair dresser to any summer resort in the country for five hundred dollars a week. Send for catalog. Life’s Fashion Reform League. “Q AY, mister, I'm out of a job, and me wife and children are starving.” “Don’t let that discourage you. I can sell you a very fine car for six hundred dollars and take your notes.” “WHAT HORSE IS THERE FOR ME THIS MORNING, PAT?” “WELL, SOR, THE ONE YOU RODE YESTERDAY 1S LAME AND THE ONE YOU KODE THE DAY BEFORE 1S AT THE VET'INARY’ “WHAT DID YOUR MASTER SAY 1 WAS TO RIDE TO-DAY? “HE SAID YOU WAS TO RIDE A STRATE CAR, SOR.” comicbook eon