Life, 1913-05-22 · page 9 of 48
Life — May 22, 1913 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page presents satirical commentary on travel motivations. The top cartoon shows six figures balanced on globes labeled with letters spelling "LIFE"—a visual pun on the magazine's own title, suggesting travel is essential to living fully. Below, the text lists humorous, somewhat cynical reasons people travel: to appear superior, gain conversation topics, afford luxuries, discover unknowns, and ironically, to appreciate home comforts. The illustration "Keeping Her Hand In" depicts what appears to be tourists or pilgrims at a Mediterranean overlook (suggested by classical ruins and coastal scenery). The satire likely mocks how travelers—particularly wealthy Americans—engaged in conventional sightseeing while maintaining social pretenses, with "keeping her hand in" suggesting she's maintaining appearances or social propriety during travel.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Some Reasons Why People Travel USE they think they are going to learn something, and it is only by traveling that they can discover that knowledge does not come by travel. Because it helps them to get better acquainted with their neighbors—some of whom they are bound to fall in with ‘on their travels. Because the doctor tells them they ought to. Because it gives them the illusion of superiority and furnishes them with topics of conversation. Because it costs more than they can afford. Because they don’t know all the disagreeable things that will happen to them. Because it is the only way in which they can discover how comfortable they are at home. KEEPING HER HAND IN comicbooks.com