Life, 1914-01-22 · page 4 of 40
Life — January 22, 1914 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **Life magazine subscription advertisement** from the early 20th century, disguised as editorial content with humor. The top cartoon shows a small boy being ejected from an advertising page—a meta-joke acknowledging readers' annoyance at ads interrupting content. The main text uses satire to promote subscriptions, claiming "Nobody wants little boys around now" while encouraging subscriptions to Life, particularly for an upcoming "Humorous Number" (April 16th). The bottom cartoon depicts a figure struggling against an impulse to subscribe—personifying temptation as an almost irresistible force. The advertisement lists other themed issues coming (Highbrow, Old Fashioned, Fools, Eugenic, Railroad, and 1950) and offers a free sample copy to non-subscribers. Pricing: $5.00 annually ($3.52 Canadian, $6.04 foreign). The humor relies on self-aware mockery of advertising itself.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
‘‘Nobody wants little boys around now, while so many are obeying that iioukes and subscribing to Life, —especially with the Proper Number coming on March 5. Also Humor- ous Number on April 16th.” Other numbers coming are Highbrow, Old Fashioned, Fools, Eugenic, Railroad and 1950. If you don’t want to become a regular subscriber, send for a copy of the Miniature Life— sent free to any address for a two-cent stamp. Enclosed find One Dol- lar (Canadian $1.13, Foreign $1.26). Send Lire for three months to Open only to new subscribers; no sub- scription renewed at this rate. LIFE, 17 West 31st Street, New York 14 “ Que Year, $5.00. (Canadian, $5.52, Foreign, $6.04.) “It's all I can do to keep from subscribing”