Life, 1914-02-12 · page 4 of 44
Life — February 12, 1914 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This 1910s *Life* magazine page satirizes social propriety and behavioral excess. The cartoon "It's a good thing" depicts four figures in formal dress dancing uninhibitedly—celebrating that one can occasionally be improper without excess. The accompanying text announces a special "Proper Number" issue (March 3rd), establishing the joke's framework: *Life* will publish only one such conservative issue yearly, implying the magazine typically embraces impropriety and satire. The section "Are You Eugenic?" references the then-popular eugenics movement. The magazine playfully promises an upcoming "Eugenic Number"—the only one of its kind—mocking both eugenic pseudoscience and the magazine's irreverent editorial stance. The humor relies on readers' familiarity with contemporary social debates about propriety, science, and progressive versus conservative values.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Po Yallshed exer Pharstis Antal eee 256 Copr. Life Pub. Co. | It’s a good thing don’t carry it to excess. We shall, for ex- ? ample, issue only one Proper Number this year—on Tuesday, March 3rd. J) Are You Eugenic? Og Shh rere for three months to To be proper, occasionally, so long as you |. We trust not. In the mean time Our Eugenic Number is coming week —— after next. Like the Proper Number, it will be the only Number of its kind. Next week a regu- ("Gran eet oem ae then LIFE, 17 West 31st Street, New York 3 ugenic. Ove Year $5.00. (Canadian, $5.52, Foreign, $6.04.) Li comicbooks.com