Life, 1914-03-19 · page 18 of 44
Life — March 19, 1914 — page 18: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three distinct satirical pieces: **Top cartoon**: A tax collector visits a household. The caption suggests dressing appropriately—the satire mocks anxiety about income tax inspections, a relatively new concept at this time. **"The Age of Wigs"**: Mocks the revival of colorful, oversized wigs at fashionable London parties. The author sarcastically questions whether this trend relates to feminism, cynically suggesting that women's expanding headdresses indicate expanding emptiness of mind rather than genuine intellectual expansion. **"Failures"**: A courtroom scene where famous historical figures (Julius Caesar, Napoleon, Hannibal, Newton, etc.) are rejected for failing modern "tests"—they're deemed "defectives" lacking normal weight, without character flaws, etc. The satire mocks modern bureaucratic obsession with standardization and testing, suggesting contemporary society foolishly rejects greatness that doesn't fit narrow specifications. All three pieces target early 20th-century social anxieties: taxation, fashion trends, and mechanized conformity.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“HEAVENS! A Rwauk ea, IT IS WELL TO KNOW HOW TO DRESS FOR THE VISIT OF THE INCOME TAX COLLECTOR 1 REALLY MUST GET MOKE EXERCISE” The Age of Wigs PURPLE heads are beginning to bloom hereabouts, In London they have become prevalent at fashion- able parties. Not only purple, indeed, but all the other colors of the rainbow. It seems, therefore, that the age of wigs is upcn us. In 1760 headdresses had reached suck proportions as to be considered dangerous, It was almost impossible to caricature them, Are we now about to reproduce these fol- lies—and reproduce them Jn colors? If so, has this reproduction anything to do with the forward movement of feminism? Does the increasing size of a woman's headdress, in terms of purple, red or green, indicate a propor- tionate expansion of the interior? FE (tearfully) : going. Huspanp: John, cook is When does she abdicate? Failures “STAND up, Julius Czsar. you have fits?” “Yes, your honor.” “Weren't you bald?” “TI was, your honor.” “A dyspeptic?” “1 was.” “Didn't you write your commen- taries for political effect?” “T did, your honor.” “Thereby proving yourself without character, Below normal weight?” “1 was, your honor.” “Then step over there with Na- poleon, Alexander, Hannibal, Newton, Charlemagne, Kant, Pope, William Pitt and William of Orange.” “What's the matter with them, your konor?” “Matter enough. They are all de- fectives. They've failed to pass our tests.” Didn't comicbooks.com