Life — September 17, 1914 — page 33: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical page imagines famous historical figures in modern (early 20th-century) contexts. The title promises anachronistic humor by placing them in contemporary situations. **Identifiable figures:** - **Guy Fawkes** (gunpowder plot conspirator) - depicted with explosives - **Columbus** - shown as explorer/navigator - **Washington** - portrayed at a desk, likely satirizing his role - **Dick Turpin** (legendary highwayman) - shown with period crime imagery - **Edmund Kean** (famous Shakespearean actor) - **Paul Revere** (American revolutionary) - on a motorcycle instead of horseback - **Lady Godiva** - riding in a modern automobile The joke updates their historical identities to modern equivalents: Revere trades his horse for a motorcycle; Godiva's legendary naked ride becomes a car ride. This reflects Life magazine's humor about technological progress and social change in the early 1900s.