Life, 1914-12-31 · page 4 of 41
Life — December 31, 1914 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page presents Life magazine's tongue-in-cheek "New Year's Resolutions" for 1915. The satire mocks the magazine's own editorial practices and independence: **Key satirical points:** - Promises not to pressure readers into subscriptions or be "too humorous" - Vows to refuse contributions from famous figures (Tagore, Kaiser Wilhelm, Carrie Chapman Catt, Mellen, Roosevelt)—likely poking fun at celebrity culture - Declares intent to "refuse to listen to opinions of others" when they disagree - Proudly announces omitting coupons to demonstrate independence from "tyrannous advertising" - Humorously claims to remain "an elder brother to the under dog" The cartoon character (a small figure with a rifle) reinforces the magazine's self-image as a scrappy, independent voice. The resolutions are deliberately contradictory and absurd, satirizing both the magazine itself and typical self-help resolutions.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Resolved To urge nobody too insistently to become a regular subscriber. Not to be too humorous. To charge five dollars a year as usual, and ten cents a number. To issue as many new editions of the Miniature Life free, as the gracious public will stand. Not to have any unintelligent subscribers in 1915. To print no original contributions by Rabindranath Tagore, Kaiser Wilhelm, Carrie Chapman Catt, Charles Sanger Mellen or Theodore Roosevelt. To refuse to listen to the opinions of others when they don’t happen to agree with mine. To omit the coupon from this page occasionally in order to show the world that we are independent of the tyrannous advertising department. ‘To continue to be an elder brother to the under dog. SPECIAL OFFER Enclosed find One Dol (Canadiar Handsome premium picture in colors, “WHERE LOVE IS,” given with each yearly subscription. scription renewed at this rai LIFE, 17 West 31st Street, New York 73 One Year, $5.00, (Canadian, $5.52; Foreign, $6.04.