Life, 1916-09-21 · page 29 of 44
Life — September 21, 1916 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Life magazine feature satirizes wealthy celebrities' claims of "roughing it" during summer vacation. The four panels showcase famous figures who ostensibly sought simple, rustic getaways—yet the illustrations reveal their actual leisure activities remain leisured and refined. Each caption pairs a celebrity name with a modest-sounding retreat (fishing camp, farm, Canadian woods, country place), but the drawings show them engaged in genteel pursuits: fishing, farming, hunting, and tennis. The satire targets the hypocrisy of the wealthy performing humility—pretending to embrace "the simple life" while maintaining comfort and leisure. The joke relies on readers recognizing these celebrities and understanding that their "roughing it" is fundamentally different from actual working-class labor. It's gentle mockery of upper-class affectation and the gap between public personas and actual privilege.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
*fi PRE* Where They Spent the Summer Ivy Ivories, the winsome leading lady, summered at her Madame Riggles, the celebrated danseuse, has been in- fishing camp in the Adirondacks. + terpreting the simple life on her farm in Connecticut. Adonis Murphy, the popular film hero, has been rough- ing it in the Canadian woods. Mr. Murphy is a great sportsman, and is never so happy as when out with his gun and dog in search of big game. Samuel Seckstuff, the well-known novelist, has enjoyed a much needed rest at his country place, Bestseller Manor, New Jersey.