Life, 1916-09-28 · page 6 of 41
Life — September 28, 1916 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon satirizes the sudden popularity and scarcity of Life magazine itself. The scene depicts a crowded newsstand where copies are completely sold out, with eager customers waiting outside. The illustration shows well-dressed figures—apparently including railroad executives and other prominent people—desperately trying to obtain the last remaining copies. The joke is self-promotional: Harold Hopestone, a young newspaper carrier, observes that Life magazine has become so desirable that it's now sold on a non-returnable basis. The satire suggests Life's intellectual content has become so valuable and sought-after that people can no longer casually return unsold copies—they must purchase immediately or risk missing out entirely. It's essentially Life magazine boasting about its own circulation success and cultural relevance.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“All Sold Out!”’ “Aha!” It was a beautiful ‘Tuesday afternoon in September, 1916. At the palatial news-stand in which our story opens, several people, including the president of the railroad, his private secretary, the news- dealer himself and his first assistant scrub lady, were all engaged in reading the only copies of Lire left, while a mob of angry and forgetful people stormed the entrance, anxiously waiting or their weekly intellectual uplift. It was at this moment that Harold Hopestone, the boy carrier, who rested beneath the entrance read- ing his copy, observed to himself: “Aha! These busy people do not wot yet that Lirz is now on a non-returnable basis, hence they wait before attempting to buy their copy until it is, perchance, too late.’’ Special Offer Enclosed find One Dol (Canadian $1.13, Foreign $1.26). “Send Live for ‘three ‘months to “Mother” The sweetest and best name in the English language, will be commemo- — rated soon by a special number of , Open only to new subscribers; no sub- Tine, scriptions renewed at this rate LIFE, 17 West 3ist Street, New York. 35. One Year, $5.00. (Canadian, $5.52; Foreign, $6.04.)