Life, 1916-12-07 · page 17 of 94
Life — December 7, 1916 — page 17: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes World War I-era attitudes through two jokes: **Top cartoon**: A father explains "the Allies" to his son as "all the world, my son, except one diminishing spot on the map"—mocking how the Central Powers (likely Germany) were portrayed as increasingly isolated and defeated as the war progressed. **Bottom image and captions**: The mistletoe joke plays on "osculation" (kissing), with the mistletoe refusing to participate in holiday kissing, claiming it's "above that sort of thing." This appears to mock social pretension or prudishness. **Main illustration**: "The Dream of the Little Boy Who Was Watching for Santa Claus" depicts a child's fantastical Christmas Eve vision, where Santa appears as a wartime figure among soldiers—likely commenting on how WWI dominated even children's holiday expectations during the conflict. The page overall reflects how thoroughly war permeated American popular culture and domestic life.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
WE WANT TO BE FILLED APA, what are the Allies?” = SCULATORY demonstration may be all right,” “ All the werld, my son, except one diminishing spot mused the mistletoe, “ but—ahem!—as a rule | am on the map.” above that sort of thing.” —— THE DREAM OF THE LITTLE BOY WHO WAS WATCHING FOK SANTA CLAUS comicbooks.com