Life, 1917-03-01 · page 4 of 42
Life — March 1, 1917 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page features Life magazine's "Private Contest," inviting readers to submit 25-word answers explaining why they should subscribe. The small illustration at the top appears to be Life's logo or mascot. The contest celebrates subscription benefits through humorous reader responses. Respondents cite reasons ranging from practical ("brightens the corner") to satirical critiques of competitors ("I don't half-read the magazines to which I now subscribe"). Notable is one reader's (A.H.J.) pointed rejection: claiming religious objections to Life's "bigotry," resentment of professional criticism, and anti-British sentiment inherited from Revolutionary War ancestors. The page primarily functions as **subscription advertising** disguised as reader engagement, promoting Life as an essential periodical while showcasing witty subscriber testimonials. The contest mechanism encourages participation while promoting the magazine's satirical reputation.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Our Unparalelled Private Contest The success of our Private Contest, in which we offered one hundred Lire blot- ters to anyone sending in a good answer, limited to twenty-five words, telling why you should, or should not, become a regu- lar yearly subscriber by paying the regu- lar subscription rate, has been a wonder- ful success. Here are some of the prize-winning answers : 1. It brightens the corner, and keeps me in touch with things. 2. My youngster has _ painlessly learned to prefer real fun and tech- nique to crude “comics.” Truly yours, CR. S. Oh, Lire, you're simply great! That's why I take my pen in hand and cry, “I would heed that ‘impulsive’ call. But five plunks are too much. That’s all. A News-stand Acquaintance of Lire. When it becomes a question of money or your Lire, there is only one answer, Does this win blotters? LHL Why not be a regular subscriber to this Everybody a Winner You should be a regular subscriber to Lire because it brings wealth, happi- ness and good times, and that’s what makes life worth living. F.B. Here's why I am still a-backslider : 1, I want to defer for my old age “the thrill that comes once in a ‘ Life '- time "—when I shall “obey that im- pulse.” 2. I enjoy the awful suspense every Tuesday. 3. I love and admire the “coupon” page written for my benefit. 4 I don’t half-read the magazines to which I now subscribe, and so I'll take no chances with Lire. 12. It is a source of human illustration for sermons; it is a source of material for serious sermons; each copy is a sermon in itself. A. B.C. One should become a regular sub- scriber to Lire because such action is constantly recommended by Lire, and in my five years of reading Lire I have never known it to be wrong. W.S. intoxicating paper? Rates in the ob- fe noxious coupon opposite. 7 My reasons for not subscribing to irst—Being a Catholic, I naturally dislike your bigotry. Second—My Father having been a noted physician, I resent your insulting that noble profession as you do. Third—Having had ancestors who fought in the Revolution and in the War of 1812, L am a good American, and have inherited my forefathers’ hatred to the British. Your paper seems as though it is en- tirely in British pay, I like fair play. Very truly, AciHl. J. I rely on newsdealers for Lire. To exhibit better judgment should be sufficient reason to subscribe, and no doubt is for those who know me. N.V.S. Ss ial jer Enclosed Open only to new subscribers; no sub- scriptions renewed at this rate, LIFE, 17 West 31st Street, New York. 16 One Year $5.00. (Canadian $5.52, Foreign $6.04.) comicbooks.com