Life, 1917-09-13 · page 6 of 44
Life — September 13, 1917 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **subscription advertisement** for *Life* magazine, not a political cartoon. The page uses satire to promote magazine subscriptions during wartime ("this era of saving"). **The argument:** Before the war, each *Life* copy reached seven readers on average. Now, during heightened demand for quality reading and pictures, a single copy circulates even more widely—reportedly through 28 hands. The ad presents this as socially beneficial: buying one subscription becomes a "multiple act" of generosity. **The satire:** The bottom illustration shows people passing magazines through luggage/trunks, visually parodying the claim that copies travel extensively. This humorously exaggerates the magazine's circulation reach. **The pitch:** One dollar for three months of subscriptions, positioning *Life* as an economical, socially responsible purchase during wartime rationing.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Life Saving Before the war a careful estimate showed that for every copy of Lire sold there were seven readers. This was a higher average than that of most periodicals, for various natural reasons, But consider now, during this era of saving, and the great demand for the best current reading—and especially the best pictures, just what a copy of Lire means. When you buy a copy of Lire you never can tell just how much good you may be doing to a wide circle of readers. That copy, three weeks later, may be read ina trench on the battle line. Some copies have been known recently to pass through 28 hands. They keep on going. When you obey that impulse, therefore, and either buy your Lire or become a reg- ular subscriber, it is a multiple act. One Year, $5.00. (Canadian, $5.52; Foreign, $6.04.) Special Offer One Dollar for three months (Ca- nadian $1.13, Foreign $1.26). Open only to new subscribers; no subscriptions renewed at this rate. LIFE, 17 West 31st Street, New York.