Life — October 11, 1917 — page 21: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This WWI-era Life magazine cartoon satirizes Germany's anticipated defeat. The scene shows a German butcher shop ("Kaiser & Sons") with absurdist "for sale" advertisements listing items Germany expects to liquidate after losing the war: - The Kaiser's "divine right" and "mailed fist" (authoritarian power) - A trained crown prince - Zeppelins with instructions for attacking England - Plans for capturing Calais (France) The humor mocks German militarism and imperial pretensions by treating them as worthless inventory to be pawned off. Soldiers and civilians browse these "goods" like bargain merchandise. The burning ship at bottom references naval warfare. The cartoon expresses Allied confidence in eventual German defeat while ridiculing German autocracy and aggressive ambitions—reflecting American wartime propaganda and satirical commentary on German imperialism.