Life — January 10, 1918 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Lyrics of Travel" by John Kendrick Bangs This humorous poem by Bangs recounts a chaotic train-station shave. The barber carelessly nicks the narrator repeatedly—his razor is dull, his technique reckless—causing blood, pain, and comic indignity. The narrator loses part of his mustache and nearly his ear. The accompanying illustrations show the barber's wild movements and the narrator's suffering. Below, smaller cartoons mock fashion ("For the Well Dressed Man") and show contrasting domestic scenes—one of a well-dressed man, and another of dogs begging at a dinner table. The satire targets incompetent service workers and the indignities of travel itself—a common theme in early 20th-century humor magazines mocking modern inconveniences and poorly-trained service providers.