Life, 1918-09-05 · page 18 of 34
Life — September 5, 1918 — page 18: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page depicts "A Day in Heaven"—a satirical sequence showing the afterlife activities of famous figures. The numbered scenes include: **7.** Gabriel telling someone to sleep longer **8.** Angel Amy hurling lightning bolts into a schoolhouse below (satirizing destructive behavior) **9.** A social gathering with Santa Claus, George Washington, Buffalo Bill, and Grandma—mixing historical/mythical figures to suggest heaven's eclectic population **10.** A driver (appears to be the prophet Elijah, referenced by name) in a fiery chariot with winged steeds The satire mocks both religious conceptions of heaven and the American tendency to canonize cultural icons—conflating historical heroes (Washington), frontier legends (Buffalo Bill), and mythical figures (Santa). The humor lies in depicting these "heavenly" figures engaged in mundane or absurd activities, undermining their elevated status.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Ger ils _bightting boll we Tie GONE bela @-r on, oe Or unith Janta Claus, George Washingbor \ 20). By mm ae ROETERE \ S hootins sasiar enfelapment Ls tela 765 lay pq 10 OM rives winged sleeds urtlh lhyah an fiery Charro? . comicbooks.com