Life — September 5, 1918 — page 4: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 328 (September 1918) This page announces Life's upcoming "Berlin Number" for September 26, 1918, during World War I's final weeks. The cartoon at top depicts American soldiers attacking German forces (labeled "Advance"), with a signpost pointing "To Berlin," expressing American military optimism as Allied forces pushed toward Germany. The text promises this special issue will be "prophetic and symbolic of the great victory to come" and contain "humorous things"—combining patriotic confidence with satire. The magazine solicits new subscriptions, offering domestic rates of $5/year. The timing is significant: Germany surrendered November 11, 1918, so this represents wartime American morale at war's apparent endgame, mixing combat imagery with magazine promotion.