Life, 1918-12-05 · page 19 of 76
Life — December 5, 1918 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Top Illustration**: A World War I trench scene showing soldiers handling champagne bottles with the caption "Be careful, Joe, or ye'll break one o' them champagne bottles." This depicts soldiers in a combat zone treating luxury goods carelessly—likely satirizing the absurdity of warfare or soldiers' irreverent attitude toward material goods amid destruction. **"Dickens to Date" Section**: A clever wordplay exercise adapting Charles Dickens novel titles to contemporary WWI references: - "Tale of Two Cities" (Berlin to Paris)—the warring nations - "Great Expectations" (Kaiser Anticipates World Conquest)—mocking German ambitions - "Our Mutual Friend" (America Joins the Allies)—America's recent entry into WWI - "Hunted Down" (The Huns Defeated)—anti-German sentiment **Bottom Cartoon**: Mrs. Ichthyosaurus (a dinosaur character, suggesting outdated thinking) refuses lodging, claiming previous tenants were asked to leave—likely political satire about nations or governments being unwelcome or unreliable guests. The page satirizes WWI through literary references and dark humor about warfare and international relations.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Christmas Life “BE CAREFUL, JOE, OR YE'LL BREAK ONE 0’ THEM CHAMPAGNE BOTTLES" Dickens to Date (With “American Notes”) TALE OF TWO CITIES. (Ber- lin to Paris.) Great Expectations. (The Anticipates World Conquest.) Kaiser Our Mutual Friend. the Allies.) No Thoroughfare. Paris.) (America Joins (The Road to Hunted Down. feated.) (The Huns De- Hard Times days.) “por whi spe (In Germany Nowa- is meant hy a figure of “Well, my son, when you hear of a woman being speechless with indigna- tion, that’s a figure of speech.” & ( g \ weal . Mrs. Ichthyosaurus: TOLD YOU WERE ASKED TO LEAVE YOUR LAST LODGIN SORRY I CAN'T GIVE YOU ROOMS, BUT 1’ JUST BEEN