Life — February 13, 1919 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This *Life* magazine cover from February 13, 1919, celebrates aviation as humanity's future, published just months after World War I ended. The illustration depicts a cherub or cupid figure piloting an early aircraft above a terrestrial landscape with soldiers and trenches below—visualizing air power's dominance over ground-based warfare. The satire suggests that aerial combat has rendered traditional land-based military strategy obsolete. The heavenly, almost divine positioning of the aircraft emphasizes this new technological supremacy. This reflects post-WWI enthusiasm for aviation's potential, though the image's ironic tone (using a cherub as pilot) hints at the magazine's characteristic satirical skepticism about blind technological optimism and militarism.