Life, 1919-02-27 · page 4 of 38
Life — February 27, 1919 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **subscription advertisement** for LIFE magazine, not a political cartoon. The illustration shows a grotesquely caricatured figure (likely representing Prohibition or its effects) admiring himself in a mirror, holding what appears to be a flask. The caption reads: "The times are out of joint, O blessed light! I see that I was born to see 'em right." The accompanying text references the **Bone-Dry Law** (strict Prohibition legislation), suggesting the magazine's next issue will address this policy. The advertisement claims this will be "the saddest number ever issued," satirizing Prohibition's unpopularity. The joke targets Prohibition enforcement and its social consequences, presented as a "bone-dry" or humorless topic—a common complaint about Prohibition-era restrictions on alcohol.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Ny Mi NESS \) KN “THE TIMES ARE OUT OF JOINT, 0 BLESSED LIGHT! I SEE THAT 1 WAS BORN TO SET ’EM RIGHT.” Alas! Alas! and alackaday! The most lugubrious number of LIFE is now rapid- ly approaching. We were cheerful during the war. When President Wilson left us with Congress on our hands we bore up with Christian resignation. But the Bone-Dry Law leaves us prone. The next number of LIFE is the saddest number ever issued. The Bone-Dry L ife They All Like to Read Life More than a million of our boys are Next Week ance, and they all like Lire, Z P si Open only to new subscribers; no sub xpi scriptions renewed at this rate. men, Soldiers, Sailors and Marines, $5 7 a_year, if no local foreign address be 7 LIFE, 17 West 31st Street, New York. 80 evens 7 One Year, $5.00. (Canadian, $5.52; Forsign, $6.04.) comicbooks.com