Life — March 6, 1919 — page 10: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Drinking Ditties" - Prohibition Era Satire This Life magazine page satirizes the Prohibition era (note the "BONE DRY" figure riding the U.S. map). The poem by Cyril B. Egan mockingly celebrates "dry weather" and calls for alcohol-free alternatives like grape juice, sarcastically praising "uninfected cheer" and "sweet sobriety." The accompanying illustrations include a figure straddling America with prohibition signs, and a large gathering labeled "1919 ANNUAL DINNER OF THE AMALGAMATED LIQUOR DEALERS' PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION"—suggesting liquor dealers were secretly convening despite Prohibition's legal onset (1920). The satire targets both Prohibition advocates' unrealistic idealism and the hypocrisy of those in the alcohol industry supposedly affected by the impending ban. The nostalgic tone mocks those mourning alcohol's loss.