Life, 1919-03-13 · page 8 of 42
Life — March 13, 1919 — page 8: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon depicts a street scene outside a "Cafe Universe" establishment. A woman in a short skirt is the central figure, with sailors and other figures surrounding her. The caption reads: "Marguerite: Is he? Say, Maggie! If he's as magnificent as they ain't a bit better'n mine if sit on, even if I don't wear 'em low-sicked!" The satire targets women's fashion—specifically the contemporary trend of wearing shorter skirts that exposed the knees, considered quite scandalous at the time. The "gods" reference humorously suggests that women's knees have become objects of attention and debate. The crude dialogue implies lower-class commentary on this fashion shift, mocking both the fashion itself and the public's obsessive focus on women's legs during this modernizing era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Marguerite “MAGNIFEEK, IS HE? SAY, A Resolution HEREAS, the American tionary Force, war that it is the natu: Expedi- zing from past ec of the Ameri- can people to wish to honor their sol- diery, And realizing also that in the past this desire to honor has taken the form of sundry monuments, statues and kin- dred memorials, And having had to gaze through its youth upon said monuments, statues and kindred memorials, hereby Resolves: That it will be a further service to humanity if the number of such monuments, statues and kindred memorials is not increased ; That, having looked upon statues, monuments and kindred memo- rials as the Hun has left undespoiled in Europe, it realizes the pitiful inade- such THE KNEES OF THE GODS MAGGIE, THEY WEAR "EM LOW-NECK ! of American art, architecture ature, and while it honors and the that prompted the erection of the memori reveres noble sentiments als to our soldiers of the Revolution, War o Civil War and §$ H American War, yet it prefers that none and erected in honor of the peditionary Force, spect fully Requests tha’ of similar design sculpture be American Ex- and therefore re- such memorials as may be erected in memory of our heroes the recreation camps for city children and take form of hospitals, summer tenement mothers, and open squares and parks. Lingering ED: What that made? That the peace deliberations was bet you UN fcossais! QU'IL Fst MAGNIFIQUE! AIN'T \ BIT BETTER'N MINE T’ SIT ON, EVEN IP 1 DON'T would be over before our chess tour nament was finished. COLD FISH