Life — July 17, 1919 — page 3: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 99 This page contains a satirical story titled "If We'd Always Had Prohibition" that imagines historical figures discussing alcohol under a prohibition regime. The references include Cleopatra dissolving a pearl in vinegar, Socrates drinking hemlock, and various aristocratic figures (Lucrezia Borgia, the Queen of Denmark, Robert Bruce, the Cavaliers) all attempting to justify their drinking or discussing hoarded liquors. The humor relies on the absurdity of applying Prohibition-era concerns retroactively to famous historical moments, suggesting that banning alcohol would have fundamentally altered history itself. The page also contains advertisements, including one for the E.J. Thomson Company's custom car bodies, and a Hotel Champlain advertisement at bottom left.