Life, 1919-08-14 · page 19 of 44
Life — August 14, 1919 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical page contains three distinct jokes reflecting post-WWI anxieties: 1. **Top cartoon**: A domestic dispute about jealousy, with Tommy dismissing Alice's concerns over his interaction with another woman as trivial. 2. **"Ancient of Days"**: A meta-joke where a contributor pitches an "original" joke to the editor, who dismissively notes the contributor appears elderly—suggesting the joke itself is as dated as its teller. 3. **Bottom cartoons**: Two separate jokes about housing scarcity and financial hardship. One depicts hotel guests' complaints about bills; another shows a couple so desperate for housing they're willing to rent a horse stall, willing to eat out to make ends meet. The overarching theme addresses post-war economic strain, housing shortages, and domestic tensions. The Russia reference appears to satirize anxieties about Bolshevism and radical social reorganization affecting traditional marriage and family structures.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Tommy: AW, ALICE, DON'T I JEALOUS ‘CAUSE L SDOKE TO HEK—SHE'S NUTIIN’ To M VER since Russia nationalized wives we have been ex- pecting the spinsters to demand the prorating of hus- THEY FORGOT TO TELL THE MILKMAN THEY WERE GOING AWAY bands. Ancient of Days (CONTRIBUTOR: I have here an original joke which Epiror: ~My dear man, you don’t look that old, Scene—Any seaside resort. ” “WE CAN'T GET AN APARTMENT ANYWHERE. IF YOU'VE GOT “HEAR THE MOANING OF THE TIDE, JOHN. A VACANT STALL WITH SOME CLEAN STRAW WE'RE WILLING “THAT'S NOT THE TIDE, IT’S THE HOTEL GUESTS PAYING TO PAY WELL FOR IT, AND, OF COURSE, WE'D GO OUT FOR OUR THEIR BILLS.” MEALS" comicbooks.com