Life, 1919-08-28 · page 23 of 40
Life — August 28, 1919 — page 23: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The main cartoon depicts a nouveau riche character ("Mr. Warr-Profits") showing an architect an elaborate formal garden. The joke plays on his malapropism: he requested an "artistic setting" but mispronounces it as "ARTISTIC SETTIN'"—suggesting his wealth is newly acquired and his education limited. The sign reads "KEEP OFF THE GRASS" with "THIS MEANS YOU," emphasizing the pretentiousness of his manicured estate. The second illustration, captioned "Nightmare of a Man Who Has the Best Vegetable Garden in Town," shows a man dreaming of birds attacking his prized garden—a darkly humorous commentary on the anxiety of possession and the futility of trying to protect one's achievements. Both cartoons satirize American prosperity anxiety during the WWI era, mocking both social climbing and obsessive materialism. The page also notes Life's charitable contributions to French war orphans, contextualizing the satire within wartime American consciousness.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Mr. Warr-Proffitts: aN’ 1 SEZ TO THE ARCHYTECK FELLER, “GIMME AN ARTISTIC SeTTIN’,” 1 SEZ— AN’ HE DONE IT More Than Two Million Francs HE statement below shows that Lire’s yenerous readers have contributed more than three hundred and fifty thou sand dollars to aid the war orphans of France. From this sum more than two million francs have been remitted to Paris. Live gratefully acknowledges the following contributi Irma Pr k, New 3 PD. Harris, Palo Alto, NIGHTMARE OF A MAN WHO HAS THE BEST VEGETABLE GARDEN 1N TOWN comicbooks.com