Life, 1919-09-04 · page 17 of 48
Life — September 4, 1919 — page 17: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains satirical advice and lighter content typical of Life magazine's humor section. **"Hints to a Woman On Cleaning a Man's Room"** is **satirical domestic advice** that reverses conventional wisdom. Rather than offering genuine cleaning tips, it ironically instructs women to deliberately disorganize a man's room—hiding his belongings, moving furniture, disturbing papers—under the pretense of "helpfulness." The joke mocks both incompetent housekeeping and the frustration husbands experience when well-meaning wives reorganize their spaces, destroying their systems. This reflects early 20th-century gender dynamics where women managed households. **"A Salem Garden"** is a sentimental poem by Charlotte Becker about an elderly woman tending her garden, where she kept a romantic tryst fifty years prior with a lover who later returned with an unexpected foreign bride. The accompanying illustration shows figures by a boat and garden setting, illustrating the nostalgic, melancholic narrative. Both pieces represent Life's mix of humor and sentiment aimed at middle-class American readers of that era.
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399 Hints to a Woman On Cleaning a Man's Room ALWYS disturb his more impor tant papers. What does a man want with papers, anyway? Place all small articles, such as col- lar buttons, his watch, safety-razor blades and ette case in the ash receiver. True. he will have to take all the junk out and put it back where he left it, but he tikes ge little chores like those Never forget to hide his bathrobe und towels, (Under his shirts in a dresser drawer ix an excellent place.) Move every chair in the room. A man ought to like variety. He may have figured out that he can see to read better with the rocker placed near the window, so always leave it by the table in the middle of the room. Exer cise ol for a man Whatever you forget to to drop his. shaving-br It will teach him that he has no business te shave, anyway And let his hair-brushes collect as much dust as possible when swee} the room, particularly if the man uses hair-oil, as a greasy brush will absorb more dust than a dry one and save from carrying so much dirt out of the room In a word, leave what The Gentleman Modiste: AW Mavaste HAs 2e SUrEKME HGLKE! . : The Discons One: UM—VES, AND T SUPPOSE THR BILL WILL HAN fectly inhabitable re A Salem Garden Y-LILY, Johnny - jump - up ONE 700 1 prisoners’ reform cht r heart’s-ease, Petunia, ageratum, four-o'clock Ralsam and dahlia and tall, yellow stock, Quaint old-time flowers that breathe sweet memories Along the graveled pathways, where the breeze Lingers to watch the lazy lizards flock Through the cool crevices of carven tock Beneath the green-tubbed oleander-trees Aunt Hester prunes ar tends each fragrant row With tender patience. It was here she kept Tryst with her lover fifty years ago. And here were hid the bitter tears she wept When he returned from some far, tropic tide, Bringing an unexpected foreign bride. e “THERE'S NO DANGER, MA'AM. EVERY TIME HENRY TAKES A GIRL OUT HF Charlotte Becker. RUNS THE BOAT ON THAT OLD stUMP”™ comicbooks.com