Life, 1919-12-25 · page 12 of 37
Life — December 25, 1919 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three separate humorous sketches without clear political figures or specific historical references. **"Old Lady"** (top left): A woman complains that "destructive Willie Brown" broke her window yesterday and broke it again today—the joke being the child's repeat offense and her exasperation. **"A Curious Baby"** (top right): An angel shows a man a newborn described as unusually old and demanding (wanting alcohol, a union card instead of normal infant behavior). The humor lies in satirizing cynical modern attitudes toward birth and childhood. **"Drawing the Line"** (bottom): Two sketches about financial constraints—one about a tailor's pockets becoming useless after paying for a suit, another about borrowing a toy engine. These mock working-class economic struggles and the absurdity of poverty. The page's humor is domestic and economic rather than explicitly political.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“HERE YOU AKE, MR. GAYROY; SIGN AGA YOU HAVEN'T MISSED IN YEA A Curious Baby | y20 comes into the world with both hands open, a bottle of wood-alcohol in one and a bomb in the other. Old Lady: 1's THAT pesTKLCTIVE WILLIE nkOWN! I ; ‘ he o Instead of being bald it is born with long hair, a la Russe YESTERDAY HE RROKE MY WINDOW, AND TO-DAY IT’S MES. SIMPSON’S POND Instead of bawling it sits up straight and asks for a union card. There never was an older New Year's born on. this planet. Drawing the Line HE CHAIRMAN: Don't you think, gentlemen, in view of the high cost of living, we ought to increase our: pastors salary? VestryMAN: That's all right. But don’t pay him for overtime on his sermons. “SIDE OR TOP POCKETS, St “WHAT USE WILL I HAVE FOR POCKETS WHEN 1 GET SAY, PA, WOULD YOU AN’ UNCLE MIND IF I BORROW MY THROUGH PAYING FoR THIS SUIT?” NEW ENGINE FOR A LITTLE WHILE?”