Life — December 25, 1919 — page 18: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a satirical illustration of a pretentious literary salon. The caption indicates it depicts "a literary evening at Mrs. Ketchum's when Miss Mabel" (text cuts off) from a "school of authors" reads her work to an assembled audience. The satire appears to mock such gatherings: the gathered attendees display exaggerated, self-satisfied expressions while listening to the reading. Books are scattered on the floor, suggesting either careless intellectualism or that the literary quality doesn't warrant careful handling. The formal setting and dressed-up participants suggest aspirations to high culture, which the artist treats with gentle ridicule. The joke targets both the pretensions of amateur literary circles and, possibly, the vanity of those who attend them—a common early-20th-century *Life* magazine target of satire.