Life, 1920-01-08 · page 18 of 44
Life — January 8, 1920 — page 18: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Top Cartoon:** A prehistoric/caveman scene mocking materialism and status anxiety. A female character pressures her male companion to hunt a tiger so she can wear a fashionable tiger-claw necklace like a wealthy neighbor ("Mrs. Flatface"), satirizing how consumer desire and keeping-up-with-the-Joneses behavior is timeless and primitive. **"What Matter Form?" Story:** A fable about an Ass who prays to become human. Granted this wish, he acquires wealth and indulges in rich men's vices, but dies friendless despite being surrounded by those dependent on his money. The moral: external form (being human/wealthy) doesn't improve character—he remained an ass at heart. **"No Sentiment There" Joke:** A business owner claims to believe in sentiment but can't practice it with a "walking delegate" (a labor union representative or organizer). The satire mocks how labor-management relations were purely antagonistic, with no room for human sympathy or understanding. All three pieces critique materialism, pretense, and the dehumanizing effects of wealth and labor conflicts.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“ON, SHARVFANG, NOW'S YOUR CHANCE TO GET ME A TIGER-CLAW NECKLACE LIKE THE ONE MRS. FLATFACE WEARS!” What Matter Form? Ox a devout Ass prayed the gods that he might be a man. His prayer was granted, and all Olympus rang with merriment, while someone slyly stuffed his pockets full of gold He came into the cities, lived in many lands, and filled his life with all the follies of the rich, then died—mourned by all who fed upon his bounty, but without a friend; and when, through shades of death he reached the Nether- land, found all along he had but played the ASS. No Sentiment There Do you believe in sentiment in business? Yes. But how can anyone get sentimental with a walking delegate? A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES comicbooks.com