Life, 1920-03-04 · page 17 of 78
Life — March 4, 1920 — page 17: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is *Life* magazine's humorous complaint about its own operational troubles. The anthropomorphic "Life" mascot (a rotund, childlike figure) has suffered multiple calamities: a two-month printers' strike, paper shortages, postal/railroad delays, influenza affecting staff, and a severe storm disrupting distribution. The editorial uses self-deprecating humor, personifying the magazine as a battered character while assuring readers that normal service will resume. The cartoons reinforce this: one shows a dog struggling to guard both house and bone (divided attention), representing Life's publication challenges. Another depicts a poor consumer caught in hunting season—satire on how ordinary people suffer from supply-chain disruptions. The child-coercion cartoon is unrelated domestic humor. The tone is apologetic yet wry, essentially saying: "We've had a rough time, but we'll recover."
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
‘LIF E~ Listen to Our Tale of Woe IFE’S rotund form and infantile features have been pictured in these pages in vir- tually every guise except that of a cry- Even now he is not shedding tears, although there would be valid excuse, considering the way he has been spanked by Fate dur- ing the past half-year. After all, he has been more hu- miliated than hurt. His vanity is wounded be- cause of the distressful conditions of his appearance before his friends and readers. Here are some of the things he has had to endure: A paralyzing printers’ strike last- ing almost two months. \ shortage of paper, meaning irregularity of supply and a variation in the quality of printing. A general demoralization in postal, express and railroad service entailing losses and delays in every department of the printing and publishing business. Then the influenza took a fling at us, crippling our forces ! shortening working hours. last straw came the unprecedented storm in New and vicinity, which tied up every means of getting per in and papers out. Pup: GREAT GUNS! I CAN'T WATCH THE HOUSE AND KEEP AN EYE ON THIS BONE TOO! ON WITH THE HUNT The Poor Old Ultimate Consumer (emerging cautiously) : CONFOUND IT! IT ALWAYS SEEMS TO BE MY OPEN SEASON! But are we dismayed? Not at all. If only Lire’s friends will remember that to-day’s injury means a period of con- valescence, they will understand that Lire cannot suddenly return to his usual beauty and agility. As the whole world gets back to better health the abnor- mal conditions will get out of Lire’s environment. Spring is coming with blue skies, budding flowers and singing birds. And Lire will soon be himself again. “MOTHER, I BET YOU COULD MAKE PAPA BUY YOU THAT COAT IF YOU'D LIE ON THE FLOOR AN’ KICK” comicbooks.com