Life, 1920-03-25 · page 13 of 40
Life — March 25, 1920 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes modern manners and social decline. The poem, attributed to Richard Butler Glaenzer, contrasts an idealized past ("when silks were worn and hats were doffed") with the present day's shabby behavior—poor clothing, rude conduct, and lack of courtesy. The illustrations depict contemporary urban scenes: fashionable people in carriages and crowded streets. The satire criticizes how modern life has supposedly coarsened society: people now "work and spend and talk," appearing "out of place" and lacking refinement. The "Old Beau" represents nostalgic yearning for Victorian-era politeness and elegance, mocking contemporary Americans as crude by comparison. This reflects early 20th-century anxiety about declining social standards.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
He= should have lived in other days, When silks were worn and hats were doffed, And gallants drove a iacquered chaise And purchased Spode and Lowestoft; He should have lived when port was king And polished manners were the thing. Our sombre clothes and hustling walk, Our lack of courtesy and charm, The way we work and spend and talk, Puckers his brow with vague alarm, With us he looks as out of place As Brummel without snuff or lace. Richard Butler Glaenczer. comicbooks.com