Life, 1920-04-22 · page 29 of 44
Life — April 22, 1920 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a satirical price list comparing what one American dollar could purchase in different countries circa 1919-1920, following World War I. The humor lies in mocking each nation's characteristic exports and current conditions. **The targets:** - **France**: stereotyped luxuries (mustache wax, champagne, pastries) - **England**: cultural pretension (Shaw plays, nobility connections) - **Italy**: artistic clichés (masters, opera singers, garlic) - **Germany**: post-war humiliation (iron crosses, photos of leaders, destroyed monuments from Berlin) - **Russia**: chaos and violence (assassinations, overthrows, explosions—referencing the recent Bolshevik Revolution and figures like Trotsky and Lenin) - **America**: modest, practical goods (subway rides, coal dust, cheap suits) The satire suggests American economic superiority while mocking each nation's stereotypes and current instability. The accompanying cartoons appear unrelated domestic humor about marriage and social etiquette.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“LIFE: What One U. S. Dollar Will Buy France 17 Ibs. mustache wax. ces French pastry (assorted). raphed tintype — Clemenceau | Wilson. 54 Gorman helmets. 19 he [room farces (suitah. for Amer- 1 adaptation). of postcards (hand-colored). t- champagne (sec or brut). England 1 complete set G. B. Shaw. 1 fancy waistcoat. 1 set cuicestors, 2 knighthoods. i leticr from Viscount Grey, signed. 1 group photograph notables: Sir Oli- r Lodge, Queen Mary, Daisy vford and Harry Lauder. o lr policemen. 4g boules ***** Scots whisky. Italy 7 spaghetti. gonrlolas. 3 near-Carusos. ntic old master. ne Stradivarii. 1 1 4 ger 1 map Fiume. 5 tons edible garlic. 14 palazzi 32 boxes Parmesan cheese (or vio- lets). 1 hogshead Chianti (red or white). Germany ron crosses. 2 photographs Ebert in bathing suit. 1 dito without bathing suit ! pr ilue ribbon dachshunds (Liberty riers). 12 shots at Hindenburg or Tirpitz iter to provide own tomato) cast-iron denkmal (solid- wry head) from Denkmalstrasse. erlin, 1 genuine 233 classes of beer. Russia 1 qt crown jewels (assorted). 76 sets red whiskers. 34 fur coats. 17 assassinations (assorted). 42 riots. 59 explosions. 7 overthrows of government. 4 acres Czecho-Slovakia (southern ex- posure). 9 assured murders Trotzky. 9 ditto Lenine. 65,437 undesirable aliens. 74 gallons kvass. America hat band. oysters, ride in Interborough Subway, New York (including repairs). 1 good look at Mayor Hylan. 2/120 of 1 ready-made suit. 1 grapefruit, F. O. B. Los Angeles. ' 1 oz. coal dust (second grade). haircut. loganberry cocktails. 757 Wamed Off ai HY have I never married?” the old bachelor said in reply to a leading question. “Well, once upon a time, in a crowd, I trod on a lady's gown. She turned furiously, beginning, *You clumsy brute!’ Then she smiled sweetly and said, ‘Oh, I beg pardon! I thought you were my husband! No; it really doesn’t matter in the least,’ “And when I came to think it over, 1 decided that maybe I'd just as well let marriage alone.” - OTHER,” asked the New York child, after hearing her mother read aloud a letter from a country relative, “what is a spare bedroor “NO, MARIE. TELL MR. SNODGRASS THAT MR, MURGATROYD WILL BE QUITE UNABLE TO SEE ANYONE FOR AT LEAST A WEEK. HE HAS JUST RETURNED FROM HAVANA” comicbooks.com