Life, 1920-06-24 · page 34 of 41
Life — June 24, 1920 — page 34: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily **advertising and subscription promotion**, not political satire. The main content includes: 1. **B.V.D. Underwear Advertisement** (top left): A conventional product ad emphasizing durability and the brand's signature red woven label. 2. **"Cow, Calf and Bird" Poem** (top right): A light, whimsical verse by John Tolman about farm animals making humorous sounds. The "flummadingoes" and punning wordplay ("cough/berred") are meant as gentle, nonsensical humor. 3. **Advice Column** (bottom left): Discusses social psychology and sympathy—how to get others to open up, then turn conversations toward yourself. This reflects early-20th-century etiquette and self-help culture. 4. **Life Magazine Subscription Pitch** (bottom right): Advertises the magazine as relief from "New England Conscience"—positioning *Life* as offering humor and lightness against Puritanical seriousness. This is *Life*'s actual marketing strategy, not satire. The page reflects the magazine's blend of advertising, light verse, and social commentary typical of 1920s publications.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
LON GWE AR MATERIALS OF ENDURING STRE H AND WORK MAN—~ SHIP OF SCRUPULOUS CARE MAKE BVD WEAR FAR BEYOND WHAT IT IS FAIR TO EXPECT NO UNDERWEAR IS BVD WITHOUT THIS RED WOVEN LABEL. MADE FOR THE (5 Met CSG cn or Gone THE BV D- COMPANY NE WY ORK Cow, Calf and Bird O*F day I took a photograph Of daddy's spotted cow and caph They lay at ease in a ravine, On the cool turf of freshest grine. Oh, goodness mi exclaimed the calf; “Such flummadingoes make me lalf!" Just then a sparrow on a hough Hurled a bass solo at the cough. Her bovine ladyship averred s | ‘sl | “How nice of that dear little berred!” Johw Talman, SDD BES S353 2S SS SSS api SSS SSS SSS SSS SSSSSS sar the best way is to begin on the other man Ask him how he is feeling. Imp you are ready to sympathize with him Indicate that you know things are not 4 well with him. Invite him to open up his breast. Do not, however, let him xo too far, otherwise he will beat you at your own game. Learn to seize upon that auspicious moment when you can deftly turn the tables on him by saying: “Yes, I can quite understand. That is the way I feel myself. I want to tell you exactly what I myself am going through.” You've got him then. He cannot escape yout, because by patience and self-control you have taken the ground from under him, The real danger of mobilizing a society of people who go about sympathizing with themselves is, of course, that they may almost immediately become so numerous that there will be no outsiders to practice upon. It should therefore be a secret society, composed of a respectable num- ber of selected spirits who are entitled to admission on their merits, ~ + For Relief from the Strain of a New England Conscience Read be ye A good laugh makes existence seem brighter, less sinful, and better worth while. Try it yourself for a year, or, Obey That Impulse, and for a trial trip, avail yourself of our Special Offer ed find One Dollar (Canadian $1.13, Foreign $1.26). Send Live for three months to Open only to new subscribers; no subscriptions renewed at this rate. LIFE, 17 West 31st Street, New York, One Year $5 Canadian $5.32 Foreign $6.08 6 pa comicbooks.com