Life — August 12, 1920 — page 27: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a humorous cartoon about American attitudes toward pricing and value. A mounted rider (appearing to be a wayfarer or traveler) directs someone to a hotel, calling it "good" and "very reasonable." The pedestrian responds with mock outrage, essentially saying: "Reasonable prices? That won't work! This isn't a reasonable crowd." The joke satirizes American consumer culture and expectations—suggesting that people *expect* and even *prefer* paying inflated prices, viewing "reasonable" or fair pricing as suspicious or inadequate. It's commentary on the post-war economic boom mentality where extravagance and spending became markers of success and desirability, and thrift seemed un-American. The cartoon pokes fun at this inverted value system through exaggeration and irony.