Life, 1920-10-07 · page 36 of 56
Life — October 7, 1920 — page 36: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page announces a contest asking readers to title a cartoon appearing elsewhere in the magazine. The cartoon itself, titled "The Poetry of Motoring: A Day in the Country," depicts a chaotic rural scene: an overturned automobile surrounded by onlookers, scattered debris, and what appears to be a collision or accident scenario. The satire is directed at the early automobile era and the romanticization of motoring as poetic or refined. By showing the messy reality—a broken-down car, dirt, confusion, and rural onlookers gawking at disaster—the cartoon mocks the gap between the idealized vision of motorcar travel and its actual, often disastrous practice in the 1920s. The contest itself offers substantial prize money ($500-$200), reflecting Life magazine's popular reach and the public's engagement with satirical content during this period.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
~LIFE. LIFE’S Title Contest (See the center page cartoon of this issue) ‘For the best title to the center page cartoon of this issue, LIFE will award prizes as follows: First Prize, Second Prize, . Third Prize, ~. The contest will be governed by the following RULES By “best” is understood ‘that title which most cleverly de- scribes the situation shown in the picture. No title submitted shall consist of more than ten words. Hyphenated words will be counted as one. The contest is open to everybody. The contest is now open. It will close at noon on November 30, 1920. All titles should be addressed to the Contest Editor of Lire, Box 262, P. O., New York, N. Y. Envelopes should contain - $500.00 $300.00 $200.00 nothing but the competing title and the name and address of the sender, plainly written, all on the same sheet. Titles will be judged by three members of Lire’s Editorial Staff, and their decision will be final. Titles may be original or may he a quotation from some‘well- known author. Contestants may send in more than one title In case of ties the full amount of the prize will be given to each tying contestant. The final award will be announced as early as possible after the close of the contest. Of this due notice will be Checks will be sent simultaneously with the announcer the award. THE POETRY OF MOTORING A DAY IN THE COUNTRY comicbooks.com