Life, 1920-12-16 · page 26 of 45
Life — December 16, 1920 — page 26: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three distinct pieces of satirical content: **"Kindness to Insects"** - A poem by Arthur Guiterman presenting a whimsical complaint from a melancholy wasp excluded from poetic celebration because insects lack good rhyming names. The satire gently mocks Romantic-era poetry's conventions. **"Remarkable Achievement"** - A brief joke about a character named "Bump" who, despite living eight years in an apartment building, knows only two other tenants. This satirizes urban anonymity and the difficulty of forming connections in crowded city living—a then-modern social commentary. **"On With the Dance"** - A caption joke about a homely but bright girl sitting alone at a dance, suggesting superficiality in social circles. The cartoon shows newly wealthy people ("Newrich") seeking to acquire heirloom antiques for social status, mocking nouveau-riche pretension. The lower illustrations humorously depict dogs' interest in kitchen dinner preparations, serving as gentle domestic humor. The overall tone is light social satire typical of early 20th-century Life magazine.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Excluding me from less— Because, they say, less! Oh, had I but been That bars my Race “ My Friend, that Li Kindness to Insects SAW a Melancholy Wasp Upon a Purple Clover Knosp, Who wept, “The Poets do me Wrong. Noble Song— Though Pure am I and Wholly Crime- my Name is Rhym born a Bee, With Heaps of Words to Rhyme with me, I should not want for Panegyrics In Sonnets, Epics, Odes and Lyri Will no one free me from the Cu from Lofty Verse?” ttle Thing I'll care for At once,” said I—and that is wherefore So tenderly I set that Wasp Upon a Purple Clover Knosp, Arthur Guiterman, On With the Dance “CEE that girl in : but fearfully Newrich: Let Us GOIN HERE, HENRY. WE'VE SIMPLY GOT TO GET SOME HEIRLOOMS SOMEWHERE Remarkable Achievement “RUMP makes friends easily.” “Greatest mixer | ever saw. He has been living in a city apartment house for only eight years and knows two of the other tenants already.” tem ba FX , x SS “I'LL MATCH YE, JOHNNY, TO SEE WItO GITS FIRST THE KITCHEN DOOR CHANCE AT HIM.” WHEN DINNER 1S BEING PREPARED the corner? Homely, bright.” “Yes—bright enough to sit alone.” comicbooks.com