Life, 1920-12-30 · page 7 of 39
Life — December 30, 1920 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical page mocks New Year's Eve social customs among the wealthy. The cartoons depict: 1. **Upper panel**: Friends gathered to watch the clock strike midnight—a tradition the text notes has become tedious after maintaining "conversation only by herculean mental efforts" for hours. 2. **Middle left**: A woman wishing her husband a Happy New Year from bed, escaping the forced socializing. 3. **Middle right**: A couple arguing over clock discrepancies—the Waspata's clock shows only quarter past eleven, sparking heated debate about when to actually celebrate. 4. **Bottom**: Guests toasting with "a bowl of his own brewing"—implying homemade alcohol, likely referencing Prohibition-era bootlegging. The satire targets the artificiality and tedium of upper-class New Year's traditions.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
~LIFE Seeing the New Year In Never is the New Year so long in coming as when y riend see it in. Since ten o'clock the Flippits and their guests, thesDalrymples, have ma only by herculean mental efforts. Now at ten after eleven it has completely perished. Mrs. Flippit has just played her last card by offering her book of snapshots to Mr. Dalrymple, but be is completely absorbed in deciding whether the clock has stopped, and passes the trick. And fifty minutes of 1yz0 remain! sit up with nined conversa’ The vagaries Can anyone say wherein the pleasure lies pieces are always a of being roused from sound slumber, wished a dispute on New Ye Happy New Year and left to toss the rest of watch the night thinking of income taxes, strikes, ready coal shortages, payments on mortgages and ings a t other joys that the New Year holds in store? Mrs. backs her own Mrs. Elfrida Wynn can't say, but still she shows only qu lies awake till midnight so as to be sure to follows an argume wish her dear Ferdinand a Happy New Year nidnight finall on the stroke of twelve. ton speaking t ther a “Happy New Year,” anyway go to bed credited surprise at his New Year's party in the form of a bow! of his own brewing, and has annour that on the tick of twelve they will toast the New Year. comicbooks.com