Life — February 24, 1921 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Winter House Parties This page by Gluyas Williams presents humorous vignettes of wealthy Americans at winter retreats. The cartoons satirize upper-class social conventions and pretensions: The top left shows guests at "Cobblestone Lodge" in the Adirondacks, mocking how the lodge "seems to be pretty well operated most of the time" despite being heated only by open fires. The top right depicts Mrs. John Bittersweet as an anxious hostess obsessing over guests' comfort at her Berkshires property. Lower panels illustrate specific incidents: a snowball fight at the Vandervoorts' estate and Ferdinand Fluker's exaggerated hunting story about a twenty-mile snowshoe tramp—satirizing the tendency of wealthy men to embellish outdoor exploits. Williams' humor targets the self-importance and social anxiety of the leisure class.