Life, 1921-03-17 · page 11 of 40
Life — March 17, 1921 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This sketch by R.M. Crosby depicts a social comedy about punctuality at dinner parties. A man in formal attire leans toward a woman, apparently explaining why their friend "Freddy Jones" is chronically late to social gatherings. The caption quotes him saying Freddy's unpunctuality "must be Freddy's fault—he always was unpunctual." The humor targets a specific social anxiety of the era: dinner party etiquette and the embarrassment caused by tardy guests. "Freddy Jones" appears to be a generic name representing a recognizable social type—the perpetually late acquaintance whose behavior was considered inconsiderate and frustrating in formal social settings. The cartoon gently mocks both Freddy's irresponsibility and the social obsession with punctuality.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THERE'S A REASON FOR EVERYTHING ah WE AU. LIKE THE FREDDY JONESES IMMENSELY, BUT WE DO WISIl THEY WOULDN'T ALWAYS BE LATE AT DINNER PARTIES, IT MUST BE FREDDY’S PAULT—HE ALWAYS WAS UNPUNCTUAL.” comicbooks.com