Life, 1921-04-21 · page 10 of 36
Life — April 21, 1921 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical cartoon depicts an architect or designer (seated) presenting plans to wealthy patrons. The caption reveals the satire: a post-war millionaire claims to build a house suited to everyone's tastes—Queen Anne style for "Mother," Georgian for "Susie," and Louis Feller style for "George"—while asserting "I can afford it." The joke mocks the nouveaux riche (newly wealthy individuals) of the post-war period who ostentatiously display wealth by attempting to satisfy every family member's architectural whim simultaneously. The cartoon satirizes both the pretentiousness of war profiteers and the absurdity of building a single house incorporating multiple incompatible historical styles, suggesting such eclecticism reveals vulgar excess rather than refined taste.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
562 ug Post-war Millionaire (to architect): 11's THIS WAY: MOTHER MERE 1S STRONG FOR QUEEN ANNE, SUSIE WANTS IT GEORGIAN, AND GEORGE HAS SET HIS MIND ON THAT LOUIS FELLER, WHAT I SAY IS, BUILD THE HOUSE TO SUIT 'EM ALL. 1 CAN AFFORD IT, comicbooks.com