Life — April 21, 1921 — page 10: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of "Post-war Millionaire" 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.