Life — April 28, 1921 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of Life Magazine Cover, April 28, 1921 The main illustration, credited to Cory Kilver, depicts "The Snob"—a caricatured figure with a prominent beard driving an elaborate, pretentious automobile. The vehicle features ornate details including a coat of arms on the door and an oversized rear exhaust pipe, suggesting ostentatious wealth and social pretension. The satire targets nouveau riche affectation: the "snob" displays exaggerated markers of status (heraldic symbols, elaborate engineering) that reveal insecurity rather than genuine aristocratic standing. The absurdly large exhaust system particularly mocks the owner's need for visible, wasteful displays of affluence. This reflects post-WWI American anxieties about emerging wealthy industrialists and their perceived lack of refined taste, a common theme in 1920s satirical humor.