Life, 1921-04-28 · page 14 of 36
Life — April 28, 1921 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical cartoon by Tenggren depicts the laying of the cornerstone for the Cheops pyramid, occurring 671 years ago. The joke centers on labor conditions: Egyptian workers, depicted with exaggerated features, struggle with massive granite blocks while appearing exhausted and miserable. The satire compares ancient Egyptian slave labor to contemporary working conditions. The text notes workers received minimal pay (8.25 cents monthly) and had to work overtime and holidays to earn slightly more—some made only two dollars yearly. The "inactive persons" (strikebreakers) and delayed arrival of "the king and the Board of Aldermen" suggest corruption and indifference to workers' plight. The cartoon critiques how little labor conditions have improved across millennia.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
GTenggrene Unfamiliar Anniversaries—No. 5. By TENGGREN Laying the Cornerstone of Cheops HE incident taking place in the delineation resting at the summit of this dissertation occurred exactly six thousand six hundred and seventy-one years ago to-day. It is estimated that it took one hundred thousand men ten years to bring the material used in the construction of the pyramids to the spot selected as an appropriate site for them, and in no particular was the job rushed, The Egyptian laborers wrestling with the item of granite in the foreground receive eight and one-quarter cents per month. By working overtime, holidays and Sundays, the healthier ones greatly increased their emoluments, and there are records of some who made as much as two dollars per year. The inactive persons in the middle distance are not on a strike. They are bricklayers idle for a lack of mortar, and, in order to procure the chief ingredient used in its composition, are await- ing the annual overflow of the River Nile. The king andthe Board of Aldermen have not yet arrived. comicbooks.com