Life, 1921-09-15 · page 32 of 34
Life — September 15, 1921 — page 32: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily **advertising with humor sidebars**—a common Life magazine format of the era. The main advertisements promote: - **Continental and Commercial Banks' Bond Department** (investment safety information) - **Egyptian Deities cigarettes** (25¢, marketed as refined) - **Prophylactic toothbrush** (universal one-tooth design joke) The right column contains humorous **anecdotes and jokes** typical of Life's "Our Foolish Contemporaries" feature, including: - A reference to **Secretary Hoover** discussing American social mobility versus European class rigidity - British/international humor about barbers, artists, train conductors, and rural life - Satirical commentary on contemporary social anxieties (nervousness about transportation, class pretension, artistic trends) The **Deities cigarette cartoon** depicts leisure-class golfers, suggesting cigarettes signify refinement and cultured relaxation—standard 1920s advertising messaging. Overall, this reflects early 20th-century American magazine culture: financial institutions building credibility through earnest appeals, luxury goods marketed through snobbishness, and gentle satirical humor aimed at urban, educated readers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The CONTINENTAL and COMMERCIAL BANKS CHICAGO Before you invest your money you will want to know the facts about every offering you consider. Our Bond Department is a storehouse of infor- mation concerning Safety Interest Yield Marketability, and Collateral Value of practically every important security on the market. This information is yours for the asking, without obligation. BOND DEPARTMENT CONTINENTAL and COMMERCIAL AAA IU CHICAGO ‘TRUST ann SAVINGS BANK | TE LACT EGYPTIAN DEITIE “The Utmost in Cigarettes” Plain End or Gork Tip “People of culture and refinement invariably “PREFER ‘Deities to any other cigarette Too. Forward Secretary Hoover said at a banquet: “One difference between Europe and America is that over there they keep you in your place—statioi know, while here we like to see : rise. “The European idea is pretty well il- lustrated by the remarks of Muggins, Muggins on his return from the pub one Saturday night, said to his wife: “IT believe in manly pride and rea- sonable ambition, but when Se Todd with his cork leg takes to c a cane besides, it looks to me as was tryin’ to climb out of the station what Divine Providence sunk him into.’ "—Kansas City Star. Mutual Assistance A customer entered the smali-town barber shop. “How soon can you cut my hair?” asked of the proprietor, who w in an easy chair, perusing the pz said the barber, addressing his errand boy, “run over and tell the edi- tor if he’s done editin’ the paper I'd like my scissors.” —Edinburgh Scotsman. An Art Golfer “Have you noticed that Dauber has changed his style of painting lately? From his former meticulous method he has turned to a sort of slapddsh impres- sionism.” “Yes. It’s the influence of golf. I think—he now tries to do his work with the fewest number of strokes.” —Boston Transcript. Safety First Conpuctor (to nervous gentleman): Well, you'd better not sit in the obser- vation car. That's the one that gets the worst of it in an accident. Nervous GENTLEMAN: Why the devil do you bring it along, then? —Kasper (Stockholi). Information Wanted “I have brought this wedding pres- ent—” “To exchange it?” interposed the jeweler. “No, merely to ask what it is. —Louisville Courier-Journal. In the Pink Vicar: Your pigs are doing very well, John—very well indeed. Joun: Ay, they be. If me and you wos as fit t’ die as they be, we ‘ud do, sir.—Punch. Ar last we have seen the genuine “bouncing baby.” The little fellow was in the sidecar of a motorcycle. —Toledo Blade. Vincen RS. w. V. Tu S home. that decid “Y ing q Don't got u for w B she d and 1 beside weedi dinne this ; over, the m ing 1 for t! Gr your Pai thing. and } Prints In comicbooks.com