Life, 1921-11-03 · page 13 of 34
Life — November 3, 1921 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is an insurance advertisement disguised as satirical comic commentary. The page uses cartoons depicting domestic mishaps—a gravy dish falling during dinner, a woman collapsing while dancing, people gathered around someone in distress—to argue that ordinary people face constant small emergencies requiring insurance coverage. The satire targets complacency. It mocks those who carry only basic policies (life, health, auto) while ignoring specialized coverages like burglary or weather damage. The specific example mentions Mrs. Deanbottle's near-disaster at the Van Sluykers' musicale, where a mishap could have prevented her from buying a Rolls-Royce. The underlying message: life's unpredictable chaos demands comprehensive insurance protection, presented through exaggerated, comedic scenarios of upper-class social embarrassments.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Please Don’t Wait! Insure Before It’s Too Late If you carry only life, health, accident, fire, automobile, weather, burglary and hold-up insur- ance you are really only half-protected. Every day of your life you come face to face with little emergencies that ought to be covered by a policy. Telephone your nearest agent. that underneath _ his wed purpose of remaining single there lurks a dangerously suscept- ible temperament, Mr. Bynn has insured himself against matrimony. what with a fullish moon, cems fairly certain to collect on his policy. As a matter of fact, we fail to see how the insurance company gets along, since it has also insured the lady in question against his failing to propose. But that’s their business. What hostess, on seeing a gravy dish impending over the head of Horace J. Twiggins, the paper towel king, with whom her husband hopes to close a $25,000 deal, could maintain the superb calm of Mrs. Fotheringay? But Mrs. F., knowing the infinite capacity of her maid for creating just such a situation, has insured herself against it for the amount involved. Thus it is of little moment to her whether the gravy dish falls or not. Any woman with even the most modest social aspirations skould certainly insure herself against her husband. Where would Mrs. Deanbrittle be, for instance, if she had not taken out such a policy before attending the Van Sluykers’ musicale—the occasion when her husband napped so well that the famous pianist was unable to compete. The $15,000 was small compensation enough, but it enabled Mrs. Deanbrittle to buy a Rolls- Royce and so to get into the running again. You really ought not to go to a dance without half a dozen policies in your pocket. To name only one contingency that might arise, think of getting stuck for eight or nine dances with the hostess’s post- débutante daughter. It would be a comforting thought to know that the insurance company will pay you $10 for every dance over two, with double liability if she believes that she can lead better than men, and puts her belief into practice. comicbooks.com