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

What you’re looking at

# Christmas Life Cover, December 1921 This is the cover of *Life* magazine's Christmas issue from December 1921, priced at 25 cents. The image shows two women in matching patterned dresses and cloche hats flanking a black cat, all posed around what appears to be a gift or present. The artwork is credited to Maxfield Parrish, a prominent illustrator of the era. The satire likely plays on 1920s holiday consumption and gift-giving culture, with the fashionably dressed women embodying the modern "flapper" aesthetic of the Jazz Age. The black cat may reference superstitions or simply add festive whimsy. The composition emphasizes commercial holiday excess wrapped in contemporary style—a gentle jab at seasonal materialism and fashion consciousness among well-to-do Americans.