Life — March 16, 1922 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cover features a caricatured figure wearing a tall black hat, depicted with exaggerated facial features in profile, smoking a pipe. The caption reads "The Pipe of Peace." Without additional context from the magazine's interior, the specific identity of this figure remains unclear, though the imagery suggests a political or diplomatic figure from the early 1920s. The "pipe of peace" reference traditionally evokes Native American diplomatic imagery, here applied satirically to what appears to be a contemporary political negotiation or conflict resolution. The March 1922 date places this during the post-WWI period when various peace treaties and international negotiations were ongoing. The caricature style was typical of Life's political satire of this era.