Life, 1922-09-07 · page 30 of 44
Life — September 7, 1922 — page 30: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a humorous Life magazine article mocking the superstition surrounding cursed diamonds—a popular tabloid obsession of the early 20th century. The piece invents a fictional "Gem of Doom" supposedly discovered by Connecticut farmer Alvin Kippy in 1681, with an elaborate curse narrative spanning generations. The satire targets credulous society's fascination with cursed objects and their supposed supernatural consequences. Each transfer of the diamond coincides with convenient misfortunes (deaths, divorces, financial ruin). The article includes period portraits and photographs of actual people (notably Senator John Kippy and actresses Babe LaMotte and Graycie Quinn) to add false authenticity to the fabrication. The joke is the absurdity: readers are meant to recognize this as invented hokum while society reportedly remains enchanted by such nonsense. It satirizes both superstition and celebrity scandal-mongering.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
MAGazine sectiON How This Costly Bauble, ONE again has the “Gem o’ Doom” lived up to its hun- Known as The Weird Gem dred-year curse. Once again has it obeyed the famous ODooni; has Wrecked Four malediction of Alvin Kippy, the Connecticut farmer who turned it up with his plow in 1681, The death of the Countess HOmes, Two Houseboats Myrtle Robinson, a few weeks ago, the impending double- divorce of Senator John Kippy and the former Frankie Buck and Sixteen Hearts ! are but recent additions to the long list of calamities that have pursued the un- happy owners of the fateful Kippy Diamond. According to the records of the time, Alvin Kippy was one of a family of six children, known throughout Con- necticut as “the handsome Smith boys.” Alvin, like his father, was a farmer and Egypt- ologist. One day, while reaping in the fields, Alvin stumbled over something hard. Without glancing at the object that had tripped him, tradition credits “atiopye Poly.” him with the fa- ne eT eit & mous oath, which Babe LaMotte and Graycie Quinn, hile San Juan and drat ye and number, from the current “Follies.” ig disc & curse ye; and may fed to 'many “ispy becaiae of himself whoever encoun- the Kippy Curse. ters ye have nu- merous mishaps!” He then picked up the stone now known as “Kippy’s Gem.” The Kippys and their friends paid no attention to Al oath until several years after his death. Then St. Elmo Kippy, the Harrison “Ser fa- oldest son, died. Then Mrs. Kippy died. Then old Mr. Kippy mosh postal ot om: died. “Get rid of the diamond at any decent price,” was the fam- “Rover” his pet mus- _ ily’s cry. It fell into the hands of Morton Braswish. Braswish aches neces Piette died. On his deathbed Senator “Johnny” Kippy bought it back. at the gay M. E. Bazaar in Petrograd a year before the So the curse has run on. And society asks: revolution. The portrait with its stra markings now 2 " as ” hangs in the Louvre next to Leonardo's uGiocenda™ “What on earth will the Kippy bijou do next?” comicbooks.com