Life, 1922-09-28 · page 33 of 36
Life — September 28, 1922 — page 33: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a humorous advertisement for *Life* magazine's subscription coupon. The satire targets a practical frustration: the magazine's previous subscription coupons were too small, with dotted lines too short to accommodate readers with large handwriting or long names (particularly those with multiple middle names or lengthy surnames—possibly referencing ethnic names common in early 20th-century America). The joke is self-deprecating: *Life* claims it has been "keeping thousands of people from subscribing" simply because they couldn't fit their names on the form. The advertisement offers an oversized coupon with extra space as a solution, positioning it as a generous accommodation. This reflects the era's humor about conformity and bureaucratic inconvenience, while also subtly acknowledging America's diverse immigrant population with longer, non-Anglo names.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ever printed Hive our regulation small coupons cramped your style ? Is your handwriting large and ferocious? Is your name too long for our ordinary dotted line? Then here at last is your chance to subscribe to LIFE. Years ago we fell into the habit of printing our corner coupons small It has just occurred to us that we have been keeping thousands of people from subscribing to LIFE—those who write a wild, untrammeled hand; those with long names, with lots of mid- dle names, or last names with eight or ten syllables. Recently several friends have written us: “I would sub- scribe to LIFE if your dotted lines were longer.” So we rush to make amends. We offer herewith the largest subscription coupon and the longest dotted lines ever presented to pining, panting, prospective subscribers. People who have never been able to subscribe to ANY magazine can now subscribe to LIFE. Here’s a coupon with all the elbow room you need. GO TO IT. @ a Special a ‘Offer Enclosed find One y J Dollar (Canadian, 2 $1.20; Foreign, $1.40). 4 Send LIFE for ten weeks. os LIFE, 598 Madison Ave., New York One Year, $5.00 (Canadian, $5.80; Foreign, $6.60) comicbooks.com