Life, 1922-10-19 · page 33 of 36
Life — October 19, 1922 — page 33: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily **advertising and social commentary**, not political satire. The main content is a short story titled "Character at a Glance" about making snap judgments of restaurant patrons based on appearance—a popular parlor game of the era. The humor lies in the **ironic reveal**: the narrator's character readings are completely wrong. The "fat gross man" isn't a salesman with a mistress but a respectable family man. The "heartless businesswoman" is actually a mother. The "aristocratic dowager" flirts shamelessly. The joke critiques superficial character-reading and class assumptions. The page includes period advertisements (Cammeyer shoes, Locktite tobacco pouch, Clearbone soap) and a poem called "Tokens." There's also an article about alcohol manufacture in Brooklyn and French wine—likely referencing Prohibition-era bootlegging, though the text remains oblique about this sensitive topic. No specific political figures or cartoons appear on this page.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Character at a Glance HAD taken a correspondence course in how to read character ata glance. I felt that I was pretty good. I sat in the lounge of a smart restaurant and applied it to the vari- ous folk around me who were also occupied with the arduous business of waiting. The fat gross man, no doubt, was a traveling salesman, keeping an appointment with some cabaret cutie. The quiet, refined lit- tle girl not far distant was perhaps just in from boarding school and waiting for her chaperon. I didn’t like the big blonde who di- vided her time between her back hair and her pinky ring. A_ heartless » ‘ype, I decided—probably a business woman about to meet an out-of-town buyer. Next to her sat a meek little man heavily wearing the look of an intellectual. The haughty dowager next to me was without doubt an aristocrat. There was assurance and breeding in every fold of her chin. Even the set of her hat was imposing and her silken ruffles seemed conscious of the honor bestowed upon them. I de- cided she was to meet a foreign am- bassador’s wife for lunch—none less. In pitiable contrast was the little old lady at my right. She looked tired and worn and just a bit rusty. Possibly a hard-working mother who would meet a near relation and go on to eat at a less expensive place. AMMEYER Branch de Luxe footwear for Women, Young Ladies and Junior Misses, is always so styled as to carry exclusive- ness, so priced as to avoid ex- All. Patent Leather, ith covered Military heel. Also in all White Kid. travagance, CAMMEYER, An illustrated Brochure will be sent upon request, 611-Fifth A Between S3rd and 54th Streets Branch De Lixe venue @/ TOBACCO POUCH Nary a Spill you can fill pipe or cigarette paper from LOCKTITE and never spill a crumb. Opens easy— closes tight. No buttons or strings. Sold at cigar, drug and leather goods store, If dealer cannot sup- ply send $1.25 most pop- ular size. Genuine Si Rubber Li Made and Fully Guaranteed by TheF. S. MILLS CO. Gloversville, N. E 8. GIVENS, 228 Chemical Bidg.,Keesas City,Mo. People sifted in. The fat, gross man was greeted by a motherly look- ing woman of fifty who started talk- ing about the new window boxes. The next moment the refined little girl toddled out after a blasé man- about-town. He was calling her “Tootsie.” The big blonde smiled as a girl of fifteen addressed her as “Mother.” As she led the way into the grill I heard her saying, “Dear- est, I saw the sweetest—” The little old lady was shortly ap- proached by a footman who in- formed her obsequiously that the “car was waiting.” It was then I noticed that the dowager had started a flirtation with the intellectual man and was taking him in to lunch. H.R. A Great Year for Stimulants Reports come that it is a remark- able wine year in France and that both red and white wines are of admirable quality. But that news is of no consequence to us. What concerns us is that the manufacture of beverages from wood alcohol, denatured alcohol and other standard materials proceeds prosperously and on a great scale in Brooklyn, and that Scotland is get- ting so rich making whisky for ex- port that Marshal Haig has found it expedient to go back into the direc- torate of Haig & Haig. Art any rate, “Love one another” is conceded to have a better chance of becoming an eleventh Command- ment than of finding its way into the revised marriage service. Tokens Wuen I can say, “My broken,” ’Tis but a sign it soon will mend, For of all words, the words unspoken Are those that have the power to rend. And when I make to you confessi “My heart is wholly your: ware! For with the tale of its possession My heart becomes as free as air. heart is Bathing de luxe! with No. 4711 BathSalts A bath in plain water is merely a wash. Add a spoonful of No. 4711 Bath Salts and it is a dream of luxury set in a temple of perfume. HUM. Salts The water becomes very soft, the odor of it deli- cate and refreshing! No, 4711 is ava: seven perfumes, at any counter where toilet re- quisites of quality are dispensed. Produced in U. S.A. erine Soap and Ni 4711 Eau de Cologne. b) MULHENS & KROPFF,, Ine (qj 25 W. 45th St, N. Bromo comicbooks.com