Life — October 19, 1922 — page 5: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Checkers" from Life Magazine This is an illustration for a game of checkers styled as romantic theater. Two elegantly dressed figures—a woman and man in period costume—sit before an oversized checkerboard positioned like a stage set, with decorative architectural elements and cherubs above. The accompanying poem by F.D.P. frames checkers as a romantic contest: "A checkerboard of ebony and ivory / The latticed moonlight makes / Upon the floor. Come let us play." The humor lies in elevating a simple board game to high dramatic romance, playing on early 20th-century notions of courtship as theatrical performance. The "one thing more: you must not cheat" serves as gentle moral instruction wrapped in flirtation. This appears designed as whimsical entertainment content for *Life*'s readers.