Life, 1922-12-07 · page 7 of 80
Life — December 7, 1922 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily **advertisements and advice content**, not political satire. The main article, "Solving the Problem Sensibly," discusses practical Christmas gift-giving—specifically how the author's wife chose to give **photographs of their children** to relatives instead of purchasing multiple physical gifts. This reflects 1920s-era economic concerns about holiday spending. The advertisements promote consumer goods: a **Twinplex Stropper** safety razor, **Whiting-Adams brushes**, and a subscription offer for *Life* magazine itself. A short poem, "To a Young Lady," appears below, offering sentimental verse typical of period magazines. This represents *Life*'s evolution toward lifestyle and commercial content alongside its earlier satirical tradition.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
! j Solving the Problem Sensibly Y wife solved the Christmas problem earlier than usual this year. I am glad she did, for while my banker took care of me I could hardly have got the loan at a moment’s notice. . It was photographs of the child- ren this time. . “Why not just get two or three dozen really good photographs of the children and send one to each f relatives? Why put up with pense and agony of hunting t was unanswerable, of course. And I knew it couldn’t be any worse the year she concentrated on —just a nice, good book for each of them, was the way she put it. Of course, she had no way of knowing that our own gifts would begin to arrive before we got the books off, shaming us out of send- ing a mere five- or six-dollar book. And, as she said, keeping them wasn’t really a loss. Four or five books on the table really added to the appearance of a room, she thought. I've just completed .the photo- graph contract. They were only ninety-five dollars a dozen, and even after we had three dozen, an extra dozen, in the other pose my wife thought was so dear, only brought it up to something under four hundred dollars. It gives one such a comfortable feeling to know that the family Christmas gifts are all ready, wrapped and stamped. I can feel practically certain that I won't have to do any Christmas shopping or borrow any more money until the eighteenth or nineteenth of December, at the earliest. Of course, I don’t know what we shall do with the photographs after my wife decides they are not good enough to send. Four dozen pic- tures of one’s children are a good many for a four-room apartment. McC. H. To a Young Lady You prate not of suppressed desires, Of complexes and dreamings weird. The burning of the cosmic fires Somehow has left your soul un- seared, In innocence and sweetness clad, By youth and youthful courage buoyed, You follow no erotic fad, A simple maiden, unafreud. AS _ Give him a Twinplex Stropper for his _ safety razor. He'll be grateful every day, for years to come! Twinplex improves new ~ blades 100% and gives 100 perfect shaves from each ,new blade. No trouble—no adjusting; a few turns _strop keen;—both edges at once: “Sold everywhere at $3.00 for single edge; $5.00 for double edge blades. Twinplex Sales Co. St. Louis, New York, Montreal. Most extensive and best line of ig Toilet Brushes in the world Send for Illustrated Literature JOHN L. WHITING-J. J. ADAMS CO. Boston, U.S.A, Brush Manufacturers for Over 113 Years and the Largest in the World “SUBSCRIBE TO LIFE” that pleases old and young. 3 Christmas Offer: Enclosed find Five Dollars (Canadian $5.80, Foreign Send Lire for one year to The Philosopher utters The Magic Phrase, For the Christmas Shopper—Satisfaction—The gift $6.60). “Open Sesame” is out of date. ._, With LIFE, 598 Madison Ave., New York Ctristmas, Card M irom comicbooks.com