Life, 1922-12-21 · page 8 of 42
Life — December 21, 1922 — page 8: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The main cartoon depicts an urban street scene with children and adults. The caption contains dialect humor presenting African American characters discussing Christmas gifts, using stereotypical speech patterns common to early 20th-century satirical publications. Below are three short humor sections. "My Husband Says" presents a domestic disagreement about Christmas gift-giving and loungewear. "More Americanization" collects brief anecdotes about famous men (George Washington, Paul Revere, Alexander Hamilton) adopting simplified versions of their names in modern life—a joke about Americanization reducing grand historical figures to casual informality. The final joke references the Coué system (a self-help method popular in the 1920s), suggesting a wife's practice of it has made her insufferable. The humor reflects period attitudes toward domestic life, immigration, and self-improvement trends.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ie “Yo’ kin talk erbout yo’ tukkey an’ yo’ chicken an’ yo’ goose. Dem things is good fo’ white folks but dis heah is de niggah’s Christmas dinnah!” My Husband Says HAT he will give me anything I want for Christmas and I think that is perfectly priceless of him, for I want a lot of things. When we were engaged I used to think, in my more intimate moments with myself, that I'd love to see him in a lounging robe. And I wanted to give him one for Christmas. I thought a purple silk quilted one, with a turquoise blue lining, and green frogs, would be heavenly. But my husband says he wouldn’t be found dead in a quilted anything; and the very thought of a green frog makes him sick. He says he never had a chance to lounge in his life, and he sees less chance of it now than he ever did. But I think it would be dreadful if he should have a chance to lounge around, and have nothing suitable to lounge in. But my husband says he thinks Christmas should be a time to give things to poor old people, and to little chil- dren, and not to load a lot of junk on one’s friends that they don’t want. L. B.S. Hey: What's the trouble between you and your wife? Dey: She's been practicing the Coué system so much that now she really thinks she is better than I am. More Americanization We asked Mr. Edward W. Bok if he hadn't made a mistake in putting the “W.” into his name. He wrote us: “Edward W. Bok is right; that is as I am now; Edward Bok was the chap who edited the Ladies’ Home Journal, and he is no more. It’s the real me now, thank the Lord, trying to express myself.” Atlantic Monthly. “1 AM out of politics,” announced George Washington upon retiring from the Presidency. “Hereafter I in- tend to live my own life. No more George Washington, if you please. In future call me just plain George D. Washington.” “My night riding days are over,” remarked Paul Revere. “The man who gave the Middlesex farmers one exciting night is on the shelf. Please address me in the future as Paul F. X. Revere.” “Before we go any further,” explained Alexander Hamilton on the eve of the duel, “I want it distinctly understood that whatever the outcome I am going to turn over a new leaf and become Alexander M. Hamilton. What Mr. Burr thinks of this is no concern of mine.” F. W. Tuere may be a lot of issues confronting the Ameri- can people, but all eyes are on silk stockings. comicbooks.com