Life — April 12, 1923 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Life Magazine Cover, April 12, 1923 This is the cover of Life magazine's "Home-Builders' Number." The illustration depicts cherubs (baby angels) engaged in construction work, using hammers, saws, ladders, and other tools to build a house frame. The satire appears to play on the post-World War I American housing boom of the early 1920s—a period of significant residential construction and real estate development. By portraying construction workers as innocent cherubs rather than adult laborers, the image humorously suggests the almost magical or fantastical nature of the building boom. The cherubs' playful industriousness satirizes either the optimism surrounding housing development or perhaps the somewhat naive enthusiasm for this economic sector during this prosperous era. The "Home-Builders' Number" subtitle confirms this is a special issue devoted to construction and housing topics.