Life, 1923-04-12 · page 39 of 40
Life — April 12, 1923 — page 39: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily **advertising disguised as editorial content**—a common practice in early 20th-century magazines. The cartoon and article form a nested narrative promoting *Life* magazine's subscription. **The Cartoon:** A boss promotes an employee $4 weekly, citing his "sense of humor" observed over 27 years. The visual joke is understated: corporate success supposedly rewarding personality over competence. **The Article's Strategy:** A man lacking professional advancement learns his problem isn't hard work but lacking humor. A successful friend reveals he obtained humor by subscribing to *Life* magazine. Following this advice, the protagonist gains social acceptance and rapid promotions. **The Satire/Sales Pitch:** The piece satirizes American self-help culture and workplace pretense—suggesting employers value likability over merit. Simultaneously, it's a thinly-veiled advertisement claiming *Life*'s humor content can literally improve one's career and social standing. **Modern Context:** This reflects 1920s-era assumptions that personality and charm were learnable commodities valuable for upward mobility, while cynically marketing magazine subscription as the solution.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“You are promoted and your salary is raised $4 a week because I have watched you closely jor the 27 years you have been here and I have observed that you have @ sense of humor.” I Owe My Success to My Sense of Humor HAD never thought that a sense of humor might be helpful to me in social and business life. For years I worked hard and steadily but did not seem to get anywhere. Other fellows were passing me on the road to success. I frequently talked to my wife about it. One night she hit on the solution. I had expressed, for the millionth time, my wonder at my inability to get on and up in the world. a y wife then said: “Perhaps it is because you haven’t any sense of humor.” I knew instantly that she had found the answer. As I looked over the list of men who had progressed while I stood still I saw that every one of them had a sense of humor. That was it! I resolved that evening to get a sense of humor. The next day I talked to one of my suc- cessful friends about my problem, and my resolution. “Oscar,” I said, “you have a sense of humor. How did you get that way “Come out to my house this evening and I will tell you the whole works from A to izzard,” he said in his humorous, light- hearted way. I went to his house expectantly, that evening. A merry fire was burning on the hearth. home was elegantly but tastefully ed. There was an air of prosperity lacking in my own home. A bucket of coal stood near the fireplace. “Fred,” my host began after giving me an expensive-looking cigar, “Fred, your case Send No Money— Just a Dollar You, Too, Can Have Powerful Sense Humor is just like mine was. I didn’t have any more sense of humor than a—ha! ha!— than a rabbit. “I had never thought that a sense of humor might be helpful to me in social and business life. “For years I worked hard and steadily but did not seem to get anywhere. Other fellows were passing me on the road to succe: “T frequently talked to my wife about it. One night she hit on the solution. I had ex- of pressed, for the mil- lionth time, my wonder at my inability to get on and up in the world. “My wife then said: ‘Perhaps it is because you haven't any sense of humor.’ “I knew instantly that she had found the answer. As I looked over the list of men who had progressed while I stood still I saw that every one of them had a sense of humor. That was it! “I resolved that evening to get a sense of humor. “The next day I talked to one of my successful friends about my problem, and my resolution. ‘Harry,’ I said, ‘you have a sense of humor. How did you get that way?” “Well, to make a long story short he invited me out to his house that evening and he told me that he had had the same problem that I had until a friend of a friend of his learned about a magazine called Life— a weekly magazine WITH HUMOR IN IT. “He subscribed and his friends imme- diately noticed a change in him. He began Your Sense of Humor Must Exercised Regularly Like Any Other Muscle to be welcomed socially, and at the office promotion followed promotion so rapidly that they merged. “I took his advice and subscribed to A My friends immediately noticed a change in me. I began to be welcomed socially, and at the office promotion fol- lowed promotion so rapidly that they merged. That's the secret of my success. “LIFE makes a special offer to humor beginners of 10 issues for only $1. Fred, you ought to take LIFE.” That was the turning point in my life. I subscribed to Life at once. Immediately my friends noticed a change in me. I began to be welcomed socially, and at the of- fice promotion followed promo- tion so rapidly that they merged. I owe everything I am to the s. of h. (ha! ha!) I developed by reading Life. Anybody else can do what I have done (provided he has a dollar). (Ha! ha!) Be How to Get a Sense of Humor in Ten Weeks. Here Is the KEY | of your ad- that you are me to subscribe to L: so_here’s my dollar. Foreign, $1.40) t make head or t I am convince: for 10 (Canadian $1.20; LIFE, 598 Madison Avenue New York, N. Y. ‘One Year, $5.00 (Canadian, $5.80; Foreign, $6.60) comicbooks.com