Life, 1923-05-03 · page 24 of 40
Life — May 3, 1923 — page 24: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page announces a reader-submission contest where Life magazine invites the public to suggest titles for an untitled illustration. The main image depicts an elegant social gathering—a woman dancing or performing while well-dressed guests observe in a parlor setting, suggesting upper-class entertainment. The contest offers prizes ($500 to $50) for the cleverest, most concise titles (maximum twenty words). Submissions must be typed, follow specific formatting rules, and arrive by June 12, 1923. Below is an unrelated cartoon captioned "Brown: Mary, to-day is your birthday, and I kidnapped a cook for you"—a joke about solving the domestic servant shortage (a post-WWI labor problem) through humorous "kidnapping." The page reflects early 1920s magazine culture where reader engagement through contests was common advertising strategy.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
LIFE This Picture Has No Title For the four best titles to the picture shown First Prize Second Prize . Third Prize ... Fourth Prize The Contest will be governed by the following Conpitions. (Contestants are advised to read these conditions care- fully, and to conform to them exactly. Lire cannot under- take to enter into correspondence or to reply to inquiries.) By “best” is understood that title which most cleverly and briefly describes the picture above. The contest is now open and open to everybody, and will close at this office at noon on Tuesday, June 12th, 1923. Titles will be judged by three members of Lire’s Edi- torial Staff, and their decision will ®e final. Titles may be original, or may be a quotation from some well-known author. They are not to exceed twenty words each. Contestants may send in more than one title, but not more than ten to a sheet. Should we have duplicates of any of the winning answers, the full amount of the prize will be given each tying contestant. The final award will be announced as early as possible after the close of the contest (allowing for completion of the final reading). Checks will be sent simultaneously with the announcement of the award. The members of Lire’s staff, of course, are not permit- ted to compete. above, LIFE will award the following prizes: All titles should be addressed to Lire’s Pictur Contest, 598 Madison Avenue, New York, N. Y opes should contain nothing but the competing titles typewritten (or very plainly written), using one side of paper only, with the name and address of the sender on each sheet. Answers which do not conform to these requirements will not be considered in the Contest. Brown: Mary, to-day is your birthday, and I kidnapped a cook for you. comicbooks.com