Life, 1923-05-17 · page 14 of 46
Life — May 17, 1923 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This illustration depicts a man tumbling down a long staircase—a visual gag about the hazards of losing one's footing. The caption "Any Stairway / When you slip on the top step" presents the joke straightforwardly: the dramatic fall illustrated shows the comedic exaggeration of what happens from a simple misstep. The cartoon relies on physical humor rather than political satire. The stark black-and-white photograph emphasizes the vertiginous perspective down the stairs, making the accident appear catastrophic—typical of Life magazine's visual comedy style of the era. The accompanying text discusses summer vacation planning, unrelated to the cartoon itself. This appears to be general entertainment humor aimed at the magazine's middle-class readership.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Any Stairway When you slip on the top step. Your Summer Tri (According to the Advice of Your Traveled Neighbors.) OU will go to some quiet resort near home so as to waste little time getting there and back, and you will go as far as possible in order to get a complete change of air and associations. You will spend most of your time in a seaside cot- tage on the top of a mountain, re- mote from civilization in a metropol- itan city. You will have a varied and expensive wardrobe and will wear old clothes and an army shirt and let your beard grow. You will go alone and take your family with you and spend your entire rest peri- od in solitude among your wife's relations. Your route in two weeks will include Glacier Park, Lookout Mountain, the Delaware Water Gap, the Wisconsin Dells, the Michigan Dunes, the New Jersey beaches, and the Maine woods. The time you have left you will spend accepting pressing week-end invitations. The Other Half CENE: The back room of Mike Gallagan’s. dime: 2:19 A.M. Characters: Two gentlemen and two ladies. First Lapy I wonder if the one in the sweater is a gunman. First GentLemMaNn They're all gunmen. Srconp Lavy How exciting! I adore any place that has atmosphere. First GentLeman And the food's really delicious First Lavy Adorable. Seconp Lavy Aren't the waiters picturesque ? Seconp GENTLEMAN Fascinating types. First Lapy Do you suppose those men in the corner are murderers? First GENTLEMAN They're all murderers here. Seconp Lapy How thrilling! First Lapy I love it. Seconp Lavy Slumming’s so much fun. Seems such a pity to leave. First GENTLEMAN Of course it is. I hate to go. (All exeunt to street, where they secure a taxi and drive off.) ALL (to: themselves) Never so glad to leave anywhere in all my life. Charles G. Shaw. News Notes SADORA DUNCAN will be the guest of honor at the next meet- ing of the American Legion. Clare Sheridan and Rudyard Kip- ling are collaborating on a novel. Moe Isaacson is spending the week-end with Henry Ford. Nikita Balieff and Jack Dempsey are contemplating an excursion into the mission field. Walter Damrosch acclaims Paul Whiteman America’s greatest or- chestra conductor. Marie Dressler and Charles Chap- lin are being mentioned as presiden- tial possibilities. Hak: THE newest ailment is “bridge- wrist.” Due to constantly inhibited desires to strangle one’s partner. comicbooks.com