Life, 1923-05-24 · page 30 of 42
Life — May 24, 1923 — page 30: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two distinct elements: **The Picture Title Contest** (top): Life magazine invites readers to submit titles for an untitled illustration showing an elegant social gathering—a woman entertaining men in what appears to be a parlor. The contest offers $500 for the best title, with strict submission rules (typewritten, under 20 words, by June 12th). **The Cartoon** (bottom): A child has broken a doll and explains to her mother that the doll "went on a hunger strike" and she "tried forcible feeding." This references the **suffragist movement**, where women activists used hunger strikes as protest tactics while imprisoned. The joke satirizes how contemporary political struggles have filtered into children's play—a child uses adult political vocabulary to describe ordinary mischief, mocking both the seriousness of suffragists and the pervasiveness of protest discourse in 1910s culture. The "Flashes in the Pan" column consists of brief, cynical social observations typical of satirical magazines of the era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
LIFE LIFE’S Picture Title Contest—$1000 in Prizes This Picture.Has No Title For the best titles to this picture, Lire will award prizes as follows: First Prize - $500 Second Prize - $300 Third Prize « $150 Fourth Prize » $50 ConpiTI0Ns. (Contestants are advised to read these conditions carefully, and to conform to them exactly. Lire can- not undertake to enter into corres- pondence or to reply to inquiries.) By “best” is understood that title which most cleverly and briefly de- scribes the picture above. The contest is now open and open to everybody, and will close at this office on June 12th, at noon. Titles will be judged by three members of Lire’s Editorial Staff, and their decision will be final. Titles may be original, or may be a quotation from some well-known author. They should not 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 announc- ed 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 will not compete. All titles should be addressed to Lire’s Pic- ture Title Contest, 598 Madison Avenue, New York. Envelopes should contain nothing but the com- peting titles, typewritten (or very plainly written), using one side of paper only, with the name and ad- dress of the sender on each sheet. Answers which do not conform to these requirements will not be considered in the contest. Flashes in the Pan Ir is true that we live in an age of materialism. The chief tragedy of this lies in the quality of the material. ** * Who would not rather believe a charming theory than a sound one? ee A first-edition fiend—one who judges a book by its cover. xe * Is it possible that we are grow- ing serious over our sentimentali- ties? What has become of the com- ic valentine? **_* * Has the grandeur of yesterday become the ridicule of to-day? * eK Did they speak of the “good old days” in the “good old days”? ** * Who is as dull a conversational- ist as the one who tells nothing but the truth? **e * Would a dancer’s diary consist mainly of footnotes? “Why, Mary. how did you break your doll?” “She went on a hunger strike, Mama, and I tried forcible feeding.”