Life, 1923-08-30 · page 35 of 36
Life — August 30, 1923 — page 35: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **promotional page**, not satirical commentary. Life magazine uses seasonal transition as a hook to advertise its upcoming Fall issues. The cartoon shows a figure holding aloft a glowing "LIFE" sphere while standing before crowds—a visual metaphor for Life magazine's cultural importance and broad appeal. The text employs light humor: the rhetorical setup (if no Fall, no Fall issues of LIFE) is deliberately circular logic, inviting readers to anticipate the magazine's autumn content. The real message is promotional: Life lists prominent illustrators (Maxfield Parrish, Norman Rockwell, John Held Jr.) and writers (Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley) who will contribute to Fall issues. This represents Life's golden era when it was genuinely influential, featuring America's most recognizable cartoonists and humorists. The page essentially says: "Summer's ending, but Life magazine's best season approaches—featuring your favorite artists."
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
IF SUMMER GOES-- Can Fall Be Far Behind? BVIOUSLY Summer cannot remain with us forever, for if it did there would be no Fall, and if there were no Fall there would be no Fall issues of LIFE. And of course nobody wants that to happen, knowing what a glorious program of old favorites and new attractions LIFE has to offer for the Fall season. Consider LIFE’S list of Fall cover designers: V. C. ANDERSON W. T. BENDA P. L. CROSBY REA IRVIN CORY KILVERT F, X. LEYENDECKER MAXFIELD PARRISH COLES PHILLIPS NORMAN ROCKWELL PENRHYN STANLAWS Equally inviting is the list of other artists and writers whose contributions will be found in the Fall issues of LIFE. Here are a few of them: REGINALD BIRCH H. M. BATEMAN R. M. CROSBY R. L. DICKEY KERR EBY J. M. FLAGG CHARLES FORBELL C. D. GIBSON JOHN HELD, Jr. OLIVER HERFORD C. F. PETERS GLUYAS WILLIAMS J. R. CONACHER HENRY RALEIGH ALICE HARVEY C. H. SYKES ©. F. HOWARD ROLLIN KIRBY J. R. SHAVER T. S. SULLIVANT H. T. WEBSTER ART YOUNG A. C. M. AZOY, Jr. ROBERT C. BENCHLEY GELETT BURGESS MONTAGUE GLASS ARTHUR GUITERMAN H. W. HANEMANN DON HEROLD BEATRICE HERFORD McCREADY HUSTON BAIRD LEONARD E. S. MARTIN DOROTHY PARKER AGNES REPPLIER Cc. G. SHAW ROBERT E. SHERWOOD FOSTER WARE JAMES K. McGUINNESS comicbooks.com