Life, 1923-11-29 · page 5 of 38
Life — November 29, 1923 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily **advertising copy** for a LIFE Calendar, not a political cartoon. The illustration shows a cherub/cupid figure surrounded by roses and champagne glasses—typical decorative imagery associated with romantic or celebratory occasions. The text humorously describes an office boy's campaign to convince company management to produce LIFE Calendars as Christmas gifts. He uses persuasion tactics across multiple departments (subscription, advertising, accounting) to overcome leadership's initial decision against making them. The satire is mild and internal: it gently mocks office politics and bureaucratic persuasion rather than addressing external political events. The calendar itself—"6 splendid colored plates, beautifully printed on fine card stock—for $1.00"—is the actual product being promoted by LIFE Publishing Company.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
'HE “powers that be” ruled that there should be no more LIFE Calendars. But the office boy decided that he needed some for Christmas presents. He went after the subscription department with the argument that a large number of subscribers de- pended on them for the same purpose. He began whispering around the advertising depart- ment—he dropped a few honeyed words of flattery to the art department—he persuaded the accounting department to pass the bills and— Well, we have another LIFE Calendar—6 splendid colored plates, beautifully printed on fine card stock—for $1.00. This Calendar will be sold only by LIFE PUBLISHING COMPANY 598 Madison Avenue New York comicbooks.com