Life, 1924-01-10 · page 40 of 44
Life — January 10, 1924 — page 40: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily an **advertising page** from Life magazine, with one small satirical cartoon. The main advertisements promote cigarettes (Churchill Downs, Mah Jongg), pipes, and collars (Van Heusen). Life itself advertises its magazine with a philosophical pitch about bringing "sunshine" and laughter into homes. The single cartoon (bottom right) shows a real estate agent pitching a modest house to a prospective buyer. The joke is darkly cynical: the agent suggests the buyer will finish paying for the house in four years, then quips he'll "up and die"—but reassures him his widow will be happy. This satirizes aggressive sales tactics and the grim reality that working people struggle under mortgage debt with little security. The Van Heusen collar ad includes a separate joke about a governor's valet receiving his discarded collars—implying status anxiety about wearing hand-me-downs. The overall page reflects 1920s consumer culture and gentle social satire typical of Life's humor.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE PRIZE IS A BOX OF CHURCHILL DOWNS 5) —the smart black and gold play hard to win th wrappe panish paper— n ends tinction. | | | MAH JONGG CIGARETTES EN WADE PIPE AN HUDSON'S BAY TOBACCO —the new cigarettes —marked with all the Mah Jongg Symbols. | Margret & Sons, 296 N. A, ’Tis Sunshine we're Yearning to Borrow, True Sunshine within and Without. ye is the nearest 4 true sunshine that th affords, and this verse plains why so many people are eager to read LIFE with Its laugh on Every Page, and enjoy its sunny brightness. They will borrow it from friends, or get it at the library. Some buy st copies, but the best way is when they subscribe for it, and have sunshine in the house the whole year through. Try it for six months, and see its influence on yourself, or try our LIFE, 598 Madison Avenue, New York One Year $8 Canadian $5.80 Foreign $0.00 16 4a) Ltd Vancouver B.C. “Since the governor got his VAN HEUSEN collars,” the valet complained, “he gave me all his soft and stiff ones, and I don’t know what to do with them —for I wear the VAN HEUSEN too |" VAN HEUSEN the. Worlds Smartest COLLAR gent: YES, SIR! ON THIS PAYMENT PLAN IN FOUR YEARS YOU'LL OWN THIS NICE LITTLE HOME Bulberlys evt sUreose JUST WHEN 1b GOT IT PAID FOR T SHOULD UP AND DIE DEAR SIR, THINK HOW HAPPY YOUR WIFE WILL BE.” comicbooks.com