Life — January 31, 1924 — page 35: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a promotional advertisement for *Life* magazine's February 7th broadcast, playfully framed as a "radio number." The illustration shows a cherub or cupid figure operating an old-fashioned radio speaker, which serves as a visual metaphor for the magazine itself as a "broadcasting" source of humor. The joke hinges on wordplay: *Life* magazine will "broadcast" its comedy "from every newsstand" across America—but you don't need an actual radio set to receive it. Instead, you simply purchase the magazine for fifteen cents. The text humorously suggests that humor is the only "mechanical knowledge" required, and readers can "tune in" by buying a subscription or using the coupon advertised. This represents early-20th-century advertising that cleverly exploited contemporary fascination with the newly popular radio medium to promote traditional print media.