Life, 1924-03-20 · page 9 of 42
Life — March 20, 1924 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a humorous autobiographical essay, not a political cartoon. The author describes his failed career as a commercial illustrator and advertising man, claiming he was "a good guy" with talent but poor judgment. The two illustrations support the narrative: the top image shows two men at a desk in what appears to be a business setting (captioned "On Which Side of the Desk Are You?"), depicting the author's failed attempt to branch into management. The lower sketch, "The Two-Fisted Baby's Prayer," humorously depicts a child's bedtime prayer, apparently illustrating the author's domestic life. The piece is satirical commentary on American business culture and individual failure during the 1920s, using self-deprecating humor to critique both himself and corporate ambition.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
c@) 18611546 The Confess 4f£e of a Sad Flop ions WAS a good guy when I had it Once in a while I would have my at and do something | Big-hearted, open-handed—always portrait painted, cigarette i i, left the old life flat and went ready with a smile and a word o' cheer — the “Men Who Do Things . My fort ifte m for every one—that was me. My name I played every character in the — job to jot Litem may have been obscui my face | we from the unwi from my lux in Mi famous as the Smith Brothers motor tire ct Hotel Ne Fina s the man who posed for to iw et ho was I gave it up. 7 f comr ss advertise while I desks pointing at was foremen or seedy book keepers. The title on such pictures always read, “On which side of the desk are you variably, you would find m the righ ernment SIDE OF THE DESK ARE YOU? re we w t it use system or checking up the reader a bookkeeper the charts with our West d Be side of th was always the commani But that Nevertheless, © to deny THE TWO-FISTED BABY'S PRAYER “GOD BLESS MOTHER AND FATHER AND UNCLE OS AND COUSIN HARRIET AND OLD MR, GREEVEY AND HULDA AND SPOT AND MAKE GEORGIE A GOOD GO-GETTER. AMEN.” comicbooks.com