Life — June 5, 1924 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Life Magazine Commencement Number, June 5, 1921 This is a "Commencement Number" cover for Life magazine's June 5, 1921 issue, priced at 15 cents. The illustration depicts two well-dressed adults (a woman and man in formal attire) sitting beneath a large tree with cherubs or cupids playing in its branches above them. The subtitle reads "Two degrees in the shade." The joke appears to be a pun on "degrees"—playing on both academic degrees (appropriate for a commencement issue) and temperature degrees. The phrase "two degrees in the shade" suggests a hot summer day, while the cherubs and romantic setting imply the "degrees" of romance or love. The satire gently mocks the leisurely summer lifestyle following graduation, contrasting academic achievement with youthful romance and idleness.