Life, 1924-07-10 · page 14 of 36
Life — July 10, 1924 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two distinct pieces: **Top section:** A humorous article about how wearing a well-fitted suit helped a man succeed in the insurance business. The narrative emphasizes that good appearance and confidence matter in professional success—a satirical jab at the superficiality of business culture. **Bottom illustration:** Titled "When the Futurists Take Over the Olympic Games," this is a surreal, modernist artwork depicting an imaginary future Olympics with abstract, angular athletic equipment and a figure performing in an impossibly geometric stadium. It mocks the Futurist art movement's obsession with angular, mechanical forms and speed, suggesting that if Futurist aesthetic principles governed sports, they'd become absurdly impractical and unwatchable. Both pieces satirize early 20th-century cultural pretensions.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
12 Nothing Succeeds Like Suits EN told me the road to success was hard. I laughed. I knew better. Clothing advertisements had not been wested upon me. Selecting a store for men, I blithely entered. “Good appearance is a great asset in any business,” I sang, and the manager, clerks and customers rushed to my side to drink in the melody. “The man who looks well in his clothes,” I chorused, “is conscious of his ability, overflows with confidence and impresses others favorably. These are the things that make him successful.” The manager wrung my hand grate- fully, “Sell me a suit,” said I, “to make me successful in the insurance business.” WHEN THE Pessimist: LIFE CERTAINLY IS TOUGH; HERE WE ARE, DEAD BROKE. Optimist: Cneer up! WE STILL HAVE TWO BITS “Delighted!” said the manager. “Try this on—ah, a perfect fit—see the long, rolling lapel—that’s the lapel that as- sures success in the insurance business.” That was on Monday, By Saturday I had one thousand persons working for me on five floors of one office building, and they could not handle the people who came in to buy insurance. All I had to do was to put a huge sign on the front of the building, a glorified duplicate of that lapel.... To-morrow night, my children, I shall tell you the story of the man who bought a suit with the kind of button- hole for the top vest button that makes a success out of a husband. Thus he was enabled to convince his wife that she could save enough by retrenching on her barbershop tips to buy him a suit of clothes. Good night, children, good night! H. Hovious Rafferty. HE: Did you read that book on chiropody ? He: Only the foot notes. FUTURISTS TAKE OVER THE OLYMPIC GAMES comicbooks.com