Life, 1924-08-21 · page 22 of 36
Life — August 21, 1924 — page 22: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains early 20th-century American humor pieces satirizing contemporary social customs. **"A Dreamer"** (Richards): Mocks romanticized views of Asian exoticism. A window-shopper admires imported Chinese luxury goods and "Oriental mysteries," only to have the fantasy disrupted by seeing a modern American "flapper" reflected in the glass—contrasting exotic romanticism with contemporary reality. **"You Don't Like Them at First"**: A brief social commentary suggesting that refined tastes (olives, caviar, modern literature) require acquired appreciation—including presidential nominees, implying skepticism about current political leadership. **"My Husband Says"** (Simpson): Satirizes married couples' decision-making, particularly wives' indecision about vacation destinations and clothing choices. The humor targets women's perceived inability to commit to preferences, while husbands remain patient (or resort to religious/mountain references). **The car cartoon**: Illustrates marital compromise by depicting an absurdly overloaded automobile—visual joke suggesting a husband who granted his wife "everything" she wanted would end up with an impractical, comically cluttered vehicle. All pieces reflect period gender dynamics and marital stereotypes typical of 1920s-era humor.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
LIFE = A Dreamer WAS window-shopping. As I gazed in the fantastic window of the House of Fan Yuck and Yim Kee, Importers, 1 saw the shadows of long-forgotten Mandarins : Silky lace-work, masterpieces of tiny fingers of tiny Slant-eyed maidens ; The glowing lustre of an orgy of scintillating Oriental pearls ; Many weird and fantastic images and carvings, the handi- work of many Yellow-skinned hermits, and All the purple-shadowed mysteries of that land of lazy drifting Junks,— And the reflection of a flapper passing on the street. be- hind me. Kenneth Richards You Don’t Like Them at First MONG the things for which one has to acquire a taste are eS, post stamp glue, girls, caviar, the rush hour, style, false teeth, modern literature, horse-radi being nudged, and presidential nominees. 'HE more clothes the missionaries put on the uncivilized ladies, the more clothes the civilized ladies take o Ned: FAMILY HAVING A GOOD TIME AT THE SHORE? Ted: 1 THINK SO, FROM THE WAY THEY DON'T WRITE. My Husband Says HAT I am very clever at making up and if I would make up the little thing I call my mind and decide whether I prefer to go to the mountains or the shore he would be glad to make a reser n for me, But I think it's awfully hard to tell which style of clothes I'd rather wear. Of course I have several blouses with embroid- ered monograms that look like anchors which would be stun- ning for the beach, but I really like the mountains better. Mrs. Smith says her husband loves them, too. He says that like David of old he would “look unto the hills” for help, so they are going to the shore. Mrs. Smith says there is a little hill on the golf links that he can run over forty times a day if he wants to and get all the exercise he needs. My husband says that if David were confronted by some of the problems that stare strong men of to-day in the face, he would want to camp at the foot of Mount Everest. L. Blanche Simpson. HE Third Party, it seems, is to be held together by HOW A MAN'S CAR WOULD LOOK IF HE STOPPED AND GOT bolts from the other two. EVERYTHING HIS WIFE WANTED comicbooks.com