Life, 1924-10-30 · page 35 of 36
Life — October 30, 1924 — page 35: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a satirical advertisement for *Life* magazine disguised as a humorous plea. The cartoon depicts a personified dollar bill literally begging its owner not to waste it on frivolous expenses—taxi rides, razors, gambling, or giving it to one's wife—and instead subscribe to *Life* for ten weeks. The joke targets consumer spending habits of the era: the dollar warns against the various wasteful ways Americans squander money. The advertisement's ironic premise is that subscribing to *Life* is the *only* worthwhile use for a dollar, making it simultaneously self-promoting and satirical about American consumer culture. The left sidebar listing "The Stuff that Life Is Made Of" (laugh stuff, smart stuff, etc.) reinforces the magazine's appeal as offering substantive, quality entertainment compared to frivolous spending.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
composite Dcenpes: of everybody in the united states with one dollar 2 ) 5 bel nn. oat) aon 0 = | a The Dollar’s Plea “Stay, Master, stay!” the Doliar cried; “Don’t sell me down the r Don’t waste me on a tavi-ride, Or razor-blades, or liver! Don't lose me in a gambling den Nor give me to your wife! Remember, I am good for ten Delightful weeks of LIFE!” Now! What about that dollar? Suppose you don’t subseril at becomes of it? You don't know. You know. Take a dollar out and look at it. What good is the thing to you—all by itself that The Stuff that Lire ’ There ar re a dollar twill Is Made Of rownt to anyth is NO place ae . will do you as much good as in an envel EW stuff : it True stuff Te TEN issues Laugh stuff of LIN including the all, Thanksgiving, Chaff stuff Christmas and Automobile Numbers. Short stuff stuff stuff Bright stuff Wy Heart stuff 7. LIFE Smart stuff 7 598 Madison Ave. Cute stuff 7 New York, > Dear Lire: Here's my Brute stuff dollar, Tt hasn't amounted | lappy stuff S ree $i oc $1.20; Snappy stuff Hot stuff What stuff! Of course a lot of Cupid stuff And anything but stu- pid stuff. 7 Obey that impulse— Sign on the dotted line One Year, $5.00 (Canadian, $5.80; Foreign, $6.60) comicbooks.com