Life, 1925-01-22 · page 31 of 36
Life — January 22, 1925 — page 31: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains primarily **advertising and literary content** rather than political cartoons. The main text piece, "The Decline of the Harem" by Beatrice Herford, is a humorous rural anecdote about a man named Ephra'm courting a widow. The joke hinges on gender expectations: the widow, who is educated and has given intellectual lectures to ladies' clubs, becomes offended when Ephra'm shows her his kitchen while remarking that's where she'll "spend most of your time"—implying domestic servitude. She promptly leaves, rejecting the marriage proposal. The satire critiques men who view wives as household servants, while also gently mocking rural courtship customs. The widow's intellectual accomplishments ("Decline of the Harem") contrast ironically with Ephra'm's antiquated assumptions about women's roles. The surrounding advertisements (Marmola weight-loss tablets, Barbaso shaving cream) and notices (Louvain Library Fund) are standard commercial content typical of 1920s Life magazine.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
is served in the Dining Cars and Pullmans, in every State of the Union. “The Queen of Table Waters” Stith Avene at dbed Street: New Nor Mouthful Wett, here’s where I have a light ch!" chuckled the circus fire-eater, as swallowed the flaming torch. Is your husband too stout? Has he taken on unnecessary weight? Do your friends make remarks about ir— not intending to hurt your feelings, of course, but embarrassing you nevertheless? Thousands of men and women have found excess weight easy to remove. Why let your husband suffer from it? Marmola Tablets—without exercises or ditts—will bring back his natural healthy figure, 5 Recommend these tablets to him. Get a box fee bien one he uses peasy ea al- § ways be thankful that you urged him to get slender. It is your duty toeee that he keeps slender like other successful men. ll drug stores have them—one dollar 2 box. Or they will be sent in plain wrap- per, postpaid, by the Marmola Co., 1843 General Motors Bldg., Detroit, Mich, SEXRMIOLAN + LIFE - The Decline of the Harem “You sayin’ you heard tell Ephra’m Sibley was to be married up to the City and my remarkin’ it looked queer, as Parson Brownell usually marries him, ‘minds me Doc Brady had ‘em all laughin’ up to Judge Larcom’s the other evenin’ tellin’ ‘em ‘bout the time Ephra’m was a-courtin’ that widow of Gershon Dwinnell’s over to Pillsbury Centre. I never know'd the woman, only to sce 'er, but I heard tell she was awful smart, and a great hand for readin’, and they do say she was Presi- dent one spell of that club the ladies git up over to the Centre, an’ Doc says Mis’ Titcomb was a-tellin’ 'im that she delivered a fust-rate essay before the ladies, on the Decline of the Harem, or some sich title. “Well, it seems Ephra’m had been a-courtin’ of the widow quite a spell and Doc ‘lowed she was real sweet on ‘im, they do say he's a great hand with the women folks, an’ they know he's got a pile of money even if he is so darned close with it. Well, it seems Ephra’m give her an invite to come over an’ see his home, so she druv’ over one afternoon. Doc says she had a real spry little mare. An’ Doc says he had it from one of the ladies over to the Centre, who was some kin of Dwinnell’s, that Ephra’m showed the widow all over the house an’ when he come to the kitchen he says, ‘I reckon this here’ll interest you more 'n any other part as this is where you'll spend most of your time,’ “Well, Doc says the widow give Ephra’m just one look an’ walked right out into the yard an’ out the front gate. Doc says he was just comin’ out of Mis’ Smilie’s when he seen ‘er git into the buggy. Doc says he couldn't rightly hear what she said to the mare, but he reckoned it wa'n't any too compli- mentary to Ephra'm, an’ she made a bee line for the Centre. “Doc says that was the last Ephra’m ever seen of the Widow Dwinnell, an’ he reckoned she could get up a fust- rate essay for the ladies’ club over to the Centre on the ‘Decline of the Kitchen.” Beatrice Herford. The Louvain Library Fund Wirt thanks for past favors, Lire resumes its appeal for the Louvain Library Fund. Our national honor really is involved, that America’s prom- ise may be made good and the restored Library be the gift to the Belgians of the American people. We have been enabled to send in $614, and have set $1,000 as our goal, and trust ‘we can count upon friends and readers to that extent for this noble cause. Checks, payable to Lire, marked “For Louvain Library Fund,” will be acknowledged in Lire and duly for- warded. Pleased To Meet You! My friend Barbasol. Takes all the trouble out of shaving. No brush. Norub-in. Anew, clean, cool after-shave feeling all over your face. Use Barbasol—3_times—ac- cording to directions. 35c and 65c tubes. Hp . Indianapolis, / Ind. Please mail me your Free Trial Tube of Barbasol. Exe Ee-* ee For Modern Shaving Lire's Encyclopedia Tarpon—A marine isospondylous fish common to the waters, but not the fishermen, of Florida. Sometimes called the Great Southern Hoax. Usually seen mounted on slab in offices of the upper, or Tarpon fishing, classes. Average cost of capture, including hotel bills, $1,468.12 a pound. comicbooks.com