Life, 1925-02-05 · page 30 of 36
Life — February 5, 1925 — page 30: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily advertising for luxury travel (Cunard steamship lines to Egypt and the Caribbean) and military binoculars, with several humorous short pieces interspersed. The main satirical content is "The Dialect Dodge," a comedic column advising office workers on how to deceive callers by pretending to be a non-English-speaking janitor, switching between exaggerated Swedish, Irish, French, German, Italian, Indian, and other accents and dialects. The humor relies on ethnic stereotyping—portraying foreign accents as comical and using them as tools for deception. The remaining pieces are brief, mild jokes about divorce, portrait painting, and car accidents. These were typical of Life magazine's light social humor in the 1920s, relying on marital discord and domestic situations as comedic subjects. The page reflects 1920s attitudes toward immigration and ethnic humor that would be considered offensive today.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
season IMAURETANIA far-famed liner, an oil- burner and one of the world’s most commodious, comfortable and up-to-date steamers, sails from New York Feb. 17, 1925, ona special trip to Egypt via Mediterranean ports. An opportunity unexcelled to enjoy the inimitable Cunard service and cuisine while travel- ing to the land of the Pharaohs for the Egyptian season, with ample time to visit many ofthe most interesting Mediterranean points en route. Ports of call: Madeira, Gibraltar, Algiers, Monaco, Naples, Athens, Haifa, (for passengers wishing to visit Palestine), Alexandria, etc. Round trip tickets returning via North Atlantic WEST INDIES CRUISE S. S. TUSCANIA Feb. 24, 1925 CUNARD) and ANCHOR. 25 Broadway or Branches and Agencies + LIFE - OUR OLISH CONT! Mro ARIES _ ma — The Dialect Dodge About your efforts to fool people who telephone to your office (writes Nun- nally Johnson), you are at liberty to use a little manceuvre which has served me successfully for several months. People telephoning to this office rarely want me; nearly always they want to speak to some one who is at the moment far, far away, for my phone is a community affair, As a matter of precaution I always answer the ring in character, thus: “Yah!” The voice asks for a man who I know is nowhere around, so I reply very doubtfully : “Ay ban yanitor. Ay ban coom by Schveden.” This usually serves to fix things up. But when the voice replies joyfully, “Ay ban Schvede too. Ay ban coom by Schveden,” I switch on him, and in a second am in an entirely different character. “Yas, sub,” I say. “Ah’s de janito’ heah. Ah doan’ know nobody ‘roun', no, suh, Ah doan'! Ah’s jes’ de janito’.” If the voice switches with you to Al Jolson, you can then hop to any of the following lines, all easy to learn, even without a grammar: “Faith and I be the janitor-r-r. Be- gorra and there's nobody here, nor in the County Cork, b’jabbers, by the name of that, at all, at all!” (Irish.) “Oui, oui! But I am ze janitor from la belly Francy. Je ne sais pas. Only ze janitor!” (French.) “Ach du lieber Augustin, put Ich am only der chanitor.” (German or Dutch —out during World Wars.) “You calla da wronga persona, Signor. I joosa da janitora. No savvy.” (Ital- ian or Greek, depending on your taste.) “Ugh! Ugh!" (Indian.) “Ugh!” (A more laconic Indian.) —New York World. (Cettarette, sideboard or ocean steamer Bt is tncon- | 16 without Abbott's Bitters. Aids dige Sample y inal 28 cto GW. Abbott & Co, Taltinore, Ma Bribery “I hear that Brown gave his wife a thousand dollars to secure a divorce.” “Yes, but she spent it on new clothes and now she looks so stunning that he has offered her another thousand to stick to him."—Boston Transcript. Madam Is Incorrigible Portrait Painter (to the sitter’s hus- band): Your lady will not be ready in time for the Salon. Huspanp: Well, it’s always been like that—Le Journal Amusant (Paris). A ritm star, asked whether she was single, married or divorced, is under- stood to have replied, “Naturally.” —Detroit News. “IT mean your car was hit by lightning.” “Not much! It was my car that hit the lightning !"—Kasper (Stockholm). MILITARY BINOCULARS 6 and 8 Power $1950 Postpaid Case and carrying stra| Included Genuine $40.00 to $50.00 prismatic binoc- ulars with solid leather case and straps. Equip} with high grade achromatic lenses. Mado by leading foreign manu- facturers. Glasses have pupillary adjustment, day and night lenses. Approved for U. 5. Army Officers. Glasses will be shipped promptly on receipt of check or money ‘ondes for $19.50 under positive guarantee of full cash refund on any glasses returned. Order your military Sinoculars today. HENDERSON BROTHERS Largest Importers of Field Glasses ta Amer! | '*PS5 Wo Federal Street; Boston, Mass. Disappointed “They tell me your latest play offended the audience.” “It did,” admitted Mr. Stormington Barnes. “There wasn’t an indelicate situation in it."—Washington Star. NORWAY and WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN CRUISE JULY. 1. SPECIALLY CHARTERED CU- . 'LANCASTRIA™; 53. DA RLD, ! INCLUDING, xD & DA MEDITERRANEAN. 28. 6: Gi El FRANK Daud outs fo toner New York “I Raze You!” Welcome news! Here’s Barbasol in my hand, and I hold a straight shave, full satisfaction, and four of a kind. No brush. No rub-in. No after-smart. No trouble. Try Barbasol—3 times— according to directions. 35c and 65c tubes. Pidseesaall mb Y VAs Free Trial be. of Barbasol. For Modern Shaving comicbooks.com