Life, 1925-06-04 · page 6 of 44
Life — June 4, 1925 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **recruitment advertisement**, not a political cartoon. Life magazine is soliciting humor contributions from college students and other writers/artists. The page emphasizes that Life discovered several famous contributors early in their careers—mentioning **Charles Dana Gibson, Wallace Irwin, Rupert Hughes, James Montgomery Flagg, and Coles Phillips**—launching them toward success. The magazine claims it actively seeks undiscovered talent rather than established names. A historical anecdote describes how **Booth Tarkington** (the famous novelist) submitted jokes thirty years earlier, received $2 for one, and this payment launched his career. The advertisement includes a subscription offer and notes special upcoming themed issues on golf, economy, old home week, and other topics. This is essentially a want-ad for aspiring humorists, positioning Life as a prestigious launching pad for literary talent.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Life IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT HESE suggestions are offered primarily for college men and women, but they should be noted by every one who pos- sesses, or even hopes to cultivate, a single spark of humor. Lire is looking for contributors. That may sound like an insincere statement. Magazine editors are usually supposed to be surly fellows who run after subscribers, and away from contributors. Nevertheless, we mean precisely what we say. Lire has always depended upon the undis- covered humorist for its best material. It has never tried to buy prominent “‘names’’; it has developed its own reputations. It has picked writers and artists from obscurity, and has helped them up the first (and most difficult) steps to fame. For instance: one day, thirty years ago, N a young Princeton graduate sent some \ jokes to Lire. One of them was \ bought, and a check for $2.00 was forwarded to the lucky author, That was the first money that Booth Tarkington ever earned. N N SPECIAL =\ OFFER N N LIFE \ 598 Madison Ave., New York, N. Y. Ny Please, send me Lire for Ten Weeks, for IN which TI enclose One NY Dollar (Canadian, $1.20; XN Foreign, $1.40). By the Year, $5.00 (Canadian, $5.80; Foreign, $6.60) Many subsequently celebrated writers and artists turned first to Lire for encourage- ment, including Charles Dana Gibson, Wallace Irwin, Rupert Hughes, James Montgomery Flagg and Coles Phillips. All of them came to Lire unheralded, and found there the recognition that they needed and deserved. T is essential that LIFrEe’s point of view be perpetually fresh, buoyant and spontane- ous. These qualities can not be manufac- tured. They must be derived from the source. That is why LiFe expects every collegiate humorist to do his or her duty. There is an open door at Lire, and a reception committee which is always ready to welcome new ideas. ’ S there is no conceivable reason why a contributor should not also be a sub- scriber, the usual formal coupon appears on this page. But remember—when we ask you to Obey That Impulse, we are not only suggesting that you sign on the dotted line; we are reminding you that Lire is the official mouthpiece of American humor, and if you have anything funny to say, here is your chance to say it. There are several special numbers on schedule: Goxr, Economy, Orp Home Weex, Go-Gerrers’, Movie, Fiction and Feminine Numeers included. Material of all kinds is desired for these. comicbooks.com