Life, 1925-06-11 · page 15 of 36
Life — June 11, 1925 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Top Illustration ("The Gay Nineties"):** A satirical sketch of an idealized Victorian-era family outing in a horse-drawn carriage with a fringed canopy top. Children play beside the road while adults relax. The caption mocks this nostalgic vision of the 1890s as quaint and leisurely. **"A Fairy Tale" Story:** A family living in a cramped city apartment dreams of escape. When the mother announces they'll go to Europe instead of Bar Harbor, the daughters initially despair—but ultimately accept the compromise over their cramped urban life. **Bottom Illustration:** Three monkeys representing "see evil, hear evil, speak no evil"—labeled as "Design for Censors' Headquarters." This satirizes censorship by suggesting censors should embody willful ignorance. The page generally satirizes both class aspirations and social constraints of the era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE SUNDAY AFTERNOON RIDE IN THE FAMILY SURREY WITH THE FRINGED Tor. T1oRS ONE upon a time there were a man and his wife and his two daughters, and they all lived together in an apartment in a big city. One day when the snow was still on the ground and the first robin hadn't even dreamt about coming North, one of the daughters said: “It's time to think where we're going this summer.” “There's nothing to think about,” said the other daugh- ter quickly. “I've decided we're going to Bar Harbor.” Whereupon the first daugh- ter laughed gaily. “Bar Harbor, forsooth!" she cried. “Hot dog! We're go- ing to the White Moun- tains!” SEE MORE EVIL THE GAY NINETIES RESTING THE AND EXERCISING THE CHILDREN ON THE HILL A Fairy Tale “Children, children,” gurgled the mother, mixing herself a drink. “It's no use your quarreling; I've decided the family goes to Europe this summer.” Then they went at it hammer and tongs, as the poets say, and they were DESIGN FOR CENSORS’ HEADQUARTERS WEAR MORE EVIL SPRAK MORE EVIL all very much in tears when the father came home. In a trice (3) he was told what had happened and in a mo- ment he had found a solution. “Wife, daughters,” said the father, “be at peace. This summer we shall all stay in our nice, hot little apartment.” “You dear!” cried the three women together. “What a satisfactory solution that is!” And, completely happy, they all sat down to dinner. Next Week: The Land- lord Who Wouldn't Raise the Rent. Bertram Bloch, IE you see it in a true con- fessional magazine, it isn't so. comicbooks.com