Life, 1925-06-25 · page 6 of 37
Life — June 25, 1925 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a humorous comic strip titled "A Simple History" that appears to satirize nouveau riche or socially ambitious characters named Sammy and Susie Simplemush. The narrative mocks their pretensions through exaggerated malapropisms and mispronunciations—deliberately mangling words like "glamorous" into "glamorousth" and "vicious" into "voshiferous." The strip follows their social climbing: a wedding photograph, Susie's attempts at sophisticated entertaining (reading "high-brow" literature), household management struggles, and ultimately Sam being rejected for employment. The satire targets social climbers who adopt affected speech patterns while remaining fundamentally crude and unsuccessful. The heavy reliance on written dialogue with theatrical spelling-out of mispronunciations was typical early-20th-century American humor mocking working-class aspirations toward gentility.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
LIFE + ° A: S H I M PLE H ding photograph of samuel dnd susan simplemusty hero and heroine, respectively, of our tale, “My dear,’ says Sammy Simplemush, ‘you houshkeep shomething vishioush; thish trash ish multiplishioush mosht worsh than anything! See y home of the Sin plemushes in the’back bay"district of tillamook.| The plashe ish plumb perfidioush, shuch shqualor ish inshidioush! You musht be more fashtidioush! Come, clean it up thish Shpring!” eo Shee here, old Shupershilioush,” says Sue,"don't talk sho bilioush! You ain't sho much punctilioush— -shtop off your shpeeching vile! Your allegation’sh shpurioush! It makesh me shimply furioush! Cut out shuch wordsh injurioush amongsht thish domishile!” "Shush,Shweetie, not sho clamoroush!” says Sam" You're shcarshly amoroush! youve short of hurt my feelingsh! a now for the simplemush kiddies! readin, from side to side, at random: Sampson, sofa, solomon, sutie, sockeye, Swdofk, sorrel, sadeye, Soupie, souse, sobi 1, Sadey: P woe if | shasta, spring, summer Be shomewhat lessh voshiferoush! The dirt in here’sh peshtiferoush, the kitchen’sh odoriferoush with shtale potato peelingsh!” susie prepares to swoon into her de-; voted husbands arms or what hashe? “Ish tha—t sho, old Lugubrioush!” Says sassy Susie Simplemush. jusht pashte thish in your beanie: €@ Swooning. Remember, old Magnanimoush, what I shay ish unanimoush— you're shimply pushillanimoush, you couldn't buy a wienie! B.iA pain Aa . 5 ©) ‘consciousness again. the great stene. “1£ thingsh dort sheem shalubrioush, Shuch shrieksh ish plumb bedlamoroush, With shixteen bratsh, all glutinoush, my dishposhishun'sh mutinoush, my shoul ish black-and-blvetinoush! You dasht call me a shlob!! sam is finally wi e dled round to susie’s (Of View — sees ight, a3 it we You dasht go get palaveroush, with ush all shtarved cadaveroush, and you sho never-haveroush! Why don't you get a job!?!” *Shinch shov feel sho shenshorioush;’ says Sam;T'll get laborioush; Tl shlave shomething notorioush!! Jusht watsh me, kidsh, Im clever!” sue A 3s aha, mer" says Sve,”I'm conoush! four dreamsh may be luxurious! youll alwaysh be penurioush!” * * * * 3 He was, as*bad as ever. comicbooks.com