Life, 1925-09-10 · page 23 of 41
Life — September 10, 1925 — page 23: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a *satirical puzzle contest* from *Life* magazine (January 1908). Three identical portraits are divided horizontally into three sections—forehead, middle, and mouth—each attributed to different U.S. Presidents based on famous quotes or epithets: - "Couldn't tell a lie" = George Washington - "Father of his Country" = Washington - "Lafayette, you are there!" = likely James Monroe or another early president The joke mocks both the public's historical ignorance and the magazine's own contests. By mixing identical faces with different presidential attributions, *Life* satirizes how interchangeable these historical figures seem to ordinary readers—essentially asking readers to solve an impossible puzzle by rearranging the same face. The exaggerated prize amounts ($100,000—an enormous sum in 1908—for "easy money" requiring "no work") further mock the get-rich-quick schemes and frivolous contests proliferating in popular media.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ICTURES *PRIZES *PUNCH <— DAILY LIFE 21 | SSSFSFSSSSSSSSSHSSSHSSSSSSSSSSSSS Missing Presidents Contest 9 F peed — a a The forehead belongs to a President who said, “Lafayette, you are there!” the eyes and nose to a President who The forehead belongs to a President who couldn't tell a lie, the eyes and nose to a President who was known as The forehead belongs to a President who was known as “the Father of his Country,” the eyes and nose to a “the Father of his Country,” and the mouth to a President who said, “La- fayette, you are there!” President who said, “Lafayette, you are there!” and the mouth to a Presi- dent who couldn't tell a lie. couldn't tell a lie, and the mouth to a President who was known as “the Father of his Country.” For those who don’t know what a President is, we will explain that he’s the Chief Execu- tive of the United States of America, and there have been several of them since this country was founded. Among the Presidents of the United States have been such well-known names as Washing- ton, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Adams, Jackson, Van Buren, Harrison, Tyler, Polk, Taylor, Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan, Lin- coln, Johnson, Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland, Harrison, McKinley, Roosevelt, Taft, Wilson, Harding and Coolidge. Go to it! ERE’S your chance, folks, to clean up some heavy sugar in an easy, pleasant, nice way. You can have a little home fun, you can earn BIG MONEY and you can test your patriotism all at the same time in this new and fascinat- ing contest that is but one of a series of new and fascinating contests that DAILY LIFE is running for its “readers.” Just find the three missing Presidents in the above pictures, cut them out, paste them to- gether so that they make sense, and send them in to MISSING PRESIDENTS EDITOR, Box 4481, DAILY LIFE. First Prize: ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS Second Prize: A PROFESSIONAL COPY (PIANO SCORE) OF “DON’T BRING LULU” Third Prize: A BIG HUG (Answers to this contest must be submitted not later than Noon, January 31st, 1908.) Easy Money— Come and Get It! All Play— No Work— Lotsa Jack! $$$$3$$ $$$$33$ comicbooks.com