Life, 1925-10-15 · page 23 of 36
Life — October 15, 1925 — page 23: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This *Life* magazine page contains two satirical pieces: **"Tragedy in a Haberdashery"** mocks incompetent retail clerks. A customer repeatedly asks for a collar (a detachable shirt collar, common in that era), but the clerk keeps pushing irrelevant items—socks, underwear, shirts, belts—ignoring the specific request. The sketch escalates: a gunshot rings out, months pass, and a jury trial concludes the clerk is "NOT GUILTY," mocking both the clerk's obliviousness and the legal system's absurdity. **The sheep/herder dialogue** is a brief joke about wool versus cotton fabric. **"Attention, Mr. Motorist"** is an advertisement for "Stop-Quick Wheels," claiming instant brake responsiveness. The humor targets early 20th-century retail incompetence and upselling tactics—clerks prioritizing commissions over customer needs—while the mock-trial ending satirizes how trivial matters could balloon into legal proceedings.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
tetova oe stin The Girl: The Girl: CUSTOMER: I want ONE cellar, size fifteen and a half, THAT style re - Cirrk: Yessir; could I show you nething nice in a pair of socks? Customer: I have a pair of socks. want ONE collar, and that’s ALL. Crerk: Yessir. We're havin’ a spe- 1 bargain sale in underwear this Vurra superior article. Customer (suspiciously polite): ink you ever so much, but I am quite e that I already possess a suit of lerwear. Two of them, I believe. — you haven't such a thing as a lar about the establishment? Crerk: Oh, yessir, yessir. Jussa ute. Say, could I interrust you in coupla nice shirts? Vurra, vurra c shirts. All the rage, you know. Customer: Yes, I have seen qu iew shirts on the street lately. How- er, although you may not have ob- ved it, I am wearing a shirt. Now, to that matter of a collar. CurrK: Lookut these belts, mister. Just lookut um! Lookut that buckle. that one swell buckle? /'Il say 's one swell buckle! Customer: Well, I declare! I quite forgot to mention it, but what I came eek. The Herder: WooL ? WOOL, MA’AM. Tragedy in a Haberdashery Just a col- in here for was a collar. lar, Fifteen and a half. Creek (still hopefully) : Suspenders. (A shot rings out. The curtain is lowered to denote the passing of several months.) Garters? cee Tue Foreman or tne Jury: May HUM, V'LL BET 17'S MALF CoTTON! WHAT'S THAT FUNNY STUFF ON THE SHEEP? it please your Honor, the jury finds that dece: God GUI ased came to his end by an act of and that the defendant is NOT LTY. (Tumultuous cheering.) D! Tip Bliss. ENTIST—A man who makes a mountain out of a molar. ATTENTION, MR. MOTORIST! DO YOUR BRAKES SLIP? NO SUCH RISK WITH OUR STOP-QUICK WHEELS. PULL THE LEVER AND THEY INSTANTLY CHANGE SHAPE. comicbooks.com