Life, 1925-12-03 · page 57 of 84
Life — December 3, 1925 — page 57: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical page mocks adult regression and unfulfilled childhood desires. Four illustrated vignettes show grown men and women indulging in toys they've secretly craved: - Uncle Fred obsesses over a motorized toy taxi, riding it downtown to his office - Uncle Arthur wears an Indian suit he's wanted since childhood, whooping around the house - Uncle Simian desires a tricycle with a book-rack (which he calls his "philosopede") - A mother finally gets a large doll she's wanted since girlhood The headline's ironic question—whether Christmas should be taken "out of the hands of children"—suggests these adults are childish and emotionally stunted. The satire critiques both adult materialism and the psychological theory (popular in the 1920s-30s) that adults should indulge repressed childhood impulses for mental health. The joke: that doing so makes them ridiculous, not healthy.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
UNCLE FRED'S SECRET LONGING HAS BEEN FOR A TOY TAXI WITH A REAL MOTOR. THIS YEAR HE GETS IT, RIDES DOWN- TOWN IN IT AND TAKES IT RIGHT UP TO THE OFFICE. UNCLE ARTHUR WILL BE A BETTER MAN IN EVERY AFTER WHOOPING AROUND THE HOUSE FOR TWO WE! THIS INDIAN SUIT HE HAS CRAVED SINCE INFANCY. UNCLE SIMIAN (SOMETHING OF AN INVENTOR) LONG AGO AND MOTHER GETS A BIG, BEAUTIFUL DOLL ALL FOR HERSELF CONCEIVED A WHIMSICAL WANT FOR A TRICYCLE WITH A —WHICH LANCES A YI NG THAT HAS BOILED WITHIN BOOK-RACK ATTACHMENT, AND HERE IT IS, THE ENVY OF ALL HER SINCE GIRLHOOD PASSED. DON’T YOU AGREE THAT IT THE KIDS AND ALL THE SCHOLARS IN THE BLOCK. HE CALLS WILL BE A FINE IDEA TO TAKE CHRISTMAS THUS OUT OF THE IT HIS PHILOSOPEDE. HANDS OF CHILDREN AT LEAST ONCE EVERY DECADE? A Psychological Christmas Instinctive Toy-Yearnings of Grown-Ups Relieved at Last comicbooks.com