Life, 1925-12-17 · page 25 of 40
Life — December 17, 1925 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Life magazine page contains two distinct pieces: **Top: "The Gay Nineties" cartoon** satirizes outdated 1890s slang and fashion. The caption references "Hackensack River" and period expressions like "salskin" (a muskrat fur), mocking how such terms sound quaint and meaningless to contemporary readers. **Main article: "The Perfect Guest"** by Baird Leonard is satirical etiquette commentary. It ironically lists the qualities of an ideal houseguest—but these are actually common annoyances inverted. The joke: a "perfect guest" doesn't monopolize the phone, doesn't flirt with the host's husband, doesn't damage furniture with cigarettes, doesn't brag about travels, and actually takes her luggage when leaving. The humor targets upper-middle-class social anxieties about entertaining and houseguests' inconsiderate behavior. The subheading "nobly planned" mockingly quotes Wordsworth, elevating trivial etiquette advice to philosophical importance—the core of Life magazine's satirical approach.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
down by the Hackensack Ri: Where the hackman dri AND WHEN THEY SAID BEFORE THE TIM HE does not call Omaha or Scattle on long distance the minute she hits house. She looks at and speaks to servants as if she saw them. the She has no strong religious prejudices. She can drink a cocktail without bursting into either tears or laughter. She doesn’t need any checks cashed. She is not an amateur, if anything, at the piano. She does not deprive you entirely of your maid at dressing hours. She does not fly to her room when a bore is sighted coming up the drive. THE GAY NINETIES We'll dig for es his hack; And shoot the potatoes alskin Sacque.” LSKIN" IN THOSE DAYS THEY DIDN'T MEAN MAYBE, FOR THAT WAS WHEN MUSKRATS LIVED AS MUSKRATS AND The Perfect Guest She doesn't try to force new bridge rules on the community. She does not flirt with your husband. She calls no celebrities by their first names. She doesn't want to be taken to call upon somebody you don't know. She doesn't leave cigarette stubs where they will burn into the mar- quetry. Her wardrobe is so stocked that she doesn't need to set forth across country in high-heeled satin slippers. She eats calves’ li should you be so careless as to serve it. DYED AS SEALS. She can tell your other guests a few good stories which they haven't heard. She doesn't put down glasses on mag- azines and new novels under the delu- sion that she is doing you a kindness. She does not talk about her trip to Spain, She has the low-down on every bit of scandal about which you have been wondering. She takes all her belongings with her when she departs. “A perfect woman, nobly planned” To get from hostesses a hand. Baird Leonard. comicbooks.com