Life, 1926-02-18 · page 12 of 36
Life — February 18, 1926 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Top Cartoon:** A classroom scene where a teacher questions a student ("Willie") about an essay. The boy admits his father started it but "mother had to do it all over again." This satirizes parents doing children's homework—a domestic comedy about parental over-involvement in education. **"Bedtime Story" Section:** A longer satirical tale about a farmer who became wealthy by furnishing his house with mismatched, discarded furniture from Grand Rapids, then selling it as "authentic" antiques. The joke mocks both consumer gullibility regarding "genuine" period furniture and the deceptive sales practices of the era. **"His Chosen Field":** A brief humorous exchange about someone's career in "exploring central Africa," likely poking fun at romantic notions of African exploration popular in early 20th-century America.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Teacher “NO, MA‘AM The Prosperous Farmer; or, Ecery Man His Own Nincompoop NCE. upon a time, when the good people of these mansion, there came United States separately and together their backs on Grand Rapids ar ttics for furniture, of New E outhow: fd who had a full of chairs and tables, lowboys highboys, four- poster beds and pine tables which his family had discarded during the reign of Sears, Roebuck Suddenly all this discarded fu became extremely valuable and th farmer, who was a lineal descendant of the man who made the nal sed his cattle 0 a show-room. wooden nutme and turned And when tourists, their eyes burning with the fire that those who look for authentic worm-holes had bought out all his stock, t undaunted, purchased: furn old, and with sandpaper 4 weather supplied the ancient touch him- self “Lord, but men are easily deceived,” he chuckled, as he watched his bar account grow Suckers are 1 rn, not every minute, but : very seco! chuckling all the while at the guilelessness of the world And when he had bee wealthy and was buil > he grew ri me very ing himself a here lived a farmer in th WILLIE, DID YOUR FATHER WRITE THIS ESSAY? HE STAKTED IT RUT MOTHER HAD TO DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN,” Bedtime Story denly turned hing in the latter sa Ce ATET ODE Oe bm |! Nie 4 Pup: THE GUY THAT KEEPS THIS JOINT TOLD ME HE WAS A WATER SPANIEL the new art of interi lower yours with some fine old fu a man to n who was an expert in decoration, Warming to his subject, about furnishi g this new house of ture and hangin the farmer smiled wisely ” he replied. “I'M tet be the sucker. I'm to furnish this house very simply and I'm going to soak my money care fully away “How?” said the expert “In. mining stock the farmer re plied. “The salesman tells me it’s ab solutely on the level. The certificates are printed on th ever saw e swellest paper y ach one has a gold seal in the corner.” Bertram Bloch. His Chosen Field “ALND do. you ever lose yourself in our work?” “What is your work?" “Exploring central Africa.” HERE is talk Union to co-« ituting t reckless chauffeurs, but on is that they will find they haven't a leg to stand on. a Pedestrians’ perate our predic comicbooks.com