Life, 1926-03-25 · page 10 of 40
Life — March 25, 1926 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Life* magazine presents a humorous narrative about a house fire in Paris. The main illustration shows a man peering at a "Rotisserie" (a roasting shop) engulfed in flames, while the accompanying text humorously recounts the chaos of firefighting—the fire wagon bells, excited spectators, people retrieving their automobiles, and a policeman issuing parking violations even during the emergency. The satire targets Parisian priorities: the absurdity of strict parking enforcement persisting even as a building burns. The smaller cartoons below ("Faith and Works" and "Contour") appear unrelated to the fire story. The humor relies on the incongruity between urban emergency procedures and petty bureaucracy—a timeless comedic target.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Faith and Works ANNIE LAURIE (whose birthday Mother, I am praying to God to send roller is fast approaching) skates for my birthday, so you had bet ter start saving the money to buy them. VISIONS Reverend Beasley: oN SECOND DON'T THINK ULL TAKE UP MISSIONARY WORK IN THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS, AFTER ALL. THOUGHT, It Sa Contour ARIS hairdressers, we read, are dis- carding the wave for the swirl, and all lovers of the beautiful will t that this is not the kind of a swirl that men forget. It Was Fairly Terrible IRE! Fire! Fire! F People were yelling “fire” be- cause there was a fire. A big house was on fire and if some- thing wasn’t done it would be a mis- take, a serious mistake. Clang! Clang! Clang! Every one knows that’s how the fire wagon sounds, even if it doesn’t. Honk! Honk! Honk! That was the autos of excited spec- tators coming to the fire. Step! Step! Step! That was the people who had to run because their autos were in the shop, or at home, or away from home, or somewhere. Clang! Clang! Clang! Gee whiz! The fire wagon passed right by the burning house and now it's turning the corner. Here it comes again Clang! Clang! Clan Gee whiz! There it goes. by the house again. Here they come around the block Hot dog, Passed They are slowing down. ve to tal ells one fireman. ight, Henry. 1,” yells Bill omes a policeman. says the policeman. “You can’t park there.” “And why not, officer?” questions the fireman named Henry “Don't you see that fire plug?” So they drive away. So the house burns. Tom Sims. a chance, But I am warn- PRING has come and the sheep shearing has begun in Wall Street. in FN, fl y~ a THE EXPLORER'’S MAIL—(Concluded on Next Page) : ij comicbooks.com ’