Life, 1926-04-22 · page 15 of 40
Life — April 22, 1926 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Life* magazine contains two distinct pieces: **Top illustration**: A sophisticated 1920s-era cartoon showing well-dressed partygoers engaged in "burning the midnight oil"—a humorous visual pun depicting literal oil burning in an elaborate device while guests in formal attire socialize. This satirizes the wealthy's tendency to stay up late at parties. **Main story**: "Aladdin and the Jinn" is a humorous fiction piece by Arthur Gutterman that reimagines the classic tale. A poor fisherman named Aladdin discovers a magical bottle containing a Jinn. The story plays on the original fairy tale, with comedic dialogue about the bottle's "serial number" and the Jinn's refusal to grant wishes, creating modern absurdist humor by treating magic with bureaucratic skepticism. The page reflects *Life*'s blend of satirical humor and literary parody.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL ‘ Aladdin and the Jin T a strategic point on the south shore of Long Island Ca dwelt Aladdi . , cking out dor i a livelihood na Mf pe fisher lea men at strategic poir 1 the south shore of I “Go ahead 5 One moming, uf a is nets, ied ini Then Aladdin, skilled orked i tomat ple fisherfolk of t its, when out of the vessel poured an nixed the Jin with water who, as his in- bulk filled the circum- ambient void, ared the fisherman, * gret ally e of a vow, but actually to show what a strong Jin Iam, I shall presently celebrate my liberatio limb from limb. “Huh “where did n out of the * replied the Jin. ottle nothing scoffed Ho, Hizi Aladdin. You never came out t of that little bottle !” “\YJHAT America s “Betcha swered the Jin GC és is more love “All right; bete! n dol- ae Fritz Kunz, discip! Aladdin. i ¥, HE AIN'T NO THOROUGHBRED Annie Besant By he bottle, let's “HE 1S TOO, HIS MOTHER WAS A THOROUGHBRED SPANIEL can any one recomme crawl in again.” AND HIS FATHER WAS A THOROUGHBRED BEAGLE HOUND.” — five-cent cigar? comicbooks.com