Life, 1926-06-17 · page 14 of 44
Life — June 17, 1926 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page features satirical poetry and illustrations about urban life in 1920s New York City. The main cartoon, "Any Old Clothes?," shows a figure in old-fashioned dress among theatrical posters, likely satirizing rural visitors overwhelmed by Broadway's commercial spectacle. The accompanying poem mocks the "hayseeds" from the country gawking at city sights—window displays, safety razor demonstrations, and chorus girls—calling them "the nation's greatest group of gaping hicks." Two shorter pieces follow: "Diogenes' Search Is Ended" satirizes a strict Prohibitionist named Volstead (likely referencing the Volstead Act), and "A Testimonial" humorously advertises GLU-GOO hair product. The bottom cartoon, "A Loan in a Great City," appears to show a street-level financial transaction or pawnshop scene.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Broadway J, i {°@ Number~ Main Street, New York HEN the hayseed from the country walks on His carpet bag a-bouncing 'gainst his knees, He gazes in a reverent and awed way At all the stirring spectacles he sees. The Batt’ry and the Wall Street section thrill him, The traffic towers give him quite a kick; The Singer and the Woolworth Buildings still him, The poor, provincial, comic-section hick! The wise guy who's a native of the city And sees these sights a hundred times a day Observes the bumpkin with a look of pity, For urbanites are calloused and blasé. But look upon yon idle crowd of gazers Who throng around the window of a shop Wherein a man exhibits safety razors And demonstrates an automatic strop, You'll note the sidewalk’s jammed with city dwellers, You'll note the pavement’s packed with local boobs, For window shows make worldly city fellers More boorish than the stupidest of rubes. As noses 'gainst the window panes they flatten And huddle like a brood of human chicks, I gaze upon the hayseeds from Manhattan, The nation’s greatest group of gaping hicks, Arthur L, Lippmann, CCORDING to the public's idea there are two kinds of chorus girls and the other kind aren't working. “ANY OLD CLOTHES?” Diogenes’ Search Is Ended KNOW a man who is absolutely and unequivocally in | favor of the Volstead Act. There's no hemming or hawing about it with him—no talk like, “Prohibition is all right, but a slight modification now—say four per cent. or light wines, perhaps—ah!” There's nothing half-way about his attitude. No, sir! He is for it, all the way. He does not parade himself as a hypocritically rabid wet; neither is he a bootlegger. This individual is simply and solely for Prohibition. His name is Volstead. Marion E. Burns, A Testimonial For years I suffered agony with falling hair. I con- sulted scores of specialists, spent thousands of dollars in a vain effort to discover the source of my frightful complaint. I could go nowhere without exciting comment. At dinners my hair would fall into my soup, and, crimson with embarrassment, I would have to apologize to my hostess or feign illness as the excuse for my lapse in table manners. My mind began to be affected. Then I discovered GLU-GOO (at all druggists). One bottle was enough. I have never been able to get my hat off since. Lloyd Mayer. A LOAN IN A GREAT CITY comicbooks.com