Life, 1926-08-12 · page 22 of 36
Life — August 12, 1926 — page 22: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Top Cartoon:** "The Ex-Brigadier General Upon Entering Business Discovers the Word 'Private'" satirizes a military officer confronting civilian business signage. The joke plays on "private" having different meanings in military versus commercial contexts—a visual pun about the culture clash between military and business life. **"Uncle Arty's Capitorial"** column mocks the era's obsession with creating pretentious professional titles. It notes that occupations now have specialized labels (pedicure, realtor, mortician) and jokingly suggests even common workers need fancy names—proposing "damphooltor" for ordinary citizens, satirizing how unnecessary jargon inflates professional status. **"On the Campus"** joke: A freshman asks a senior where the library is; the senior dismissively suggests checking the catalog, implying the library may not exist or is so underused nobody knows. **"She Could Tell"** cartoon jokes that a driving instructor tells a nervous student to imagine her husband driving—implying husbands are typically poor, inattentive drivers, so the comparison should calm her. All reflect 1920s-era social satire about American pretension and gender stereotypes.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
DISCOVERS THE WORD “PRIVATE Uncle Arty’s Capitorial Wanted: A Label THs IS THE AGE OF THE SPECIALIST. The FOOT DOCTOR ha ome a PEDICURE, the BARBER a CHIROTONSOR, the REAL ES- TATE AGENT a REALTOR, and the UNDER- TAKER a MORTICIAN. We have been CHEERFUL in th CREASED FEES, for a SPECIALI ALWAYS worth MORE. But now comes a REPORT that the FARMER is in DANGER of becoming a CROPOLOGIST, while the STREET CLEANER is baring his FLANK for the BRAND of ASPHALTICIAN. WE, the great BILL PAYING PUBLIC, must get a LABEL. LUNKHEADOLOGIS but rather HIGH-BROW. SAPTICIAN is SNAPPY, but too TECHNICAL. I SUPPOSE it will HAVE to be just plain DAMPHOOLTOR. Gerald Cosgrove. On the Campus FPRESHMAN (timidly): Where is the library building, please? Senior (wearily): If we have one you'll find it mentioned in the cata- logue. “ACE of IN- services are A-reading in the public prints at my breakfast how so many innocent bystanders are being shot down in the streets thes by police. men firing at fleeing criminals, and albeit I do wish no direct evil to any one soever, it does seem a great pity that some of the individuals whose existence I and a great many others could easily get along without are not in the range of the bullets in the stead of honest work- ingmen with large families to support. The heat this day so great that I could organize myself to nothing soever until Manie Howland did stop in, and she te- minded me of a ballade I once wrote with the refrain, “All I can say for summer is good-by!" and told me it was her favorite poem, her hatred of the warm months being as great as mine and her loathing of summer raiment also equal to my own. I went down town the other day to buy a pin! to go under a chiffon dress, quoth Manie, and did come home instead with a red for scarf—that’s all the effect the bathing suit advertise ments have on me!...To the country this afternoon by motor for the birthday party of my godchild 2 him a pres I had chosen b; I should 1 f I were two on a little red wagon, and Bozo bearing elf what ars old and deciding ked it mightily, which I was glad of, and my mother-in-law, impressed with my own pleasure in playing with it and in spinning the mechanical tops for the infants and coloring the pictures which Dot had provided for the infants whom she in- t she would never a loss as to what to give me for any anni- versary soever. Nor would she be far out, neither, for Lord! albeit I should not like Sam to suspect it for fear of his having me up before the alienists, I do truly believe that I could get some kick even now out of playing with paper dolls. How well do I recall the large Graham family which I painstakingly assembled out of the fashion magazines prevalent in my childhood, (Continued on page 26) vited to the celebration, did say th again be She Could Tell Lady (learning to drive): BuT How CAN 1 THINK OF WHAT TO DO? Instructor: JUST IMAGINE THAT YOUR HUSBAND 18 DRIVING. comicbooks.com