Life, 1926-10-21 · page 12 of 44
Life — October 21, 1926 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page features two distinct satirical pieces: **Mrs. Peps' Diary** is a humorous diary entry about moving day chaos and social obligations. The accompanying sketch shows a woman with a child, illustrating domestic life struggles. **"A Bargain"** is a brief joke exchange between a jokesmith and his wife about his profession. He claims he only writes jokes and articles; his wife notes she can't remember any addresses except "Lire" (appearing to reference the magazine's location). The final punchline references Cal Coolidge, the U.S. President at the time, suggesting the jokesmith's work lacks originality—his content is merely "Cal Coolidge dressed up." The bottom section contains commentary about American fathers' anxiety regarding news delivery and domestic responsibilities, offering social satire about 1920s family life and gender roles.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Young Son (to his newly divorced mother): wuat RELATION 18 FATHER TO ME Now? A Bargain JOKESMITH: All I do is write my jokes and articles. My wife mails them out to the editors. Seconp JoxesmitH: My wife tried that but couldn't remember any addresses except that of Lire. 2 Why Live? . Ju: Because it is at “$5.98” Madison Avenue. HE average American father looks with dread upon the day when he will have to bear the heartbreaking news to his son that there isn’t any White House Spokes- man and that it’s just Cal Coolidge dressed up. September Our house in the greatest confusion because 29th of our removal on the morrow, but I did , keep to my bed late, nevertheless, feeling like the boy on the burning deck, and in reading the public prints did marvel, somewhat regretfully, that I do never seem to find the name of an acquaintance in the lists of dead and injured printed therein after any calamity, Pondering, too, on the resumption of social dutic cl will soon be upon us all, and on how frequently I / do seem of late to be taking oe part in conversation which is nothing but polite, such as when some one says, And were you away this summer? I must needs re- spond, Yes, we spent six weeks in Cooperstown. Whereupon I am straight- way interrogated as to this and that about our holiday by persons who have no interest soever in my re- sponses, and I do believe that if I did give some elaborate and scandalous answer to every point put to me, my inquisitors would mutter their usual, Isn't Salim — NS that nices? or How lovelys! It is amazing to me, more- over, how some women on whose education a consid- erable sum has been laid out can consider the short- comings of a servant, the chicanery of a butcher or the precocity of a child as suit- able tea-table topics....Up and forth to the shops to buy the long list of vital houschold necessities which my servant Virgie had made out for me, but in Bloomingdale's I did run across Effie Goings, who persuaded me into a Colonial afternoon,so that I reached home having purchased nought for which I had set out save some new Victrola records. Sam back from his business journey at midnight, and in the highest spirits, too, grabbing a scrap of a paper from my bed-table and bawling, What is this that | find here—have you been deceiving me? Just wait, Madam, till I finish reading this! and unfortunately I did shush him so that the neighbors, who must have been hanging out their windows by that time, could not hear his dramatic intonation of the grocery order, which went, White Rock, eggs, Lux, ete., and now I do dread to go down in the elevator on the morrow. which “GEORGE, DID you RIDE IN ONE OF ROLLER COASTER “{ sHOULD SAY Not! IT MAKES ME DIZZY JUST TC LOOK AT THEM!” EVER THEM September Up very betimes, in order that my bed h might not be literally taken from under me, 30t and, after cautioning the servants not {o let the movers break my fifteen-dollar perfume or drink any of the cooking sherry, out in the streets to get v from the turmoil so early that I felt as if I ought to (Continued on page 39) comicbooks.com