Life, 1926-10-28 · page 6 of 36
Life — October 28, 1926 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three distinct pieces of satirical content: **"Traveling Salesman"** (top): A cartoon joke mocking the ubiquitous "traveling salesman" humor genre popular in early 20th-century magazines. The caption jokes that every hotel in town is "padlocked," playing on the salesman's reputation for romantic conquests. **"Edwina Sees Her Future Husband"** (middle): A Halloween-themed story about a girl using mirror divination to glimpse her future spouse—a common folk superstition. The story's twist reveals the "future husband" is actually the furnace man, offering class-based humor common to the era. **"The Pot and the Kettle Again"** (bottom right): A small cartoon referencing the proverb, likely commenting on crime or hypocrisy between cities (Chicago and New York visible). The page reflects 1920s popular culture preoccupations: working-class humor, supernatural folklore, and urban satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
‘alesman: 18 aL SAY AT 1S. Traveling Local Flapper: THIS A LIVELY TOWN ? Wily VERY HOTEL IN THE PLACE IS PADLOCKED. Edwina Sees Her Future Husband GY DWINA was all agog. Here it was Hallov the mystic time when all secrets are told by the witches. If you looked at the new moon over your left shoulder, and then walked backwards down the cel- lar stairs holding a mirror in front of your face, they said that you would see your future husband, “Goody i” cried little Edwina, and she hurried to find a candle to light her way down the stairs. There was electricity in her father's house, but vou had to do it with a candle or the ches wouldn’t come across. So down the cellar stairs backed little Edwina, being very careful to keep the candle straight, for every bit of tallow you dropped meant an extra year to wait. And here Ed- wina was all of twelve already. At last she reached the bottom of the staircase. “Abracadabra!” cried little Edwina, blowing out the can- dle and looking into the mirror. And whose face do’ you suppose she saw in it? The furnace man’s! Well, you can bet that little Ed- wina was spanked soundly and sent to bed for that! N. R. J. HE water shortage in the East is becoming serious. It is even feared in some quarters that the Yale-Harvard game may have to be played on a dry field. Legal Crimes BATHING Beauty Contests. “Expert” Dope on Sport. The Philadelphia Nationals. “Abie's Irish Rose.” The City Court Building. Hay Feve aloon League. ifornians, » We Have No Bananas.” Jokes About “Yes, We Have No Bananas.” The Weather. Newspaper Cartoonists’ Spelling, Baby Talk. Hollywood Interviews. Novelists’ Royaltic The Great War. The Last Straw WALKING down Main Street the other day I met Jack the Killer. “Why don’t the cops run you in?” I asked in surprise. “They have their hands full di- recting traffic.” “How is it the sheriff doesn’t nab you?” “Oh, he’s locked up for taking bribes from rum-runners.” But surely,” I persisted, “the District Attorney's on your trail?” “Nope,” he grinned. "He's busy explaining where he got the little « bag full of money.” I threw up my hands in despair. And from force of habit he took my wateh and wallet. WL. Werner. What's the big attraction at ndit’s Ball? Stam: The booty contest. LIM: 7 the NAW, THE POT AND THE KETTLE AGAIN: comicbooks.com