Life, 1926-12-02 · page 45 of 81
Life — December 2, 1926 — page 45: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains multiple satirical pieces mocking literary and political trends of the era. **"The Book Reviewer Chooses a Wife"** parodies pretentious book reviews by listing a woman's qualities using the inflated critical language of contemporary reviewers—"intriguing," "packed with dramatic incident," "charm and spirit of fast-vanishing Boston." The joke is that a wife is being evaluated like a fashionable novel. **"In the Manner of Sabatini"** satirizes popular historical adventure fiction (Rafael Sabatini wrote swashbuckling novels). It depicts a condottiero demanding Bologna's landmarks as ransom. The humor lies in the absurdly exhaustive list of demands and the sardonic response treating conquest as a real estate transaction. **"All for One / Who Else?"** appears to mock Italy under Mussolini, with the caption suggesting Mussolini must apologize to himself when things go wrong—commentary on fascist ideology or propaganda. The bottom cartoon shows children with a barrel marked "Christmas," likely satirizing holiday commercialism or scarcity (possibly post-WWI deprivation).
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Book Reviewer Chooses a Wife NTRIGUING. Deftly painted. Packed with dramatic incident. Rich background. A liberal education. Clean and wholesome. Sprightly conversation. A concise, compelling form. The charm and spirit of fast-van- ishing Boston. Will give added distinction to any library. Coming out this winter. W. W. Scott. In the Manner of Sabatini S" PING down with a thousand lane company of Swiss foot and the famous condottieri that had made Italy tremble, Taddeo de’ Pepoli found little resistance in the town at the edge of the plain of Emilia. It was his. It was his to do with as he saw fit. That much was apparent to the grizzled president of the Commune, old Giovanni Della Campanini. Be- fore him now strode Taddeo, mag- nificent in a scarlet mantle edged with miniver and caught at the shoulder with a buckle of precious stones wrought by Cellini himself. A hard man, and his demands were harsh. “And so, Messer Taddeo,” said the old president, “to rid us of your soldiery, these are your terms?” “Aye,” growled Pepoli. y thousand ducats, the Torre Asinelli and the Torre Garisenda, the Piazza Maggiore and the Piazza del Net- tuno, the district of the arcaded streets, the Palazzo Comunale and the Palazzo del Podesta. All this I must have. I wish it for my son, Umberto Giacomo Tomaso Luigi Sebastiano de’ Pepoli.” Campanini gazed at the war lord behind shrewd eyelids. A fine fore- finger tapped meditatively upon the massive table in front of him. “Messer Taddeo,” he replied slow- ly and suavely, “that's a lot of Bologna. . Henry William Hanemann. HE Mayor of Chicago says the bootleggers have all been put out- side the city limits. Their lives are too precious to be risked. “MNHAT young doctor is quite con- umber Eleanor (furiously): tue neast! Joan: 18 HE TRYING TO PLIRT WITH you? Eleanor: No; We Won’. All for One Who Else? ‘ anything goes wrong in ited, isn’t he?” aly nowadays, Mussolini “Yes, he’s an J specialist.” apologizes to himself. “MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU, GERALD, AN’? MANY OF THEM!” or a’waN, I'M wise!” comicbooks.com