Life, 1927-02-17 · page 14 of 34
Life — February 17, 1927 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon satirizes men who claim their success derives from hardship and self-denial in childhood—specifically, wearing poorly-made clothes their mothers provided. The caption explains the satire: such men boast that childhood deprivation built their character and honor, yet they "poke his nose outside his own door" only when properly dressed. The image shows well-dressed adult men observing children playing in poverty (note the "Post No Bills" sign and bare surroundings). The satire targets the hypocrisy of wealthy men who romanticize their poor childhoods while clearly valuing appearance and status in adulthood. It mocks the contradiction between their nostalgic narratives and their actual priorities.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Gay Nineties WHEN YOU READ IN AN INTERVIEW WHERE SOME FAMOUS UPSTANDING, TWO-FISTED MAN, WHO WAS REARED IN THE N HOURS, ETC.—TAKE IT WITH A GRAIN OF SALT. TIES, LAYS HIS SUCCESS TO SELF-DENIAL OR EARLY PROBABLY HE 1s WHAT HE 18 MERELY BECAUSE OF THE CLOTHES HIS MOTHER MADE HIM WEAR WHEN HE WAS A BOY. FOR AFTER ALL THERE IS NO CHARACTER BUILDER QUITE 80 EFFECTIVE AS DRESSING A BOY 80 THAT HIS HONOR AND MANHOOD ARE AT STAKE EVERY TIME HE POKES HIS NOSE OUTSIDE HIS OWN DOOR. Concrete Interpretations of Words LUE: sky, a streak, black writ- ing ink. Green: lettuce leaves, jealousy, emigrant. Purple: violets, rage, some socks. White: a baby’s soul, lilies, blue shirts laundered. Lasting: radio debts, rheumatism. Short-lived: wife’s vacation, wear- ever ties, a blonde’s love. Fresh: vegetables, paint—that we touch, butter-and-egg men. Young: moving picture industry introductions, (surface not even scratched), Brig- ham Young, women under fifty. High: clouds, mountain peaks, cover charges. Poisonous: laudanum, ivy (poison ivy), staying home one night. Weak: a convalescent, milk—with water, water without milk, Fierce: lions, tigers, sour ketchup, reviews. Hard: cobblestones, soft - shell crabs, life. Black: coal, eyes, the future. Fee. Old Style and New “T CAN remember him when he had nothing, not even a cent to his name.” ee @ “I can remember him when he had a car, a player piano, a radio, a vic- trola, a fur coat and a bungalow, and not even agcent to his name. Bill Sykes. A Landslide “QO Slushe has been elected to the Senate?” “Yes, by a $600,000 majority.” comicbooks.com