Life, 1927-02-24 · page 12 of 39
Life — February 24, 1927 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon satirizes early cinema's infancy. The caption explains that theatergoers of the 1890s rarely got unobstructed views—hence the sign demanding ladies remove their hats. The humor targets two things: (1) women's excessively large, elaborate hats fashionable in that era, which blocked other patrons' sightlines, and (2) the novelty and desperation of early movie theaters, which had to publicly plead for basic courtesy. The scene shows a crowded theater with the sign prominently displayed above the audience. This reflects a genuine social irritation of the period—women's fashion directly interfered with public entertainment. The cartoon mocks both the absurd hat fashions and the theater's need to explicitly enforce this request.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Gay Nineties Fan) LADIES My 2 ig (PLEASE R . \ RE WHILE YOU ARE LAMBASTING TILE MUCH MALIGNED MOVIES JUST REMEMBER THAT IT WAS THE INFANT INDUSTRY, AWAY BACK IN THE CUSTARD PIE ERA, THAT HAD THE NERVE TO START A NG-SUFFERING THEATREGOER WAS AT LAST PERMITTED TO GET AN UNOBSTRUCTED VIEW OF THE SHOW HE HAD PAID TO SEE. CAMPAIGN WHEREBY THE L Binneyville Bugle R. HARRISON NEBS and Mrs. Nebs have returned from a trip to New York, where the Mis- sus got her face and Harrison his watch lifted, both on Broadway. * # Rosalie, Zeb Gurley’s cow, was ar- rested again yesterday by Pound- master nner. Same old charge— Loitering. “e ® Hilary Jones and Jennie Brown were thrown together so much dur- ing a ride on the roller coaster last Saturday evening that their engage- ment has been announced. Folks hereabouts are pretty proud of Congressman Binks. He rose in the House in Washington last Satur- day and got it to adjourn. * * * Clem Tebbins is probably the most bashful man that ever lived. He has worn two pairs of suspenders for years, F. B. M. In Difficulties “RELLE seems to be having trouble at the beauty counter.” “She has so much natural color that it is hard for her to select rouge.” Overheard in a Bookstore “QaAY, is that a good book? What's it like? Good and snappy? I like a snappy book. Some hot stuff. But not immoral. Just good. A novel, I gu A kind of short story. About the se You know. A girl, too. And detectives. In the West, maybe. A couple of murders. People shot. But cheerful, kind of. I like them cheerful. The books, I mean. They got to be cheerful. Have you got a book like that? Almost any book. I’m not particular. Just so it's good. Yes, and snappy. I like a good book.” W.W. Scott. comicbooks.com