Life, 1927-03-10 · page 13 of 38
Life — March 10, 1927 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains several satirical pieces targeting 1920s social attitudes: **"The Synthetic He-Man"** (poem by D'Annunzio Cohen) mocks men who romanticize outdoor adventure and travel while lacking the means or commitment to actually pursue it—a critique of aspirational fantasy masquerading as masculinity. **"Justice in Gehenna"** (by Gerald Cosgrove) satirizes sentimental popular songs, particularly those glorifying motherhood and domestic sentimentality. The caricatured figure suggests mockery of overly emotional artistic expression. **"The Spirit of 1927"** cartoon depicts a postal clerk and citizen discussing mail registration—likely satirizing bureaucratic paranoia or trust issues in an increasingly mechanized society. **"Mrs. Parkerenue"** cartoon mocks vanity and conspicuous consumption, specifically photographs showcasing large families as status symbols among the wealthy. The overall theme critiques 1920s consumer culture and artificial social values.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Life Haggard Individual; 1 am RUINED. 1/M GOING TO END IT ALL, HAVE YOU ANY ARSENIC? Sympathetic Druggist: sv BUT PRUSSIC QUICKER AND EASIER. Haggard Individual: Lu WAVE TO USE THE ARSENIC. VM ON A NON-ACID DIET. AcID 18 Justice in Gehenna ATAN: A writer of popular songs! Well, this is a ‘/ pleasure. I'm sure you want to hear my new one. It’s a wow! I wanna tellya about my bluc-eyed sweetie who left that old cabin in Alabam’ without her fare be- cause that doggone dancin’ man just couldn’t live without his faded love let- ters in the new-mown hay and how happy they would be but M-O-T-H-E-R made me cry because she’s my baby— thrills? that ain't the half of it!— whispering tenderly whereja get that smile ‘cause no foolin’ how could she have been so very good when all the ladies craved a choo-choo whistling to baby-face under a white moon kissing hot lips through rose-colored glasses in a little lane knee-deep in daisies with soft brown eyes like horses, horses, horses but what'll I do when ‘taint my fault you're sorry because big boy shook his golden curls and cried o'er the morning glories while the rainbow smiled down on a baby shoe and I know that you know Kain- tucky Mamm-ee—ceee because... (And so on throughout eternity.) Gerald Cosgrove. }PATHERS make allowances for their daughters, and husbands who don’t, pay alimony. ~ The Synthetic He-Man HEN the bursting bud and the nascent spud pro- claim that winter is done, When the woodchuck stirs and the motor purrs, and the sap begins to run, Then it’s Ho! for the wide, wide world outside, and it's Ho! for distant shores! And it’s “Whoa!” to the fellows who whoop and yell of the joys of the Great Outdoors! Oh, give me the thrill of the linnet’s trill in strange, exotic lands; Give me the sweep and the surging leap of the breakers on far-off sands! Give me the South with its parching drouth, and the North with its mountains of snow there— And give me, say, six months off with pay, so I'll have the time to go there! I could roam afar with a guiding star, never heeding the joyless town! I could tramp and camp like a hiking champ, and do the thing up brown! I could spend my days on the winding ways, where the sun unceasing shines— I could keep this up for another couple of hundred thou- sand lines! D’Annunzio Cohen, The Spirit of 1927 OSTAL CLERK: You say this letter is important. Don't you want to register it to insure delivery? Loyat Citize: confidence in the No, I have farines. HE trouble nowadays is not so much in being found out as it is in being found in. Mrs. Parkavenue: of, GERALD, DON’T YOU THINK THESE PHOTOGRAPHS SHOWING THE PARENTS AND A FAMILY OF EIGHTEEN CHILDREN ARE POSITIVELY nauseating? comicbooks.com