Life, 1927-03-10 · page 37 of 38
Life — March 10, 1927 — page 37: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page combines a satirical domestic diary entry with hotel and product advertising. **Mrs. Pep's Diary** humorously chronicles a wife's exasperation with her husband's Lenten tradition of abandoning alcohol for amateur furniture-making. The joke rests on a familiar 1920s scenario: stressed businessmen seeking "therapy" through DIY hobbies. Mrs. Pep notes his projects are disastrous—his handmade bedside table lists dangerously and damaged rugs—yet she tolerates them because such "nervous wrecks from Wall Street" supposedly find more satisfaction in a homemade bookshelf than professional success. The satire mocks both masculine anxiety about modern work and the period's emerging faith in amateur craftsmanship as psychological remedy. The remainder is advertising for the Book-Cadillac Hotel (Detroit), Golden Glint Shampoo, and hotel accident insurance—typical Life magazine content mixing social commentary with revenue-generating advertisements. The diary's gentle domesticity establishes the magazine's audience: educated, middle-to-upper-class readers amused by marital observation and consumer culture.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Mrs. Pep’s Diary (Continued from page 14) did so that somebody had once writ- ten a play, “It Pays to Advertise,” on the idea that a dollar was an un- beard-of price to charge for a cake of soap. This morning by ex- February press did ae a large 16th Consignment. of un- assembled, unfinished furniture, for which I did sign with the gravest nisgivings, divining that my hus- band, poor wretch, is again going to forswear spirituous liquors during Lent in favor of amateur cabinet- making, and I do well recall how the house stank of finishing stain for weeks after his last endeavors in that connection, and how his maladroit- ness with brush and hammer cost us two good rugs and a set of Spode plates. It does seem to me a pity that a man who feels that a casual whisky and soda must be sup- planted by manual activity cannot content himself with a set of build- ing blocks, for Lord! the bed table which I am now using out of senti- ment for Sam's having constructed it does not serve my needs at all as to size, and lists ,alarmingly to star- board when weighted with anything that spills. I should never be so cruel as to point out its defections, however, for they do say that a ner- vous wreck from Wall Street gets more thrill out of a bookshelf which he makes in Stockbridge than out of asuccessful bond issue which he has floated. Baird Leonard. TT enue, Settle, Washington Golden Glint Shampoo — that magic luster for every shade of bair “At one of the great crossroads of the world” You'll find it a friendly place to rest and sleep; you'll find it one of the delightful abiding places of Earth. Men feel at home. They find the things they like and they meet the men they know. The roomsare high and clean and quiet and they look down on never-forgotten things: on the mystery of a river dividing two nations; on mil- lions of lights at night in windows; on curious long lanes of street lights that stretch away to somewhere else as though on the spokes of an open fan. The beds are bountiful and comfortable —so comfortable you'll not likely remember others as restful nor any ever as sleepy 4 + «There aretwenty-ninestories. Thereare 1200rooms;all have bath;allareoutside. 560 are priced at 4 and 5 dollarsa day »++We welcome you here at one of the world’s great crossroads, in one of the world's great hotels. We'll do our utmost to make your stay memorableand make it pleasant. THE BOOK-CADILLAC HOTEL COMPANY DETROIT Roy Carruthers, President Have you read of the Book-Cadillac Hotel accident insurance policy; how it protects each guest of the hotel? As you leave, you'll find attached to your receipted, time-stamped bill, an accident insurance policy. It proteas you for 24 hours, paying $2500.00 for loss of limb; $25.00 weekly over a long term for wholly disabling injuries ; and $3000.00 in case of accidental death comicbooks.com