Life, 1927-03-17 · page 13 of 43
Life — March 17, 1927 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three separate satirical pieces from *Life* magazine: 1. **"Dinner Chat"**: A comedy sketch mocking correspondence school advertisements. Mr. Quinby questions whether Mrs. Spratt's claimed educational achievements—citing the "six largest cities" and Euclid's Third Proposition—actually work, with her husband Vernon remaining silent throughout the pretentious discussion. 2. **"Something Old"**: A wedding joke about a bride carrying her grandmother's cigarette case as "something old" rather than lace—poking fun at both outdated wedding traditions and women's changing social freedoms (smoking was still scandalous for women in this era). 3. **"The Go-Getter's Son"**: A brief piece about a child whose teacher will be retained for another year, suggesting parental pride in educational investment. The overall tone satirizes American consumerism, education, and social pretension.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Dinner Chat (If you believe the correspondence school advertisements.) R. QUINBY (the host): Ah, ma chére Madame _ Spratt! Comme je dis tous les jours— Mrs. Quinsy (brightly): The six largest cities in the United States were, in their order and according to the 1920 census, New York, Chi- cago, Philadelphia, Detroit, Cleve- land and St. Louis. Mr. Quinsy: Vous aimez bien le poulet roti, Madame Spratt? Mrs. Spratt: A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Mr. Quinsy: Od avez-vous trouvé ce bon mot? Mrs. Spratt: Elbert Hubbard's Scrap Book. Vernon, dear, you haven't said a word all evening. Do something to entertain us, (Mr. Spratt promptly obliges by singing four Negro spirituals, his wife accompanying on the easily mastered saxophone, which she has thoughtfully brought along.) Mrs. Quinay: I shall now explain the Third Proposition of Euclid, which I picked up through the Five- Foot Shelf. (She explains it, but there is no use in our going into de- tails here.) “1 HEAR YOUR GIRL GOT MARRIED THE OTHER DAY.” “yean.”” “tovan Luck.” “wito DID site MARRY?” Mr. Quinsy: Have you tried “Questions and Answers,” a copy of which may be procured for one dollar and thirty-five cents at any drug store? No.1. In what year was Hasdrubal born? No. 2. How many Something Old Old-Fashioned Relative: HAVE YOU A BIT OF YOUR GRANDMOTHER'S LACE TO WEAR WITH YOUR WEDDING GOWN, MY DEAR? The Bride: No, BUT 1’M CARRYING GRANDMA’S CIGARETTE CASE. square rods in an acre? No. 3. Name the components of acetic acid. No. 4. Who is Calvin Coolidge? (AU the answers are, of course, correct, and the dinner breaks up in general merriment.) ee (But if you, as you shouldn't, don’t believe the ads.) Mrs. Quinsy: Do you prefer light or dark meat, Mrs. Spratt? Mrs. Spratt: either one; I'm crazy about both. Mrs. Quinsy: No, but which do you prefer? Mrs. Spratt: It doesn’t make the slightest bit of difference, my dear. Mr. Quinpy (after a Strained pause of twenty minutes): Well, we'll have some bridge after dinner, Spratt. You play bridge, of course? Mr. Spratt: No. Tip Bliss. The Go-Getter’s Son “D—appy, Ihave splendid news for you. The third-grade teacher is going to retain my services for another year!” Oh, really comicbooks.com