Life, 1927-05-05 · page 14 of 46
Life — May 5, 1927 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Life* magazine contains several short humorous sketches typical of early 20th-century satirical publications. **"Why I Can't Read Love Stories"** mocks romantic fiction by cataloging unattractive physical details (protruding ribs, knobby knees, scrawny backs) that contradict the idealized "slim figure of a boy" described in magazines. The author rejects this literary type. **"A Lady Buys a Car"** satirizes the impracticality of early automobiles and the condescension women faced when purchasing them—the dealer dismisses her concerns about horsepower and fuel efficiency as trivial female worries. **"The Trouble"** presents a domestic comedy about a cook's incompetence and a mistress's exasperation with misdirected groceries. **"New Types"** and **"Contact"** offer brief, scattered comic observations about asylum doctors and social encounters. The page emphasizes period anxieties about gender roles, domestic service, and consumer technology.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Hamlet: “ro Be, oR NOT TO BE; THAT 18 THE QUESTION.” Absent minded Stage Hand: 1 Give vue! A Lady Buys a Car “Now this is a stunning model. It becomes me, don’t you think ? Eighty horsepow: i y? How dreadfully 4 ent if one got stuck in the mud! Where would one ever get eighty horses to pull one out? I should think one or two horsepower would be quite suffi Do you charge extra for altera Never mind about going into the dif- ferential. My husband will prefer to pay for it all at once, I'm sure. This mirror ought to be tilted a little. I can’t si the way it is now the gallon? How many c think that would be a week? about these headlights—don’t you think the cloche effect is just a bit passé? This shade of blue will go stunningly with my greyhound, but the number plates will have to be changed—lemon numbers on a slate background would be about right, don’t you think? Of course you un- derstand I shall return it if it doesn’t suit. And you're quite sure I won't sce any copies? Yes, c please.” B! a funny propos! Gulp—he’s voted in every election for the last fort: now he dies from a pin scratch! Fate! The Trouble } EW COOK: I can't get the dinner the way you told me to, ma’am. Mistress: Why not? New Cook: Didn't you tell me to have roast beef and gravy? Mistress: Yes, that’s what I ordered. New Cook: Well, the butcher sent up the beef but he didn’t send a drop of gravy. Why I Can’t Read Love Stories “QHE had the slim figure of a bo id I lowered the magazine. Memories of the old swimming hole came back to me. . long, spindly necks support- ing oversize heads...knife-like shoulder blades waggling under the skin of scrawny backs... parallel rows of protruding ribs... lead- pencil biceps... hip bones you could hang your hat on...incurved gan- gling legs with enormous knobby knees... feet...“‘the slim figure of 3 boy.”” I threw away the magazine. I don’t object to style, but I know how I like my women. R.V.S, New Types OCTOR (at insane asylum): Any new patients arrive? : Yes, Doc, two. One of those “Ask me another question” fellows, and the other one is a Pro- hibition debater. ' Contact Bob: po you KNOW ALICE VERY WELL? Bill: ou, yes. 1'vE RIDDEN FIVE IN A SEAT WITH HER! comicbooks.com