Life, 1927-05-19 · page 13 of 42
Life — May 19, 1927 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three humorous pieces mocking medieval/historical figures and 1920s social conventions: **Top cartoon**: Depicts torture ("The Victim on the rack"), satirizing an inquisitor's demand for information through threatening physical punishment—a commentary on coercive interrogation methods. **"How Merlin Did Floppe"**: A mock-historical story set in Arthurian legend (A.D. 1500, though historically inconsistent) where the wizard Merlin uses magic to humiliate Sir Gawain. The satire appears to target pomposity and male vanity. **"A Story with a Moral"**: Mocks a young reporter who gets a telephone tip about a fire but refuses to follow up properly—satirizing laziness and incompetence in journalism. **Bottom section**: Jazz-age gossip items poking fun at 1920s socialites' opinions on historical figures and their disapproval of new cosmetics trends. The satire targets both frivolous celebrity culture and changing social mores around women's appearance.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
How Merlin Did Floppe An Arthurian Legend AY? through the castle Vivien went with Merlin who shewed her monie a strange thing and odd, how he did place the head of a swine upon this gentle and that, how he did make moonshine from cowcumbers and cast spells upon gret dragons and other angry bestes. anst thou make every sort quoth Vivien. that can I,” Merlin, “white, spake black and red and pastel shades if need be. a gret wissard.” “Thou canst do any- thing?” “Anything,” Merlin “Then,” spake Vivien, I am quoth The Victim (on the rack): WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF I REPUSE TO GIVE YOU THIS INFORMATION ? The Inquisitor: sucit REFUSAL WILL, I FEAR, PLACE YOU IN RATHER AN AWKWARD POSITION. and she tooke down a telephone from a litel tabel, “get mee Camelot 5442 —and get it the first time.” Whereupon Merlin waxed wroth and rent his bearde. And he did rent it for fifty florins to Sir Gawaine who was but .a youthe at the time. DIPLOMAT a man who con- vinces his wife that a woman looks stout in a fur coat. ‘ipa eSessST ET ossssshs ANOS A Story with a Moral “TT was wonderfully brave of you to stick at your post and notify every one of the fire,” insisted the young reporter. “Maybe,” said the hotel telephone girl, “but, gee, I got a kick out of it! You see, the fire broke out at three in the morning and one old guy Room 1802 was pretty sore becau I waked him up. ‘You so-and-so,’ he sa him the house was on fire, you mean by ringing me and so-and- so-and-so.” So as sweet as you please, I says: ‘Excuse it, please. Wrong number.’ He’s in there yet.” Not Approved O: What do you think of this new kiss-proof lipstick? Fro: It isn’t all it’s smacked up First Florentine Flapper: wuat’s YOUR CANDID OPINION OF LUCREZIA BORGIA? Second Ditto: wert, 1» you ask ME, My pear, 1 THINK sue’s SIMpty POIson- ovs—t mean 1 ACtuatty DO! comicbooks.com