Life, 1927-06-02 · page 14 of 46
Life — June 2, 1927 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two main satirical pieces: **"The Salesman, an Ex-Top Sergeant Goes A.E.F."** depicts a loudmouthed ex-military sales pitch, likely mocking aggressive salesmen who leveraged WWI military service for credibility. The sergeant bombards a customer (labeled "Pershing") with pushy sales tactics while bragging about his war record and threatening consequences if orders aren't placed. **"Spatial Devolution" (Anglo-Saxon Era)** is a humorous etymology section showing how breakfast-related terms degraded over time from formal Victorian language to crude slang. The **Stereoscopic Gems** advertisement at bottom shows a stereoscope card of "A Brave Policeman"—promoting 3D viewing cards that were popular entertainment of that era. The overall page satirizes post-WWI American commercialism and linguistic decline.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
a Commencement at the Barbers’ College “sO ELMER DIDN’T GET HIS DEGREE? WHAT WAS THE TROU “TOO MANY CUTS. Spatial Devolution INGLO-SAXON ERA: Break- fast hall. Victorian Period: Breakfast room. 1927; Breakfast nook. 1950: Breakfast shelf. STEREOSCOPIC GEMS Life The Salesman, an Ex-Top Sergeant, Goes A. E. F. “ATTENTION! Snap into it, stupid! Twist your pan front and center and hear me count off. I hope to kick in your mess-kit if I haven't been in this Cognac Pete annex fourteen times in ten days to sell you a bill of goods. Who do you think you are, soldier, Pershing? An’ what's the idea of sendin’ out to tell me you was in conference, hey? Answer me, you spud peeler, before I wrap a bunch of fives around that thing you call a neck! Ha! Con- ference! Conference me Aunt’s al- lotment money! You ain't had a real front-line conference since Foch quit playin’ jacks with Dangerous Dan McGrew. “Now pin your ears back, foolish, while I tell you something to write to Mother. If you're cravin’ a poke in the nose, just keep on actin’ the way you are, That's all, just keep on goin’ as is! Get me, dough- boy, get me! And if I don’t get an order for Comstock’s Little Giant Laundry Soap by next Wednesday, you're gonna get a gift from a grate- ful government in insurance money, and I don’t mean r ee! Think it over, s‘long!” Tom F. Barry. A BRAVE POLICEMAN” Right Back Where He Started From Josephine: wity so pUMB THIS EvE- NING, Jor? WHERE YOUR EDUCA- TION? Joe: EDUCATION? 1T’s GONE BACK TO THE COMPANY. 1 COULDN'T PAY THE LAST INSTALLMENT AND THEY TOOK IT AWAY. q109NNGA JD LNAWASNHY, ONV' NOILWIIsI03 SHL 40-4 comicbooks.com