Life, 1927-07-28 · page 10 of 36
Life — July 28, 1927 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon satirizes the contrast between barber shops and beauty parlors through a humorous dialogue. A man named Nick (apparently a barber) is shown accommodating a customer's requests with the solicitous, appointment-focused service style typical of beauty parlors—scheduling precise times, offering to fit in extra clients, and prioritizing customer convenience over operational efficiency. The joke targets early 20th-century gender norms: beauty parlors were associated with leisured, pampered service for women, while barber shops served working men with quick, efficient service. The satire suggests that if barbers adopted beauty parlor courtesies—elaborate scheduling, personal attention, multiple services—it would be absurdly impractical for a male clientele expecting no-nonsense grooming.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“T11—JOE—CAN YA BEAT IT—1 GOTTA COUPLE IN “ERE AN’ THEY AIN’T NECKIN’! If Barber Shops Were Run Like Beauty Parlors This is Mr. Tay- From the First Can you give me an “PLELLO, is this Nick's shop? lor speakin Mr. ‘Taylor! National Building. ‘That's right appointment for a shave next Friday morning at eleven?” “Sorry, Mr. ylor, but) Doctor eleven o'clock t 1 for a hair cut to two Friday afternoon? “Nope, can't make it. Gotta get shaved before noon Friday. ‘Taking a big buyer to lunch. Say, Nick, sup- pose [came in on my way to the office about half-past Humphreys has How about quarter tight Friday morning—do you think you could take care Fraid not, Mr. Taylor. Got an appointment at cight sharp to trim Mr. Fletcher's beard.” “For goodness sake, Nick, I must get shaved Friday morning. We have no hot water at the house and you've just got to make the time for me “TH tell you what I'll do, Mr. about ten o'clock and TIL try to squeeze you in for a quick once-over, but don't breathe a word of this to Mr. Taylor—you get here Smithers over at the bank. Friday shave appointment all morning. He's been phoning for a Just come in the side door and take chair number two. Ill do my best ke care of you.” Thanks, Nick, very much “Oh, that’s all right, Mr. accommodate an old customer.” ‘aylor—always anxious to What’s the Ide TOBODY knows when he is well off, for here are IN “Boston, Detroit, Indianapolis, Cleveland, San Kran shington, Atlanta and Houston all bid- Democratic Convention cisco, Miami, V ding for the 1 T hear that he's “WVHATS happened to Johnyon? in the hospital.” “Yes, he was shot at a mystery play.” comicbooks.com