Life, 1927-10-06 · page 14 of 40
Life — October 6, 1927 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**The Main Cartoon ("The Gay Nineties"):** This illustration depicts a street scene with a horse and cart, showing the parking problems of the 1920s era. The caption satirizes car owners complaining about nowhere to park, sarcastically noting that "the hectic nineties knew it also"—ironically comparing modern parking woes to the 1890s, when horses (not cars) dominated streets and presumably faced similar congestion issues. The joke is that urban crowding is not new; only the type of vehicle has changed. **Two Short Humor Pieces Below:** "The Dawn of Romance" features dialect humor with a man using exaggerated immigrant or working-class speech patterns attempting to woo a woman. "Saves a Step" is a brief joke about automobile manufacturing and used cars. The page reflects 1920s urban anxieties about automobile proliferation and social satire through vernacular comedy.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Gay Nineties © YOU WHO ROAM THE STREETS HOPELESSLY LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO PARK YOUR CAR, WONDERING IF YOU WON'T AVE TO SELL THE DARN THING TO AVOID A SUMMONS—DON’T BLAME THE PRES DAY POR THE PARKING PROBLEM, THE HECTIC NINETIES KNEW IT ALSO. The Dawn of Romance IM juss like af, Yoonuss, thass how I got- sure can thinkum up,’ he sezz. ‘How wouldja like ta tum....He comes uppa my counter anne sezz, ‘I 2 wunna tha swell hotels furra feed? How bout- Miss Glebby,’ he * he sezz, annye sezz, ‘You otta know how boutut,’ he sezz, annye sezz, 1 payin forrut, Misser Sulluvun!’...Well, 1 cussummer and whassa complaint, Misser Sul- awnussly, Yoonuss, I thoughteed lay rid inna aisle, I sezz. Annee sezz, ‘Stout lady inna red hat,’ he laffso. kizz clever,’ he sezz. ‘Yotta be onna he sezz, ‘anshce sezzya wouldn showa no goods,’ he sezz. stage,’ he sezztamee, anawnussly, Yoonuss, I dono buteze Can yamagine ut, Yoonuss?...Annye looktum right — right athat—I coont be worsean summa these jane inna eye annye sezz, ‘Oh, is thatsso, Misser Sulluvun, I Anyow, | gummye stuff across with Sulluvun—I_ gottum sezz, ‘Well, lemmee tellya sumpm,’ [ sezz, ‘thole fool — riware I wannum, Yoonuss. Yawaitun see. I gottum wuzzere annour, 1 sezz, ‘annye took down everthin juss like at/...” HW. EF. bummye hair, annats bobbed,’ I sezz, annee sezz, ‘Ya prefresh aincha?’ Annye sezz right backattum, I'm prefresh,’ I sezz. ‘Iss ony tha fresh ' ‘at yet inna tha swell hotels,’ I sezz, annee sezz, ‘Ya Saves a Step Fest AUTO MANUFACTURER: How's business? Srconp: Great! We're making used cars now. comicbooks.com