Life, 1927-12-15 · page 7 of 40
Life — December 15, 1927 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two distinct pieces of satirical content: **Top cartoon:** A domestic scene where a newly married daughter tells her mother she uses "the budget system" for household expenses—implying financial discipline rather than careful spending. The satire targets newlyweds' pretensions about managing money systematically. **Main article: "A Little Peep at the Cigarette Industry"** describes a factory tour of cigarette manufacturing, specifically "Maud Muller" brand cigarettes. The text humorously details machinery and processes, including trained monkeys that pack cigarettes at "three million an hour." **Bottom vignette:** A man leaving for Chicago tells a woman to "take care of yourself—and don't drop any 'h's," mocking working-class speech patterns—a period satire of pronunciation and class markers. The overall page mixes domestic humor, industrial satire, and class-based comedy typical of early-20th-century *Life* magazine.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A Little Peep " HE on our left, ladies and gentlemen, are the electric toasters. These toast the cigarettes on both sides, and but- ter them at the rate of minute. One of th burnt the toast one morning and was docked TE ALT. These machines a million a irl operators ma- chines also season the product with tobacco to suit the taste—that is why Maud the also. why Muller’ world cigarettes are sold and that is people don't look for premiums or coupons, for they know that the cost of the tobacco blended in ‘Maud Muller’ cigarettes prohibits the of them. Step this way, please. “Now this machine adds the whale of a difference that only a few cents can make at the rate of forty billion a day, and on the right is our blending ma- This six bales of Turkish towels a the result with domestic tobaccos; it is then aut ly dumped into the satisfying warchouse, where it’ is aged in over, use chinery. device shreds minute and mixes wooden MOTHER: Now that you are married, I hope that you are learning something about household expenses. DAUGHTER: Oh, but Mother, we never have any. You see, we use the budget system. hogsheads for three-quarters of an r to the split second “Before entering this n, will ll the ladies and gentlemen kindly place The coughs in ‘Maud SHE: their is terrific, for Muller’ ¢ din here So long, kid—I'm off to C Take care of you any “*h's". hands over their ears? all the sarettcs ago. elf—and don’t drop at the Cigarette Industry are being removed by special ma- CAN YOU HEAR ME? thre won't be a cough in a carload. ‘The there with the stethoscope package before it building “Here is ‘Maud Maullers are packed in their paper jackets ‘Maud Mullers’ are untou by human hands. the trained monkeys slipping twenty to the package at the rate of three This way. have a ‘Maud Mul Paul 8. Powers. chinery After the this department cigarettes pass there man over listens to every leaves the where observe gang of million an hour ler.” A Find! I WANT a job as a radio announcer Let me hear you announce.” hawss uz stawshung Kawgawhug, Sawn Funniscaw, Cawlifawniaw, Th’ muxt naw Walba Wazz Ong plawwed ber wullba, Glawhy,’ Hong Gaw bawth awkstwaw waw gawlahaw “Name your own salary, my good fellow.” comicbooks.com