Life, 1927-12-22 · page 15 of 36
Life — December 22, 1927 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three humor pieces satirizing early 20th-century social norms: **"Precocious Peter"** mocks a young boy who destroys his mother's belongings while playing "Customs Inspector"—satirizing both childish destructiveness and perhaps the era's bureaucratic attitudes. **"Success"** shows a child crying over losing a nickel, mocking juvenile sentimentality about money. **"No Argument"** is an essay defending buck teeth and light clothing as aesthetically preferable—likely ironic commentary on beauty standards and regional climate debates of the period. The author argues against conventional preferences for specific fashion and dental aesthetics. The cartoons employ exaggerated situations and contrarian arguments typical of Life's satirical style, targeting middle-class manners, parental indulgence, and arbitrary social conventions.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Precocious Peter M RS. POMFRET stood on the threshold of her boudoir and with blazing eyes beheld Peter Pom- fret, aged six, busily engaged in emptying the contents of her dresser drawers and throwing them to the floor. The youngster waded almost knee-deep in her precious lingerie and most beloved bits of fluffy ap- parcel. He seized her stockings, her waists, her handkerchiefs, and crum- pled them in his hands. Too amazed to speak, she watched him proceed to her closet, where he ruthlessly crushed her finest frocks and threw her shoes helter-skelter about the room. “Peter!” s, Mumsie.” “What are you doing?” “Playing, Mumsie.” “Playing! You mean the room and ruining my best most beautiful clothes. “I deel. Peter, you “Declare, I'm} wrecking that’s what Peter explained bed dock, the pillow is a boat and I'm a Customs Inspector examining baggage !” (P.S. He got the spanking.) Arthur L. Lippmann Mumsie Success U* BOB: What are you ery- ing for? Junior: Give me tell you. “AML right; Now, what we “A nickel!” a nickel and TIL nickel you crying for? here's your Dor: Gosh! That boy I was just dancing with certainly ought to have the S. P. C. A sicked onto him Berry: What on earth for? Dot: Why, for the awful beating he gave my dogs. No Argument AM firmly convinced that regions in which the rainfall is heavy are damper than regions in which the rainfall is light. London, it strikes If tackling-dummies are necessary at colleges as part of the equipment of a liberal education, why not also necking-dummies in the department of social graces? me, has a damper climate than Tucson, Arizona. This would hardly rain did not fall in Tucson, Arizona be true if more London than in Before climate, leaving — the I should like that woolen underwear is not, as a subject of to point out rule, worn in the of South Africa, In other words, there nor are raccoon coats. to be temperature I firmly believe a close connection between high ind light clothing that a beautiful appeal to the a girl with buck teeth and 4 squint Any attempt) at an defense of buck tecth and squints is, I think, open to chal and if T could put this more I would girl makes a greater eye than esthetic lenge ; strongly, I also ought to stop right here that T Surely 1 said enough to convince any t to make keen writer of firmly believe have thinking man that To} in unusually paper editorials. news comicbooks.com