Life, 1928-05-17 · page 42 of 42
Life — May 17, 1928 — page 42: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily **advertising for Arrow Starched Collars**, with humorous filler content typical of Life magazine's satirical style. ## Main Advertisement The left side features a man in business attire with a question mark, promoting Arrow collars as essential for career advancement. The pitch: a starched collar won't guarantee success ("won't put you in the President's chair") but won't hurt your chances either. ## Humor Pieces The right side contains three brief comedic anecdotes: 1. **"How to Find Something in the Basement"** — a tongue-in-cheek guide humorously detailing the mishaps and discoveries (cobwebs, old photos, homemade wine) one encounters searching basements. 2. **"Trying to Place It"** — jokes about circus performers' poor time-sense, a prisoner's dignity before a judge, and a slow Pennsylvania turtle. These are standard early 20th-century genteel humor: domestic chaos, ethnic stereotypes (the prisoner anecdote), and animal oddities. The content reflects Life's mix of advertising and lighthearted social commentary aimed at middle-class readers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
How to Find Something (oq Anything) in the Basement Let us suppose you are looking for the pesee Lape. First turn on the light, if you can find it, and descend. Find that one of the steps is getting wobbly. Stan for the storeroom and step on one of Junior's roller skates. Pick yourself and look in dark corners, draping your head and neck with cobwebs. Sample the wife’s home-made wine. Go into the storeroom at last and impale your cye o a jutting hoe-handle. Find that old pi you were looking for. More cobwebs, Discover old magazine containing firg installment of a detective story. Sit down to read, and become aware of up-ended nail in old crate. Look into Grandma ancient trunk for probable heirloom Find photograph taken of you in hus ing togs. Amble into more dark corner stumbling on garden hose, the old a painting of Aunt Tillie, antiquated fu niture and Grandpa’s Civil War how itzer. Find jug of cider that wouldn't get hard and sniff contents hopefully. Hear wife’s voice telling you that she] found hedge-clippers in the attic where you put them last fall. Sample home made wine again and ascend, making sure to turn off the light. John Elmore, TRYING TO PLACE IT Ir 1s a well-known fact that circus people place certain episodes in their lives by their relation to other events, such as the year of the big blizzard, or the day of the ‘Frisco You—and Your Future || UL One of the Ringling Brothers’ lion tam ers was being interviewed by a newspaper man, who finally asked, “What was the most . exciting experience you ever had?” 7 A Starched Collar alone won't put you The lion man then described a thriling| : . . an ; * night when a king of beasts had sprung at in the President’s chair—but it won't Nee “bhecked “Gl dows, clawed a (al gash in his back, torn open both arms and keep you out. nearly severed a leg. . “When did that all happen?” asked the The climb up the ladder is hard absorbed scribe. i . “Lemme see,” replied the lion tamem| enough without adding unnecessary scratching his ear and appealing to a com : panion. “What happened that year, Fred? handicaps. —New York Sum The collar for business is a Starched Collar. A cotorep prisoner, a fellow taken {08 . banditry, came before Judge Rosalsky General Sessions, so a lawyer we know a tests, and was held in bail of twenty-tit The latest Arrows are thousand dollars, When statement IMPRESSED : : made from the bench to this effect attach low, light - weight, were surprised that the Negro vas i dismayed. Rather there was a | comfortable, STYLISH admiration in his eyes. As he was B® toward the Bridge of Sighs and jail remarked: “Dat ge’man sho’ does talk magnificent figures."—New Yorker. ARROW Starched COLL. ARS Ir took a Pennsylvania turtle for four years to walk two miles. It ist known whether he delivered the telegi —Detroit N comicbooks.com