Life, 1928-10-26 · page 24 of 40
Life — October 26, 1928 — page 24: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This single-panel cartoon depicts a street scene at what appears to be a hot dog vendor's stand. A well-dressed woman instructs a male companion (presumably James) to buy her a hot dog, but "only look as if you were buying it for yourself." **The Joke:** The satire targets upper-class pretension and social hypocrisy. The woman wants to eat a humble street food (hot dogs were considered lower-class fare) but is concerned about maintaining her social appearance. Rather than openly purchasing and consuming it herself, she has her male companion buy it while she pretends it's for him—preserving her facade of refinement and superiority. This reflects early 20th-century class anxieties and the American obsession with maintaining proper social standing, even in trivial matters. The cartoon mocks how artificial and performative such social conventions were, suggesting that even enjoyable simple pleasures required careful stagecraft to avoid damaging one's reputation.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
when, rushing naked-eyed with our broken specs to the optician’s, a puzzled friend halted us to ask if we hadn't shaved off what we never grew—viz., a mustache. weThere is little truth in the report that this reporter telephones his items to Neicisor- tooo News, where they are polished up by a highly paid rewrite man. If so, there would be more polish, Which reminds us that a lot of ex- pensive advertising of certain star writers is be- ing carried in Livt, the comic supp. of Neiciisor- Hoop News, and not a line about the leg-workers who get the news, if any, and make this weekly what it is—our publisher evidently forgetting that a paper is as good as its reporters, Ashton Stevens. MINNEAPOLIS Grorce Asramson, All-American Guard at the U. of M. a couple of years ago, is now in the furniture business here, thereby breaking the old tradition that football stars must either become coaches or sell bonds. « Larry Durand, Ernie Maddaus, and Ray Fredell, three of our prominent young bank- ers, are back from a tip Brough the Great Open Spaces. They say they are sorry to report no rattlesnake bites, they being prepared for such. *Considerable grain is coming into town these days. Scems like the farmers, at least, haven't heard it's Presidential Year. ***Mrs. R. H. Van Cleve and son Robert of this city are leaving Minneapolis the middle of the month to join Mr. Van Cleve who is asso: ciated with the Guggenheim interests in Chile. We wish them a pleasant trip, and, sharpening up the old saw, hope the climate down there isn’t all the name suggests. The U. of Minn. fall term begins this week; the Gaiety Burlesque show opened a few weeks ccarlier: Michael Fleming. MONTREAL Ep. Beatty’s Duchess of Bedford, which is a ship, not a lady, now makes England in five days and some hours, which is further proof that New York can look to her laurels as an ocean port, if any, particularly when you figure that the Duchess has to sail a thousand miles inland after leaving the ocean. «> Twenty-five and one half ounces of Mons, Martell’s XXX Cognac may now be had from the Government Liquor Stores for the small consideration of $4.25. Frigidaire for skating and hockey pur- poses will be installed in the Forum by the time this reaches print, ready for the clash between McGill and the Winged Wheelers. ***Messrs. Moét and Chandon’s bubble water of the vintage 1917 is being retailed here- abouts for $5.75 the qt. as recent tourists from the Land of the Non-Alcoholic Free can testify. ***Lyon W. Jacobs our eminent King’s Counsel and spellbinder was a recent visitor to the air mail port at St. Hubert where he had a swell time but says he can’t understand why anybody should want to get a letter from Albany in two hours. & The 26% ozs. bottle of Mr. Dewar's Ne Plus Ultra Scotch now rates an even $5 at the Liquor Commission and you can believe the label. —Adet. ***Bans re the impending nuptials of Bunny Foster and the little MacDougall girl are now being published from the pulpit, though the question about anybody who knows anythin against the groom getting wed saying so whit he has the chance 1s purely formal in the exe of this eminent young atty. and social mazda, Neicueorttoon News 1s credibly informed, & John (Johnny) Krausmann our portly boniface has taken unto himself a wife whic fact has been duly toasted by the aforesaid M. Krausmann and your corresp't in Rhine wing of rare bouquet and vintage. Leslie Roberts, NEW YORK Grantiano Rice of here will celebrate his natal day Nov. 1, quietly. ***Get news of the election in the De cember 7 issue of this paper. *°*The indoor tennis season will start pretty soon, How about it, Gil Gabriel? a Mrs. Frank Ward O'Malley and ¢ dren are spending the chilly days’ in Swit land, Eur. ***Anthony and Timothy Adams of Lyons Plains, Conn., have returned to. ther town house in N. Y. for the winter. ***Jacques De Wolf was out playing ten- nis the other day in a pair of old pa Spaeth called him De Wolf in cheag ing. ***Parking in this town is a great prob lem and we are going to have something » say about it in an early issue, as Gov. Lorine says. «* Gowns are to be worn loose and un. clinging this winter. “Form relief,"” said Nang Fay the popular artist who is living on gh Street these days. comicbooks.com