Life, 1929-04-05 · page 34 of 56
Life — April 5, 1929 — page 34: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is not a cartoon but rather a **service advertisement** from Life magazine announcing a new ticket-selling service for New York theater seats. The social context: Life positions itself as combating **ticket scalpers**—middlemen who bought theater tickets and resold them at inflated prices, a widespread problem in early 20th-century entertainment. The service promises "box-office prices" directly to readers, positioning Life and cooperating theaters as ethical alternatives to scalpers, described here as a "parasite." The practical details reveal the anti-scalping strategy: seats held at box offices until 8 P.M. performance night (preventing advance resale), advance ordering required (seven days minimum), and strict payment procedures. Readers submit purchase orders with checks directly to Life's office at 598 Madison Avenue. This reflects genuine Progressive-era anxiety about exploitative middlemen and represents an early attempt by a major magazine to leverage its reader base for consumer protection.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
lifes Ticket Service IFE takes great pleasure in announcing the opening of a special Ticket Service for Lire Readers which will enable them to obtain good orchestra seats for New York Attractions at Box-Office Prices. If you are planning a visit to New York, or if you live in New York, we hope you will find this service not only a money-saver but a convenience. Lire, with the co-opera- tion of honest theatrical producers, hopes to wipe out that parasite of the New York theatre—the ticket scalper. Many sincere efforts have been made to remove this stigma, and all have failed—but while there's Lire there's hope! Lire has also opened a General Information Bureau. If you are in New York and want to know where the new Movies are playing, or desire information regarding Thea- tres, Restaurants or Supper Clubs, call Plaza 9842 before 5 P.M. Calls on Saturday must be made before noon. Hiow to Wse Life’s Ticket Service First tickets available April 19th , Bor theatres and other attractions reserving LIFE seats, see Confidential Guide on age 34, Seats are available only for those attractions indicated by stars and at prices noted. These are box-office prices of orchestra seats. All orders for tickets must reach LIFE’S office at least seven days before the date of the performance. Orders for theatre parties of over four must be received two weeks in ad- vance. Check for the exact amount must be attached to each PURCHASE ORDER. Purchase Order Receipt will be sent to purchaser by return mail. This must be presented at the box office on the evening of the performance. 8 e i Hife’s Hicket Service 598 Madison Ave. New York City IN ORDER TO KEEP TICKETS OUT OF THE HANDS OF TICKET SCALPERS SEATS WILL BE HELD AT THE BOX OFFICE AND .L. NOT BE RELEASED UNTIL AFTER EIGHT O'CLOCK ON THE NIGHT OF THE PERFORMANCE. Dear Life: I want seats for the following: Name of Show No. Seats Date of Performance In selecting attractions, purchasers are asked to send two alternative choices of shows with each selection, in case Lire’s quota of seats for that Alternate Shows performance is exhausted. Remittance will have to cover the cost of the highest priced scats asked for. Any excess amount will be refunded. Lire will be glad to make appropriate selec- tions for purchasers if they will indicate with order the type of show preferred and remit amount to cover top prices. Any excess amount will be refunded by return mail. NO ORDERS FOR SEATS WILL BE TAKEN OVER THE TELEPHONE. This service is not offered in connection with matinee seats, which are ordinarily available at box offices. .... enclosed herewith. L comicbooks.com