Life — April 12, 1929 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Mary Had a Little Slam" — Life Magazine, April 12, 1929 This cover illustration by Ruth Eastman Rodgers depicts a woman engaged in card playing, likely bridge or a similar game popular in 1920s leisure culture. The title "Mary Had a Little Slam" is a playful pun on the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb," substituting "slam" — a bridge-playing term referring to winning all or most tricks. The artwork satirizes the era's enthusiasm for card games among women and the leisure class. The figure's fashionable 1920s appearance (bobbed hair, jewelry, sleeveless dress) reflects the "modern woman" of the Jazz Age. The cartoon suggests society's preoccupation with games and gambling during the prosperous pre-Depression period. At 10¢, this issue cost considerably less than many publications today.