Life, 1929-04-19 · page 29 of 52
Life — April 19, 1929 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from Life magazine contains brief satirical observations about 1920s New York society, plus an illustration of the "Bunion Derby"—a cross-country footrace that began in Columbus Circle. The cartoon depicts diverse runners (identified by ethnicity: Italians, Greeks, Finns, Scandinavians, and "a seven-foot colored gentleman") participating in this novelty race. The humor derives from the Columbus statue's implied dismay at seeing his discovery's legacy reduced to this spectacle. The text column "Around the Town—100 Years Ago" offers humorous fake historical items (anti-rheumatic dog-hair shoe soles, hollow metal hair rollers) as parody of old newspaper advertisements. The main satire mocks 1920s excess: talking pictures alienating actors, scalpers profiting from Broadway shows, theater superstitions, and conspicuous consumption among the wealthy—all snapshots of Jazz Age New York frivolity.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
| (maybe), the floating airport between New York and the Bahamas—will have a hotel, restaurant, etc. . . . now we know why the suicide rate among actors is increasing . . . they're begin- ning to see and hear themselves in the talking movies... Ford town cars with liveried chauffeurs are becoming a very common sight on the Avenue . if you win a con- test of any sort you will immediately _ re- ceive an adver- tisement froma magazine that lists every prize contest. in’ the | world . . . you |can’t get seats for “Journey's End” but the scalpers have leased stores on each side of the theatre and are selling two- dollar balcony seats for four fifty . . . one of the rare sights around the night clubs—the deaf old coot with the ear |phones and the blonde always with him—“Deaf and Dumb” they call them but she’s not so dumb! ... Jack White at Chateau Madrid... the “Noah's Ark” electric sign atop the Winter Garden cost $27,000 to erect steam... the laugh of the week—Clara Bow as a college gitl in “The Wild Party” . . . why pay five dollars a seat for “Broadway Mel- ody” when you can see it in At lantic City for seventy-five cents? ... Bill Scott's gag—“The theatre has the Gyp’s Curse on it”... the Clover Clubs at Gus’s ... the Mirador has teopened under the name of the Mogador ...there is no cover charge. Rare Sights The recent start of the Bunion Derby from Columbus Circle... one hun- dred and ten entrants following Mr. Greeley’s advice—on foot . . . Italians, Greeks, Negroes, Finns, even Scandinavians do it . « one seven-foot colored gentleman in a frock coat and high hat and spats had climbed up on the monu- ment and was waving Bun Voyage to a brother of fast color . . . Even Columbus himself had a very odd ex- pression on his face... as he looked down he was probably muttering to him- self “So I dis- covered Amer- ica for this!” wa Around the Town 100 Years Ago Surgeon Weyrauch has invented anti-rheumatic soles, made of dog's hair, which, when worn in bed, will rout gout... Mrs. Dodge has formed a class to teach young ladies fancy penmanship . . . 21,486 rations of soup were ladled to the needy on the Bowery last week . . . The Common Council reports an expenditure of $17,455.00... Isaac Martin has brought out a new invention which will enable the ladies to put their hair up in curl papers without using im- portant documents and other papers —Mr. Martin uses hollow metal roll- ers around which the hair is wound and fastened by pretty ribbons. comicbooks.com