Life, 1929-05-31 · page 25 of 36
Life — May 31, 1929 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page promotes **Life's new ticket agency**, positioned as a consumer service fighting theatrical ticket scalping—a major social problem of the era. The top letter, from a satisfied customer, humorously illustrates the frustration of obtaining Broadway tickets through normal channels. The writer spent weeks bribing box office staff, taking people to lunch, and "fluttering money" but couldn't get tickets to the popular play "Journey's End." Life's service delivered them in 48 hours. The bottom section frames this as a public service "without profit." Life claims to have partnered with honest producers to offer orchestra seats at legitimate box office prices, directly undercutting scalpers. The text acknowledges previous anti-scalping efforts—city ordinances, investigations, publicity—all failed, but Life expresses confidence in its solution. The cherub mascot and earnest tone suggest this was positioned as a progressive, consumer-friendly intervention into a corrupt market—a common Progressive Era reform approach.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Honen Cror Totay After Lunch Lizers Ticket Service, New Yerkes Merrie centlecen; XI wish to hand you flowers. Por weexe 7 had been scheming and planning trying to get tickets to "Journey's End,® I pulled wires and took people out to lunch and talxed entertainingly, and fluttered money in the faces of the tex office men end not a ticzet could I get. And then I read about Life's Ticket Service and sent you a check end forty-eLght hours later I hai the ozsder for the tickets in sy hand, Life's Ticket Service is the biggest thing that has hapeened to this country since we cug the Panama Canal, Youra with joy, ‘ny, Ves At Your Service Without Profit Lire has shown the door to ticket scalpers. With the hearty cooperation of honest theatrical producers we have established our own ticket agency, through which you may obtain good orchestra seats at box office prices. Many sincere efforts have been made in the past to eliminate the scalper and all have failed. City ordinances and state laws have been passed; official investigations have been conducted; pitless publicity has exposed their methods, but the scalper is as active and prosperous as ever. But while there’s Lirz there’s hope. See opposite page for full particulars. comicbooks.com