Life — May 31, 1929 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Mr. Yegge's Letter" by Henry von Rhau This short story satirizes a bumbling American businessman abroad. Mr. Yegge, described as "jubilant" but unsophisticated, embarks on his first vacation in twenty years. His father-in-law provides a letter of introduction to help him navigate Paris, but Yegge loses it in a poker game. The illustration shows him at a police station being "roundly abused" after the letter's loss creates complications. The satire targets American tourists of the early 20th century—men of business lacking linguistic skills or cultural refinement, prone to gambling and drinking, who bungle their way through European travel. The story mocks both Yegge's naïveté and the embarrassments he creates abroad.