Life, 1929-08-16 · page 23 of 36
Life — August 16, 1929 — page 23: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes American materialism and leisure culture in the Jazz Age. "The Dollar Sign" column mocks how average Americans can't enjoy themselves because they're constantly calculating the cost—worried they're spending roughly ten dollars per hour on entertainment. The author sarcastically suggests Americans are psychologically trapped by money-consciousness, unable to relax even during amusements. "Manna-About-Forty-Five Minutes From Broadway" catalogs upscale entertainment venues near New York City, referencing real locations like Tex Guinan's (a famous speakeasy), Manhasset Bay, and various nightclubs and restaurants. The tone is gossipy and name-dropping, highlighting the era's nouveau-riche leisure activities: cocktail contests, gambling, and fashionable dining spots where people flout Prohibition laws (the "beer on the Post Road" reference). The illustrations depict speedboats and crowded venues, emphasizing the frantic, expensive entertainment lifestyle being both celebrated and gently mocked.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
New York Life The Dollar Sign The Carnival spirit is what New York needs . . . we are far too serious about our amusements . . . and this is simply because our amusements cost so much . . . the average man doesn’t enjov himself when it is costing him about ten dollars an hour . . . he can’t keep his mind on his play . . . but then he doesn’t enjoy himself unless he knows he is spending a lot of so what can the poor man do? ... well, for one thing he can stop thinking so much about money well, how can he do that when he’s brought up to think of nothing but_ money? . . . Oh, you Americans! however, I'd better stop before my iulsome philosophy begins to hurt the sales of Will Durant’s books and gets him all worried about his royalties. money... Manna-About-Forty-Five Minutes From Broadway Leaving “Tex” Guinan's around five \. M. and going for a swim in the ocean, ... The surf board cocktail con- tests on Manhasset Bay, the idea being to drink a cocktail which is handed to you from the stern of the speedboat while riding a surf board and the pen- alty being that if you fall overboard in the act you lose the cocktail . . . the suckers that play the Races at Milton Point Casino . . . the beautiful gels that roam the beach at the Lido +. the wonderful dinners at the Windbeam Cabin near Montclair . . . the wonderful dinners at Villepigues but why do they close at nine thirty? ... the crowd that visited the Post Lodge clad in pajamas and got away with it... the sign at the Wing Foot Golf Club that says “Keep Off The Grass”... the pool at the Rye Country club at 2:00 a. M. . . . the coolness of Arrowhead Inn on hot evenings . . . the gambling house out in Rye . . . the orchestra at Milton Point Casino .. . the hot dogs at Walter's on the Post Road . . . the beer on the Post Road and don’t you wish you knew where it was! ... The Half Moon Inn on the other side of the Htdson which is more than forty-five minutes but is worth it. comicbooks.com