Life — November 1935 — page 12: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Cartoon Analysis: "Psst! Say, buddy—want to pick up a nice far, cheap?" This cartoon satirizes post-Prohibition era automobile culture and economic inequality. The sketch shows a well-dressed motorist in a sleek, modern car encountering a shabby figure with a horse-drawn cart—a visual contrast between new wealth and rural/working-class poverty. The caption's whispered proposition ("want to pick up a nice far, cheap?") suggests street hustling or black-market dealings, likely referencing the economic desperation of the Depression era. The juxtaposition mocks both the nouveau riche flaunting new automobiles and the impoverished who remained dependent on obsolete transportation. The surrounding text discusses state-by-state alcohol regulations post-Prohibition, contextualizing an era of rapid social change and class tensions in 1920s-30s America.