Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, July 1921 · page 65 of 68
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #22 — page 65: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from the satirical magazine **Captain Billy's Whiz Bang** contains several brief jokes and an advertisement for the publication's upcoming Winter Annual. The humor targets recognizable social targets: - A tramp's boast about bathing in "the spring of '86" is likely a play on famous mineral springs (popular tourist destinations) versus the vagabond's poverty. - "Many are dressed, but few are clothed" contrasts appearance with substance—a common critique of hypocrisy. - "No prospect of an early reduction in the wages of sin" sardonically suggests vice remains profitable. - "A Sad, Sad Tale" is a pun-list: money leads to marriage ("matri-mony"), then financial ruin ("blown"), discord ("dishar-mony"), and legal testimony ("testi-mony") and alimony payments—a cynical take on matrimony's consequences. The remainder promotes the Winter Annual featuring classic poems like Robert W. Service's "The Shooting of Dan McGrew," positioning the magazine as a source of entertainment and "red-blooded" masculine content.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Captain Billy’s Whiz Bang 63 “Speaking of famous springs,” said the tramp to the tourist, “I bathed in the spring of ’86.” Many are dressed, but few are clothed. There is no prospect of an early reduction in the wages of sin. A Sad, Sad Tale Lotsa money, Matri-mony, Blown money, Dishar-mony, Testi-mony, Ali-mony. The Shooting of Dan McGrew Robert W. Service’s great poem will take a lead- ing place in the WINTER ANNUAL of Capt. Billy’s Whiz Bang out in October, together with “The Girl in the Blue Velvet Band,” “The Face on the Barroom Floor,” “Lasca” (in full), Langdon Smith’s “Evolu- tion,” and scores of other red-blooded gems. In addi- tion to the Smokehouse Poetry section, there will be stories, jokes, jests, jingles, mail bag, questions and answers and a galaxy of illustrations. The Annual will be apart from the regular October issue and will be on sale as long as the supply lasts. Our first annual, 1920, sold out within two weeks. Only three months to wait.