Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, April 1922 · page 50 of 67
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #32 — page 50: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Captain Billy's Whiz Bang* contains two satirical anecdotes about leisure and decadence. The first story mocks a Parisian masquerade ball where Americans witnessed living models posed as classical statuary. The satire targets the pretentiousness of European artistic culture—the "statuary came to life and danced," deflating highbrow aspirations. It concludes by mentioning actress Ruby de Remer returning from Paris with fashionable black negligees, likely satirizing how American celebrities adopted European fashions as status symbols. The second anecdote (beginning mid-page) describes an opulent private apartment belonging to a New York theater manager, filled with Continental and Asian treasures. The incomplete text suggests it will mock either the manager's ostentatious wealth or some scandalous use of this space. Both pieces exemplify *Whiz Bang*'s humor: mocking American fascination with European sophistication and wealthy individuals' extravagant displays—common targets of 1920s satirical magazines.
📄 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 49 were simple golden belts. Nor were the femi- nine costumes of other young women in and about the two models any more elaborate. Later, at the ball itself, the Americans found reproductions of famous statuary groups posed by living models, the elect of the studios. It goes without saying that the statuary later came to life and danced with the others all night. The ball concluded with a beauty contest. And it was a real beauty contest, for there were none of the advantages or camouflages provided by the modiste. “Not even a beaded eyelash was permitted as a costume,” my friend tells me. The festivities concluded when every- one went out on the boulevard and plunged into a nearby fountain. After that the Cartha- ginians retired to their studios and garrets. A pleasant time was had by all. Yes, Paris has its attractions. Ruby de Remer, the famous screen beauty, has just re- turned from that piquant village with trunks and trunks of black negligee, the latest vogue in France. You should have viewed those gleaming black robes de nuit! * * * ANOTHER tale we hear is of a lavish and decorative nest belonging to a well known manager and located beneath his theater in New York. The place is beautifully fur- nished with treasures from the Continent and Asia. Divans of fabulous value adorn the