Life, 1929-02-01 · page 22 of 40
Life — February 1, 1929 — page 22: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a humor page from *Life* magazine featuring several unrelated jokes and a cartoon about the Smith Brothers (identifiable by the "SB" mark and their famous beards—they were a well-known cough-drop brand). **Main cartoon**: References Ethel Barrymore, the famous actress known for her distinctive appearance, suggesting the Smith Brothers' iconic mustaches are comparable to her theatrical look. **Humor themes throughout**: - A man receiving news his Australian wife will leave him (likely playing on distant colonial relationships) - Various mild domestic and social comedy ("Poor Stance," the wife's will) - References to 1920s speakeasies (illegal alcohol bars during Prohibition) - Mockery of magazine confusion (mistaking *Forum* for fitness, *Dial* for a phone book) **Context**: These are generic jokes typical of 1920s-era *Life*—wordplay, marital humor, and light social satire. The speakeasy reference dates this to Prohibition era. Nothing appears politically charged; this is straightforward entertainment humor for the period's readership.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“Oh, dearie me! Miserable news from my wife back home in Australia! She's going to leave me!” | Did you hear about the lady leopard | in Africa who divorced her husband be- cause he was a cheetah? Success Story: About the big West Virginia push-cart_ man who made his fortune in Wheeling. “That's a nice poster of the Smith Bros.” “Yeah, but it don’t take a moustache like these of Ethel Barrymore.” POOR STANCE Rus: What's the matter with the boss? Dus: He started for a business confer- | ence and forgot his golf clubs. Tun there was the girl who thought the Forum was a Physical Culture magazine. Wait, there’s more to this—she thought the Dial was a telephone book— |and Harper's a periodical devoted to music. Husert Work’s Sonc to Hoover: “T'll get by as long as I have you.” Tuen there was the reveller who smashed all the furniture in a speakeasy and was arrested for impersonating an officer. Orrstace Noises: The answer to the question “How is business?” “L see your wife has a will of her own.” “Yes, and she has one of mine, too!” oppo prohil comicbooks.com