Life, 1929-04-19 · page 11 of 52
Life — April 19, 1929 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains several brief humorous anecdotes and illustrations typical of Life's satirical format: **Main cartoon** (top right): Shows a chaotic village scene labeled "Our village selectmen voted a fire prevention week." The illustration depicts numerous accidents and mishaps occurring simultaneously—people falling, objects flying—satirizing the irony of a safety initiative producing its opposite effect. **Lower cartoon**: A fishing scene where someone asks "What ho, my friend! Enticing wary members of the finny tribe?" The response "Nay—jest fishin'" uses wordplay on "jest" (just/jesting). **Text snippets** mock various subjects: Coolidge's terseness, Swedish farmers' sense of humor, and include observations like "Beauty is only skin" (a closing aphorism). The page exemplifies Life's early 20th-century blend of visual gags and witty commentary on American life.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Movern Version: Easy come speakeasy go. Now we know why Coolidge talked so seldom while he was president. He was holding out for a dollar a word, Dumb Dora insists that “riding to hounds” is just a high-hat way of say- ing “going to the dogs.” “Have you a zither?” “Naw—but I’ve gotta couple of brothers.” Pity the poor Swedish farmer who tried to drive a team of oxen that had a sense of humor. The silly beasts took their harness as a big yoke, and laughed it off. Our village selectmen voted a fire prevention week. Lapy Vistror: Remember, “stone walls do not a prison make.” No. 32197: Then I've been fooled for eight years, lady. “I'm returning your nickel,” chirped the phone operator as she handed over the engagement ring to her discarded boy friend. It seems that those who predicted that man would never fly were erros- minded, a “What ho, my friend! Enticing wary members of the finny tribe?” In Fewer Worps: Beauty is only “Naw—jest fishin’.” skin. comicbooks.com