Life, 1883-05-24 · page 4 of 16
Life — May 24, 1883 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 242 The central illustration depicts a dialogue between **Papa** (an older man) and **Jimmy** (a young boy), likely a father-son conversation about smoking. Papa asks what Jimmy smokes, and Jimmy replies "CUBES" (cigars), claiming they're "good for a bad cold" and that Papa gives him ten cents whenever he has one. This is **satirical commentary on child labor and parental negligence** in turn-of-the-century America. The joke targets: 1. **Parents enabling harmful habits** in children for profit 2. **Dubious health claims** about tobacco as medicine 3. **Child exploitation** under the guise of parental care The surrounding text discusses boxing matches and Irish immigrants, suggesting this page combines multiple satirical vignettes typical of Life magazine's social criticism format.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
242 that I had seen these faces once in my life before. Could it have been at St. Quentin? Was I travelling with the whole society to the dreadful mission to which I had been assigned ? As I was trying to collect my thoughts, my conduc- tor, or attendant demon, spoke to me. - LIFE: “These are your compagnons de voyage ; all of them gentlemen of culture and refinement, whose society you will enjoy very much, I am sure.”” He smiled as he spoke, and I perceived, with a shudder, that he had no teeth, The saloon whirled around me, and I knew no more. Papa: WHAT! JIMMY, YOU SMOKE? AND WHAT DO YOU SMOKE, PRAY ? Jimmy : | SMOKE CUBEBS. Papa: AND WHY DO YOU SMOKE THEM? Jimmy ; Ou! THEY ARE GOOD FOR A BAD COLD. Papa: HOW OFTEN DO YOU HAVE A BAD COLD. Jimmy: O'! WHENEVER YOU GIVE ME A EE things considered, the week just gone by was unusually eventful. * . * * . . . Mr. John L. Sullivan, although flabby, and not too sober, suc- ceeded, in spite of a knock-down, in standing two rounds and part of a third before that tough little Briton, Mitchell, and New York paid $13,000 to sce him do it, Unfortunately, that other distinguished slugger, Captain Williams, interposed his famous club before the affair was settled, and both champions are still bellowing with discontent, each swearing the other was worsted. If Mitchell thinks he is the best man, why does he not accept Sullivan's challenge to fight it out ina barn? If Sullivan thinks he is, why is he afraid to meet Mitchell in the ring? Still, it must be confessed, that eminent savant, Mr. Pop Whittaker, is yet to be heard from. . * . * * * . * Brady, the Irish felon, danced his little rope dance Monday, and still no thunders of dynamite shook the breeze. O'Donovan Rossa said he would blow up all London and most of Brooklyn when Brady was hanged. But O'Donovan says a great many things. nme . * * *. . . It is to be hoped that the brindle Lieutenant who attempted suicide because an heiress refused his offer of marriage, will be sent either to Ward's Island or Sing Sing if he recovers, and be kept there till Father Abraham wants him. This mixing up of gunpowder and romance is fast getting to be a nuisance, and it is high time the law took it in hand. Let the button-freckled mon- key be made an example. * * * * . * * When bunko men can deceive a Catholic priest, what sinner is safe? * * * . * * * Linked by the glorious Bridge, New York’ and Brooklyn are now virtually one city. To be sure, the taxpayers have paid mil- lions for the wedding, and now the public must pay more mil- lions for the benefit which the exercise that walking across will give, but we are sure no right-minded citizen regrets the original outlay, even if he now howls over the tax imposed in tolls, One thing is certain—we have the grandest piece of pontine en- gineering extant, and even as an idle ornament it is worth the price we have paid. z comicbooks.com