Life, 1883-11-08 · page 1 of 16
Life — November 8, 1883 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "Ne Plus Ulster" - Life Magazine, November 8, 1883 This cartoon satirizes a wealthy man's complaint about his overcoat. The well-dressed figure complains that he had to work like a mule last summer and must now wear last year's overcoat for another season. Meanwhile, a laborer (shown crouching below) struggles in poverty. The title "Ne Plus Ulster" appears to be a pun on "ne plus ultra" (the ultimate/highest point), playing on "Ulster" (a type of overcoat). The joke mocks the rich man's self-pitying complaint—that wearing an old overcoat for a second year constitutes hardship—by contrasting his minor inconvenience with the actual deprivation of working-class people. The satire targets wealth inequality and the obliviousness of the affluent.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
SOD VOLUME II NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 8, 1883. NUMBER 45. ‘at Now York Post Oflee as Second-Class Mall Batter, Gremerr ides BY TpARIroneus + “ Do OM | ore I SS 7 s sae would have- wo like a mule to train down last Summer © if T had Known, that this overcoat that had got to’ do “another year ¢ ~ SPAN S, NE PLUS ULSTER. comicbooks.com