Life, 1883-11-22 · page 3 of 16
Life — November 22, 1883 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 257 **The Main Illustration ("Foresight"):** A sketch shows two women dining together. The caption quotes a young girl (Miss Edith, aged six) claiming the Gibsons have inherited money, and predicting she'll marry one of their two sons when grown—a practical calculation about future wealth and social advantage. **The Poetry Section ("The Plaque de Limoges"):** Romantic verses about coveted French porcelain—"Plaque de Limoges"—treating decorative china as an object of desire and status. The accompanying prose dialogue satirizes magazine editors' casual exploitation of contributors, offering modest payment ($1.50/line) for published work while making publication sound prestigious. **Overall Theme:** The page satirizes upper-class materialism and social climbing—both in romance and in the publishing industry itself.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
FORESIGHT. Miss Edith (aged six): MAMA, THEY SAY THE GIBBSES HAVE COME INTO A whole lot OF MONEY. E.Lta STANFORD SAYS THEY ARE REAL COMMON AND VULGAR, BUT I THINK WE HAD BETTER BE very nice TO THEM, AS THERE ARE TWO BOYS IN THE FAMILY ABOUT MY AGE, AND WHEN I GROW UP SOMETHING MIGHT COME OF IT, YOU KNOW.— THE PLAQUE DE LIMOGES. Would that I in your place might be, Plaque de Limoges ! That she might stand and gaze on me, Plaque de Limoges ! I'd live in love a little space, Then—fling my flowers from their place At her dear feet to sue for grace, Until she 'd raise them to her face, Happy, bat crushed Limoges YOU hang upon her boudoir wall, Plaque de Limoges ! She prizes you above them all, Plaque de Limoges ! Yet do your blossoms never move, Although she looks on them with love, And treasures your hard buds above The gathered bloom of field and grove, Insensate, cold Limoges ! H. G. Au yes, come in, come in! Haven't seen you for Brilliant in hue your every flower, Plaque de Limoges ! Copied from some French maiden’s bower, Plaque de Limoges ! But still you let my Lady stand— The fairest lady in the land— Caressing you with her soft hand, Nor breathe, nor stir at her command, Cold-hearted clay—Limoges ! several days. Oh! been in Yurrup all summer,eh? Ah yes, yes, to be sure. Have a little sketch descriptive of your trip, you thought we would like to——? Of course, “that’s what we thought you thought.” Yes, we will publish it. No, you need not leave the manu- script; we keep the article electrotyped and publish it every October. Like your name signed to it? cer- tainly; cost you $1.50 a line; you ‘ll find the business manager down stairs, good morning. comicbooks.com