Life, 1884-02-14 · page 3 of 16
Life — February 14, 1884 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Page 87 Analysis: Life Magazine **Main Cartoon: "Mr. Doubledollar as a Picture Collector"** The cartoon depicts a wealthy collector (Mr. D., likely representing a nouveau-riche industrialist) proudly displaying what he claims is a $50,000 Meissonnier painting to a celebrated art critic. The satire mocks wealthy businessmen who accumulated fortunes during the Gilded Age, then purchased expensive artworks—often without genuine expertise or discernment. The joke is that despite Mr. Doubledollar's boastful guarantee that the painting is "hand-painted," this assurance itself reveals his ignorance about art authentication. **Lower Content:** The page includes Valentine's Day poetry and brief humorous commentary sections typical of Life's satirical format, poking fun at social conventions and current events. This reflects Progressive Era skepticism toward "rubber baron" culture and conspicuous consumption.
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MR. DOUBLEDOLLAR AS A PICTURE COLLECTOR. Mr. D. (triumphantly showing his new $50,000 Meissonnier to celebrated Art Critic): You MIGHT NOT THINK IT, BUT THAT PICTURE IS ALL HAND-PAINTED ! Mr. NODDLEBOX GUARANTEES IT. ST. VALENTINE’S DAY. GURELY the gods are gracious. They design Sweet Arabella for my valentine, And to that end seductively rehearse Within my ears her many charms of purse. Why should I flout her that she is not fair? Her fortune’s ample and she has to spare ; ‘Apd though she boasts, instead of grace and youth, Some glaring falsities of hair and tooth, What man could help but love her—if he knew That she is worth a million, maybe two? Then, Arabella, listen to my prayer. Behold me! On my bended knees I swear, That as the constant needle towards the pole, So turns to you my hope, my heart, my soul. Without you, life is poverty and prose— The cruel thorn without the tender rose. With you, a dream of love and peace and sense (And dollars, too, Her income is immense.) Sweetheart, smile on me. Let me call you mine, And own me (in your will) your valentine ! M. E. K carck book—“ Don't.” A stay ride—The Charge of the Light Brigade. “Tue Equine Paradox”—that top speed cannot long be maintained without bottom. “THE city must put its foot down on such corrup- tion,” shrieks an excited contemporary. But it can’t, | you know. Corporations have no soles. Is LirE worTH Livinc ? “That depends on the liver.” No, it does n’t. That answer is too Elizabethan for this day and generation. It depends on the editor. Ir is said that a pretzel eleven years old is just as eatable as when it is fresh baked. Well, we should | think so; we do n't suppose the difference of a hundred years in the age of a pretzel makes a particle of differ- ence in its excellence as an article of food.