Life, 1884-10-30 · page 3 of 16
Life — October 30, 1884 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "Art in Delaware" - Explanation This cartoon satirizes regional cultural pretensions. Two figures discuss art in what appears to be a fancy interior with paintings and sculptures. The joke relies on a dialogue where Miss Rosebud claims never to have known that the man and woman both lived in the same state, while Palette (apparently a New Englander from Massachusetts) responds that he puts "Del" after their names in his pictures—a play on "Delaware" sounding like "Del." The humor targets both Delaware's cultural obscurity and affected artistic circles that use French names or affectations. The elaborate room with classical art references emphasizes the pretentiousness being mocked. This reflects early 20th-century regional stereotypes about which American states were considered culturally sophisticated versus provincial.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ART IN DELAWARE. Miss Rosebud: DO VOU KNOW, MR. PALLETTE, | NEVER KNEW BEFORE TO-DAY THAT YOU AND I WERE FROM THE SAME STATE? Palette: SAME STATE, MISS ROSEBUD? WHY I AM A NEW ENGLANDER. Miss Rosebud: THEN, WHY DO YOU ALWAYS PUT DEL AFTER YOUR NAME IN YOUR PICTURES? OF MISSTRESSE MARTHA: HER EYES. RANSFIXED & spitted in my hearte By Misstresse Martha's eyes, theyre darte, Whyche have withinne me raised a greate Commotion & uneasie state. Or are they black, or are they blue I care not any more than you, Nor coulde I for a wagerre saye If theye be hazel, browne, or graye. But whenne it comes to diagnosis Of what the outcome of theyre use is Full, comprehensive and exact, I LIVE IN MASSACHUSETTS, Is my conception of the facte. Whenne first their witcherie has begunne, You might be safe if you woulde runne, But who woulde looke for cause for feare In depths so limpid, calm & cleare ! Too soone, poor foole, you find you ‘ve stayed Till it 's too late to be afrayde. Alas for himme who thus misreckons, For friendlye lights, mistaking beacons. Better it were if he hadde founde Clarence, his Fate, in Malmsey drounde, Thanne, Mistresse, in thyne eyes to sinke, Nor make a tear¢ o’erflow its brinke. comicbooks.com