Life, 1885-04-02 · page 5 of 16
Life — April 2, 1885 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 187 This page features "Our Little Culture Society at Pignapoke," a humorous column mocking a provincial town's pretensions to sophistication. The letter describes Miss Lucretia Chillinghart's "striking innovations" in equestrian fashion—specifically, she decorated the saddle horse Prince and a mule with borrowed finery (her grandfather's antique buff coat and high hat) while leading a procession resembling a Philadelphia parade. The accompanying illustrations humorously depict the chaos that ensued: "Docking Jonah's Tail" shows the mule's tail being cut, and "Pignapoke Receives a Shock" depicts the commotion when the ornately-dressed animals startled townspeople at the post office. The satire targets rural vanity and the absurd results when unsophisticated people attempt urban culture. The postscript hints at further equine trouble brewing.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
> LIFE: 187 She then borrowed of her grandfather the antique buff coat and high hat in which he courted her grandmother, and having sewed bands of yellow muslin around the tops of Obadiah's boots and a cockade on the ancient hat she had just such a livery as I have seen depicted in the pages of LiFe. Of course her first ride through the village with Uncle Obadiah following on Jonah was somewhat trying, a Phila- delphia drummer leading the hue-and-cry that followed them up Jefferson street. But I countermanded a large order I had just given him for hairpins and Turkey-red, and crushed him. Yours fraternally, Algernon McGump. P. S.--Mr. Chillinghart has just returned—Pork down to 4}.—I fear there is going to be trouble about that horse's tail. A. McG. LETTER THE SECOND. Editor of Lire: Sir— N spite of the ridicule and contumely poured out upon our infant society by the unthink- ing “ masses,” we feel that our efforts to elevate the social tone of Pignapoke are not being put forth in vain. Miss Lucretia Chillinghart's devo- tion and courage are worthy of all praise. During her papa’s absence on a recent trip with acar load of h— swine for the Eastern mar- ket, she made some striking innovations in Pig- napoke equestrianism. With the help of Uncle Obadiah Lafayette and a pair of sheep shears she docked the tails of Mr. Chillinghart’s famous saddle horse Prince, and of Obadiah’s mule Jonah. PIGNAPOKE RECEIVES A SHOCK. comicbooks.com