Life, 1885-04-16 · page 11 of 16
Life — April 16, 1885 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "His First and Only Hunting" — Life Magazine Satire This page satirizes a wealthy, incompetent man's attempt at hunting. The large central figure is an upper-class gentleman with an exaggerated nose, positioned as if holding a rifle. The sequential vignettes around him mock his bumbling: He arrives fashionably dressed but clueless ("Oi don't know, Mike"); becomes increasingly disheveled; ends up lost and exhausted ("Where am I?"); and finally returns home defeated, deciding hunting isn't for him. The satire targets **upper-class pretension**—wealthy men who dabble in "sporting" activities without genuine competence or commitment. The title's emphasis on "first and **only**" hunting underscores the joke: this gentleman will never try again. Two unrelated humor bits appear below: one mocking Irish laborers' timekeeping, another joking about roller-skating injuries and the "morning cocktail" as necessary recovery. The artwork style and *Life* magazine context (Gilded Age satirical publication) suggest this ridicules wealthy dilettantes playing at rural pursuits.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
- LIFE: Firat apparanee in Pink -Delmeniesyety Une opin of the thing, “De gra len Jon Bal?” Z. Homeward bound, Decides Hluntings the Bing: Good falleus ene maces, f ate ate, S, : J N Where am V8 , | ¢ “4 t > Finds be 4 cbont Lenser Yee ; "q FJ Gant mrley fon the Hoypy Thought— 4 4 © "Taha uphanting b. Dack Le Nowhork Vetus hunting’ Teas’ Batty fit, bere’ and 04 fs he men—eall, after all thy} cork talk any: th. Wot ga tr “Compales, Kumaclf with, Uyahts oho lly diye HIS FIRST AND ONLY HUNTING. “Pat, what time is it ?” “ Oi don’t know, Mike, but let's guess at it and then, be- gorra, the man ascomes furthest off can go out to the kitchen | “YES,” said the dudeling, as he gathered himself up, “the and look.” hardest thing about roller skating is the floor.” A BITTER NECESSITY—The morning cocktail.