Life, 1885-06-11 · page 1 of 16
Life — June 11, 1885 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Life Magazine, June 11, 1885 - Satirical Cartoon The cartoon depicts a domestic scene with two men at a gate. One man (labeled "Dobbs") questions another (labeled "Hobbs") about excessive padding on a front gate. Hobbs explains he's added the padding because "things begin to look as if Julia's young man does n't mean business, and as this may be her last chance, I am making things as pleasant and comfortable as possible." The satire targets parental desperation about unmarried daughters. It mocks the idea that a father would literally cushion his gate—presumably to make courtship more comfortable—hoping to secure a marriage proposal for his daughter Julia. The joke reflects late-Victorian anxiety about women's marriageability and a father's willingness to go to absurd lengths to facilitate romantic outcomes.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
s rs ° re st 's it it i NEW YORK, JUNE 11, 1885. £ NUMI Entered at New Yur Post Office as Second-Class Mail Matter, Dobbs: WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU MEAN BY PUTTING ALL THAT PADDING ON YOUR FRONT GATE, MR. HOBBS? Hobbs: WELL, YOU SEE, THINGS BEGIN TO LOOK AS IF JULIA’S YOUNG MAN DOES N’T MEAN BUSINESS, AND AS, THIS MAY BE HER LAST CHANCE, I AM MAKING THINGS AS PLEASANT AND COMFORTABLE AS POSSIBLE. ER 128. 4 SS sganerercus