Life, 1885-08-20 · page 12 of 16
Life — August 20, 1885 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 110 **Top Cartoon ("The Mushroom Season"):** A couple discusses edible mushrooms versus poisonous toadstools. The man proposes the crude test: eat it—if you survive, it's a mushroom; if you die, it's a toadstool. This is dark humor mocking dangerous folk wisdom about distinguishing the two. **"Styles for August" Section:** This is satirical fashion commentary targeting African American hotel workers ("colored gentry who wait upon the table at Saratoga hotels"). The "Zulu Skirt Waist" mocks their actual work uniforms while pretending to offer fashion advice. References to "bald headed men," polo costumes, and other impractical designs are absurdist comedy. The inverted pockets joke about "warding off borrowers and puzzling pickpockets" contains ethnic stereotyping typical of period satire. **Other Content:** Includes a poem about romantic indecision and a brief Irish joke playing on dialect humor. The page reflects 19th-century American satirical magazine conventions—witty but often containing racial caricature and condescending humor about working-class and immigrant populations.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE MUSHROOM SEASON. (Melbourne Punch.) 1 PRAY YOU, SIR, MAKE ME A WHOLESOME ANSWERK.—Ham/et, HERE'S A WHOPPING TOADSTOOL. HOW CAN YOU TELL A MUSHROOM FROM A TOADSTOOL, DEAR? IF YOU LIVE IT'S A MUSHROOM, IF YOU DIE IT'S A He: OH! I say, She He; Eat it, TOADSTOOL. ADRIFT. HREE dainty damosels of late Have made my apt heart palpitate More quickly, Sweet Lulu, Rose and fair Annette ; The fancies came for each dear pet So thickly, Rose waltzes like a little fay ; Annette has royal blood, they say, A Stewart ; But love's light breeze is rising now And turns my heart's long wavering prow To Lu-ward. John S. Phillips. HE 7imes of August 13th contains the following : NOT DEAD BUT SPEECHLESS. “Is he dead 2" was the inquiry made about an Irishman who, in company with a hod of bricks, had fallen to the bottom of the ladder. “Oi'm not dead,” explained the injured man, feeb! but oi’m knocked spaichless," Isn't it rather early in the season to begin gathering chestnuts ? STYLES FOR AUGUST. IFE’S special fashion plater, noting the long felt want of | both young and old for light and airy summer costumes, , has prepared a series of designs which cannot fail to meet with favor, and which are submitted for popular approval this week, Especially has this want been noticeable among the colored gentry who wait upon the table at Saratoga hotels. The accepted costume of the period is too cumbrous to admit of any great celerity or grace of movement in the fill- ing of orders. The Zulu Skirt Waist, as shown in Plate 1, it is believed will obviate any difficulty in “getting there,” and will give ample scope for the pedestriatory powers of the most facile footed Ethiopian at the Springs. In Plate 2 will be seen a very sensible suggestion for archery uniforms for both sexes, and that the recommenda- tion will suit the obese as well as the lean the cut will show at a glance, The fashionable young oarsmen from our renowned col- leges of rowing have heretofore had to hide their beautifully formed biceps and fine swelling chests beneath unsympathetic coat-sleeves and immaculate shirt fronts. That this has been a galling restraint to them has been evident in more cases than one, and the artist has devised the costume of Plate 3 with the view of giving these young men a chance to expose their hidden beauties. Plates 4 and 5 will interest the lovers of sport, the polo costume being equally applicable to bowling or foot-ball. The inverted pockets of the racing-suit and the eye protec- tors in connection thereof will prove valuable to the fre- quenters of Monmouth Park. The inverted pockets, especi- ally, acting in a double capacity of warding off borrowers and puzzling pickpockets, Bald headed men will wear but one hair this summer, the effect of which can be seen by a glance at Plate 6, and for dinner wear we strenuously recommend Plate 8 as being both serviceable and fashionable. For a tennis dress Plate 7 will recommend itself at | once to the reader, and will doubtless prove the most popu- lar style of the season. It is light and airy, giving a certain chicness to the figure. It comes rather high, but in a wealthy community this may not be regarded as a fault. Come bra the Sea with me Love" AN ECHO OF PASSION. comicbooks.com