Life, 1885-09-24 · page 5 of 16
Life — September 24, 1885 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Explanation for Modern Readers This page satirizes Darwin's theory of evolution, a major scientific and cultural controversy in late 19th-century America. The heading "What Might Have Been" introduces an artist's humorous speculation about evolutionary history. The central cartoon, "The Original Ancestor of the Human Race," depicts an ape-like creature, mocking the idea that humans descended from primates. The accompanying text sarcastically suggests that had this ancestor possessed a tail, it might have caused social embarrassment for his descendants—implying the absurdity of evolutionary claims. The smaller cartoons ("A Discourager of Kleptomania," "A Tail Unfold to Harrow Up the Inmost Souls," and "The Driver of the Bobtail Car") appear to be unrelated satirical sketches, possibly commenting on contemporary social issues or human behavior.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
- LIFE: WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN. T was shortly after reading Scott's Tales of a Grandfather and Dar- win's theory of Evolution that our artist allowed his pencil to run riot through the realms of the What- Might-Have-Been. The subject was one of surpassing interest, al- though necessitating considerable attention to details, which to the untrained mind is wearisome, but which to the philosopher is one of the joys of research, As he thought over the subject, it became more and more apparent to our artist that the great-grandfather of posterity made a most terrible error in doing away with that useful member of his physical being, the caudal appendage. It was perfectly apparent to him that had THE ORIGINAL ANCESTOR OF THE HUMAN RACE, for instance, had the slightest idea of the depths of depravity to which some of his posterity would fall he would have thought twice before ridding himself of a following which, however inconvenient at such periods of his life as his first appearance in society, where it was difficult enough for him | to manage his hands, let alone a tail, could not have | failed to be beneficial to the more high minded of his descendants as A DISCOURAGER OF KLEPTOMANIA, in which capacity it would have proved invaluable. The pious deacon in church, instead of allowing the col- lection plate to leave his grasp to be passed through the length of a long pew of sinners, could A TAIL UNFOLD TO HARROW UP THE INMOST SOULS as well as keep his own hands religiously in view of the suspicicus, THE DRIVER OF THE BOBTAIL CAR,