Life, 1885-10-22 · page 1 of 16
Life — October 22, 1885 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "Not an Enthusiast" - Life Magazine, October 22, 1885 This cartoon satirizes a patient's reluctant visit to a "Faith Doctor"—a practitioner of faith healing or alternative medicine popular in the 1880s. The impatient patient, seated and clearly skeptical, complains to the doctor that staring at her steadily for hours hasn't eased his pain; he feels like a "D—— fool" and questions the bill. The satire mocks the growing trend of faith-based medical practitioners who claimed to cure ailments through mental focus or spiritual means rather than conventional medicine. The patient's irritation and sarcasm highlight the magazine's skepticism toward such unproven treatments, while the doctor's earnest demeanor suggests the practitioners' genuine (if misguided) belief in their methods. The joke targets both medical charlatanism and gullible patients.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VOLUME VI. NEW YORK, OCTOBER 22, 1885. NUMBER 147. Entered at New York Post Office as Second-Class Mall Matter. NOT AN ENTHUSIAST. Faith Doctor: NOW, MY DEAR SIR, TELL ME JUST HOW YOU FEEL, Impatient Patient, who has stared the Doctor in the eye steadily for hours, in.a vain endeavor to forget his pain; | FEEL LIKE A D——D FOOL; WHAT'S THE BILL? comicbooks.com