Life — November 19, 1885 — page 11: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page appears to be a satirical cartoon titled "The Rivalry of the Future" (visible on the right margin). The image shows a vertical stack of figures riding bicycles, rendered in dark ink with heavy cross-hatching. The cartoon likely satirizes competition or conflict, with "Assault of Arms" suggesting military rivalry. The stacked bicyclists may represent competing nations or political factions engaged in an escalating arms race or competition for dominance. The bicycle as the vehicle of this "assault" adds absurdist humor—contrasting the trivial bicycle with the serious notion of military arms buildup. The OCR text is heavily corrupted, making specific references unclear. Without legible text identifying particular figures or historical context, I cannot definitively explain which specific rivalry or conflict this mocks, though the imagery suggests early-to-mid 20th century political satire typical of Life magazine's editorial cartooning.