Life, 1886-10-28 · page 3 of 16
Life — October 28, 1886 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis The main cartoon depicts two men on what appears to be a streetcar labeled "Madison Avenue," with a clock visible on the wall. One man complains about the time, saying they've been in the car "two nights" when it should only be "twenty minutes of fifty." This is a satire on the slowness of New York City streetcars—a common complaint in early 20th-century urban life. The exaggeration (two nights versus minutes) mocks how glacially slow public transportation felt to impatient commuters. Below, the "What is Going On in Society" column reports on Mrs. James Gown Trotter's social activities and a controversy involving Philip Van Scribbler's retirement from *Town Topics* magazine, apparently due to his prior involvement with the Trotter family. The satire targets high-society gossip and scandal.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ON MADISON AVENUE. I SHAY, OLE MAN, HOW D’ YOU ACCOUNT FOR THE TIME? TWENTY MINITSH OF FIFTY. By Jove! WE'VE BEEN IN THISH CAR TWO NIGHTS! ‘WHAT IS GOING ONIN SOCIETY. M&S: JAMES GOWN TROTTER was at the Tuckahoe Club Ball on Wednesday last. * * # “THERE will be a special matinee for the benefit of the Charleston | sufferers at the Hornellsville-on-Erie-Canal Lyceum on Wed- nesday next. Mrs. James Gown Trotter is expected to be present. * * * RS. PARIAN SNEEVANS’ cotilion will be given at Delmonico’s on the 16th prox. Considerable disappointment is expressed by our first families that Mrs. James Gown Trotter will not be able to attend. * * * AMONG the New York society people at Tuckahoe Park are Mrs. and Mr. James Gown Trotter. LENOX is in a furore of excitement owing to a rumor which has gained ground to a considerable extent, that Mrs. James Gown Trotter disapproves of the projected toboggan slide to and from Stockbridge. | * * * THE genial Philip Van Scribbler, formerly of our esteemed con- temporary Clown Popics, has returned from Newport. His | retirement from the Journal of Society is due to his having in- | advertently left Mrs. James Gown Trotter's name out of two successive paragraphs in. his last letter from Lenox. * * * ONTRIBUTORS to this column are notified that all items of general interest pertaining to society and the James Gown Trotter family will receive the Editor’s immediate attention. Paul M. Pry, Editor. comicbooks.com