Life, 1887-02-10 · page 6 of 16
Life — February 10, 1887 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "The Masher" Cartoon This page from *Life* magazine features three sketches titled "The Masher," depicting a man in late 19th-century dress pursuing women in urban settings. "Masher" was period slang for an aggressive male flirt or street harasser who made unwanted advances toward women in public spaces. The cartoons satirize this common social nuisance—showing the figure attempting to ingratiate himself with women on streets and near buildings. The accompanying text discusses literary characters and theatrical humor, but the visual satire targets the "masher" as a recognizable urban type worthy of ridicule. The sketches use exaggerated poses and expressions typical of *Life*'s satirical style to mock this socially irritating behavior.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
76 “EIFE - of old Sinn, the desolation of Mudrady amid the grandeur which his wealth had brought him, are touches of that very human kind of art which only years and sorrow can bring, even to the most sensitive man. * * * N “Devil's Ford” there are flashes of humor, with a wild Western flavor which contain the seeds of genuine laughter. To this element Whzskey, Dick makes many contributions. He is only a minor character, but he fills the stage when he is on it. He is tipsy and vulgar, but makes such a terrible effort to be refined, and is so chivalrous to the ladies, that you feel a degree of sym- pathy with him. When Miss Chréstée asks Dick whether his finding her in San Francisco was accident or the result of effort, he sums up the whole case with a wave of his hand, as “partly promiskuss an’ partly coincident.” His reflection on fashionable life is that “this yer minglin’ with the 4o-¢ong is apt to be wearisome, ez you and me knows, unless combined with experience and judgment.” The humor of his remarks uepends so on their setting that it is not fair to quote them. It is the air of the man, his shining, soapy face, his perfumed handkerchief and lofty sen- timents mingled with mining-camp slang, which, make him irresistibly funny. * * * F one may revert to the inaccuracies of the great apostle of Realism—it is interesting to find that a correspondent of The Evening Post has discov- ered that—‘In writing of the ‘arguis de Penalta’ Mr. Howells says that the father of the heroine, Dox Maréano Elorza, has a passion for the smell of freshly ironed linen and loves to put his nose in the closet where it hangs. There is nothing of the kind in the book.” Droch. + NEW BOOKS + HE CHURCH OF THE HOLY CHURN. By one of the Mites. New York. A Millionaire of Rough-and-Ready and Devil's Ford. By Bret Harte. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co. The Conflict of East and West in Egypt. By John Eliot Brown, Ph.D. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. Motto for a French ball—Lzberté, Fraternité, Decolleté. DO YOU? ISS CHILLINGLY: So, Mr. Robinson, you kept a diary for four whole years and then gave it up! MR. FEATHERSTONE ROBINSON: Ya-as. And it’s weally quite interwesting to look it ovah and see what a fool I was then. MIss CHILLINGLY: It’s a pity you gave it up. Only think! In ten years you might read it over and see what a fool you are now! BASE INGRATITUDE.. R. ADONIS DIXEY, in an interview with a Philadelphia reporter, says: “Another thing that struck me as more than a bit cheeky was the editor of Lire palm- ing that barber-shop joke from ‘Adonis? off as original in the last number of his paper. Got a picture of it, and almost the same words that Howard and I use in the play. Here itis: Barber : With or without ? Stout Party : With or without what ? Barber : Chloroform, Stout Party: Oh, ether! And this, too, in the face of our run of over 600 performances in New York.” This is the return we get for our endeavors to boost a struggling young comedian into prominence. THE MASHER — comicbooks.com