Life, 1887-03-31 · page 5 of 16
Life — March 31, 1887 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "What's in a Name?" - Life Magazine Page 175 The top cartoon satirizes marital communication and naming conventions. A husband lounging in a chair asks his wife about a man she encountered, requesting his name. The wife struggles to recall whether the visitor was "Reynolds, or Reginald—some such name—Tracy." She notes he's just had tea with her. The husband responds that his name is "John—or Tom—or some such name," mocking her vagueness by mirroring her forgetfulness. This appears to be Victorian-era satire about wives' supposedly poor memory for acquaintances' names, or possibly about careless social introductions and the absurdity of not knowing guests' identities. The joke relies on gender stereotypes common to period humor. The page also contains unrelated brief items ("His Birthday Party," "The Lay of the Listed Lass") typical of Life's miscellaneous satirical content.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
WHAT'S IN A NAME? Husband (John by name): WHO WAS THE MAN I MET IN THE HALL AS I WENT OUT? GOOD-LOOKING CHAP. Wife: OH THAT WAS REYNOLDS, OR REGINALD—SOME SUCH NAME— TRACY. HE HAS JUST HAD A CUP OF TEA WITH ME, BY THE WAY MAY I POUR YOU A CUP? Husband (opening Post and speaking from behind it): YES, DEAR, THANKS. THIS IS Cozy. Wife (looking absent-mindedly out the window): HERE'S YOUR TEA, REGGY. REGGY, DON’T YOU HEAR ME, DEAR? Husband: Reggy! Reggy! My NAME 18 JOoHN—OR TOM—OR SOME SUCH NAME. HIS BIRTHDAY PARTY. THE LAY OF THE LISTED LASS. Y: Ain’t it time to eat the good things. UOTH she sadly, I have surely MOoTHER: Certainly not. You must wait until your | QO Been placed upon the list, friends come. For now that I am Af7s., Boy : I guess they won't come, ‘cause I didn’t invite them. | I never shall be Missed. I thought I’d rather have it entirely exclusive. | SS Jas = ae | Ov respectful compliments to Sir George M. Pullman, HE barbers trace their calling back to Solomon, who | and now that he is a knight will he please fee his own was the first heir-cutter. porters ? IGHT-LACING, like other evils, has its compensation. HE heaviest babies in the world are those in the royal It prevents waist-fulness. families of England. It is estimated that the little So Battenburg Henry turned the public treasury scales at some- A MAN who takes Life easily. — A subs:riber. thing like £5,000. comicbooks.com